Marketing & Communications Manager

Halifax Pride is seeking an experienced and organized Marketing & Communications Manager to coordinate and oversee marketing, advertising, and promotional initiatives for Canada Pride 2027.

Working closely with Halifax Pride's leadership, communications, design, programming, and partnerships teams, the successful candidate will be responsible for developing and coordinating a comprehensive marketing strategy that builds awareness, drives attendance, and promotes Canada Pride to local, regional, and national audiences.

The position will focus on marketing planning, campaign coordination, brand consistency, and ensuring that marketing initiatives are delivered effectively and on schedule. The successful candidate will provide direction and coordination to existing communications team members and external partners, rather than being responsible for all content creation or day-to-day social media management.

Marketing Strategy & Coordination

• Develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive marketing and communications plan for Canada Pride 2027.
• Oversee marketing initiatives promoting festival events, programming, ticket sales, and community engagement.
• Develop and maintain marketing timelines, campaign schedules, and promotional priorities.
• Identify opportunities to expand the festival's reach and engage audiences locally, regionally, and nationally.
• Monitor marketing activities and campaign performance, identifying opportunities for improvement.

Advertising & Promotion

• Plan and coordinate advertising campaigns across local, regional, and national markets.
• Oversee digital, print, outdoor, and other advertising initiatives, including coordination with advertising vendors and media partners.
• Manage advertising timelines and budgets in collaboration with Halifax Pride's leadership.
• Identify opportunities for promotional partnerships, cross-promotion, and increased visibility.

Brand & Content Coordination

• Serve as the primary liaison with Halifax Pride's design team, coordinating requests, timelines, and deliverables for marketing materials.
• Review promotional materials and advertising content to ensure consistency with Canada Pride and Halifax Pride branding, messaging, and campaign objectives.
• Coordinate with communications team members to ensure marketing materials and messaging are accurate, consistent, and distributed on schedule.
• Support the planning and scheduling of social media campaigns in collaboration with Halifax Pride's existing communications team.
• Maintain oversight of marketing deliverables across digital, print, and other promotional channels.

Team & Partner Coordination

• Provide collaborative leadership and marketing direction to 2–3 communications team members from May through July, ensuring their work aligns with the festival's marketing and communications plan, brand standards, and promotional priorities.
• Work alongside the Executive Director to establish priorities, review marketing materials, and ensure communications activities are coordinated and delivered on schedule.
• Work with festival programming teams to ensure accurate and timely promotion of events, artists, and activities.
• Collaborate with community organizations and event partners to incorporate community-led programming into the broader marketing plan.
• Work with the partnerships team to coordinate sponsor recognition and marketing-related sponsorship commitments.
• Liaise with external contractors, advertising vendors, and other partners involved in festival marketing

Decision-Making & Marketing Oversight

• Serve as the primary point of contact for day-to-day marketing coordination, reducing the need for direct involvement from festival leadership in routine marketing activities.
• Independently coordinate design requests, campaign timelines, and marketing deliverables within established plans and priorities.
• Review and approve routine marketing materials for consistency with approved brand guidelines, messaging, and campaign objectives.
• Provide direction and feedback to communications and design team members to ensure projects remain on schedule.
• Identify issues requiring leadership input and escalate significant changes to campaign strategy, budgets, or public-facing messaging for approval.
• Maintain regular communication with festival leadership regarding marketing progress, priorities, and outstanding decisions.

Festival Marketing & Communications

• Coordinate the implementation of the festival marketing and communications schedule.
• Oversee the delivery of planned marketing initiatives and promotional activities throughout the festival.
• Support communications team members in coordinating social media coverage, content distribution, and event promotion.
• Ensure marketing materials and public-facing promotional information remain accurate and consistent throughout the festival.
• Respond to changing marketing and promotional needs in collaboration with festival leadership.

The ideal candidate will have:

• Demonstrated experience in marketing, communications, advertising, or a related field.
• Experience developing and coordinating multi-platform marketing campaigns.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines, and partners.
• Experience working with graphic designers, communications teams, advertising vendors, and external partners.
• Understanding of digital marketing, social media strategy, and advertising campaign management.
• Strong written communication skills and attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently, exercise sound judgment, and make decisions within established organizational guidelines.
• Familiarity with 2SLGBTQIA+ communities and a demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.

Experience in festival marketing, event promotion, nonprofit organizations, or large-scale public events is considered an asset.

This is a contract position with a total fee ranging from $25,000 to $30,000 (plus HST, if applicable) for the duration of the agreement, commensurate with experience and qualifications.

The workload will increase as the festival approaches:

• November 2026 - May 2027: Approximately 10 hours or fewer per week, focused on planning, coordination, and ongoing marketing initiatives.
• June - Early July 2027: Approximately 15 hours per week as marketing and promotional activities increase.
• July 15-25, 2027: Full-time availability required throughout the Canada Pride festival, including evenings and weekends as needed.

The position offers flexibility to work remotely, with required in-person meetings and commitments in Halifax throughout the contract. The successful candidate must be available to work in person in Halifax during the festival.