Visitor Experience and Events Coordinator
Kelowna Art Gallery | Kelowna, BC
Full-Time, 35 hours per week
Wage: $25/hr
Reports to: Executive Director
About This Role:
The Kelowna Art Gallery is looking for someone who genuinely loves people, someone who lights up when a first-time visitor walks through the door, who takes quiet pride in a beautifully run event, and who finds real satisfaction in the details that make a cultural space feel welcoming rather than intimidating.
As our Visitor Services and Events Coordinator, you are the heartbeat of the front of house. You set the tone for every interaction visitors, renters, and event guests have with the Gallery, and you lead the team that delivers that experience day after day. This is a hands-on, coordination-focused role that spans visitor services, facility rentals, event logistics, and merchandise operations. It's the kind of job where no two days look exactly alike, and where what you do is directly visible in how people feel when they leave.
What You'll Do:
Welcome People Well
You'll oversee the daily operations of our reception desk and front of house, making sure every person who walks in, whether they're here for a school tour, a private rental, or their first time ever setting foot in a gallery, feels at home. You'll be the primary contact for visitor inquiries in person, by phone, and by email, and you'll recruit, schedule, train, and support the staff and volunteers who work alongside you.
Lead a Strong Front of House Team
You'll build schedules, run orientations, coach for quality, and create the kind of team environment where people want to show up and do good work. You'll keep visitor stats and compile feedback that helps us get better at what we do.
Coordinate Gallery Events
The KAG hosts roughly one to three events each month, openings, community gatherings, special programs, and you'll be the person making sure they run smoothly. That means managing logistics from start to finish: staffing, setup, catering coordination, vendor communication, timelines, and on-site response when something needs solving. The programming is developed by gallery staff; your role is to execute it with care and professionalism.
Manage Facility Rentals
You'll serve as the primary contact for groups and individuals who want to rent our space, responding to inquiries, conducting site visits, preparing agreements, and overseeing everything from room configuration to post-event follow-up. You'll also have the opportunity to review our current rental practices and bring forward ideas to improve the experience for clients and the gallery alike.
Support Our Merchandise Corner
Working with our Curatorial Assistant, you'll help keep the merchandise area stocked, well-presented, and accurately tracked, a small but meaningful part of how visitors take a piece of the Gallery home with them.
Keep Things Running
You'll maintain records across all of these areas (attendance, rentals, inventory, events) to help the executive team with their reporting.
What You Bring:
You have a diploma or degree in arts administration, museum studies, hospitality, event management, business, or a related field, along with two to three years of hands-on experience in visitor services, customer service, hospitality, facility operations, or event coordination. Experience in a public gallery, museum, or cultural organization is a genuine asset, as is experience supervising staff or volunteers.
Beyond credentials, you're someone who stays calm when things get busy, communicates clearly and warmly, takes ownership of your work, and brings people along with you. You're organized without being rigid, detail-oriented without losing sight of the bigger picture, and comfortable holding multiple priorities at once.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365 is expected. Familiarity with point-of-sale systems, scheduling software, or databases is a bonus.
What to Expect:
This role combines office time, reception and gallery floor presence, and on-site event coordination. Evening and occasional weekend availability is required. There's some physical work involved, setup, teardown, moving equipment and materials, and a lot of meaningful interaction with visitors, artists, community members, donors, and volunteers.
About the Kelowna Art Gallery:
The Kelowna Art Gallery is one of the largest public art galleries in the BC Interior. We believe in the power of visual art to open conversations, shift perspectives, and bring people together. The person in this role plays a significant part in making that possible, not from behind the scenes, but right at the front door, every single day.
The Kelowna Art Gallery is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applications from self-identified members of underserved communities as well as visible and invisible minority groups.
We thank all who express interest in this position, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. No phone calls please. Position open until filled.
Please email a personal cover letter and resume to: hr@kelownaartgallery.com
