Administrative Assistant, Events

The Toronto International Festival of Authors (TIFA) at Harbourfront Centre inspires and empowers book lovers with a breadth of bold, ambitious and accessible literary experiences. As Canada’s largest literary festival, the charitable organization provides engaging opportunities to meet, hear and learn from the world’s best contemporary writers and thinkers, and to celebrate the power of stories. Since 1974, TIFA has presented over 9,500 authors, including 22 Nobel Laureates, who represent diverse perspectives and a range of literary genres for all ages. TIFA’s creative programmes continue to adapt to changing times, capturing the most innovative and enlightening forms of storytelling, on stage and online. TIFA delivers a year-round programme of events and activities that reflect Toronto to its residents, its literature to the nation, and its creative ambition to the world. TIFA will launch its inaugural crime and mystery festival June 3–5, 2022; and celebrate the 43rd edition of the Festival September 22 to October 22, 2022. To learn more about us, please visit www.festivalofauthors.ca.

We are currently seeking a collaborative, detailed-oriented and organized Administrative Assistant, Events to assist in all aspects of event logistics and production, and with publisher and author communications and coordination in preparation for MOTIVE: Toronto’s Crime & Mystery Festival and for the 43rd Festival edition. The overall objective is to support the execution of TIFA’s programme of festivals, events, and activities and to strengthen TIFA’s relationship with members of the publishing community. This opportunity provides a unique introduction to the world of event coordination in the not-for-profit sector! 

 

Position Title: Administrative Assistant, Events

Reporting To: Senior Event Producer

Type of Employment: Contract (3 months), July 5 to October 11, 2022

Hours of Work: 35 hours per week (Monday to Friday)

Compensation: $16 per hour

Location: Toronto

Funding Support: This position is generously supported by  Canada Summer Jobs. As such, candidates must meet three specific criteria as found in the Requirements section of this posting.

 

Duties

Assist the Senior Event Producer with the following tasks:

•  Liaise with authors, publishers, and the publishing industry regarding events.
• Coordinate authors’ hotel reservations, travel arrangements, payments, and other duties involved with participant coordination.
• Prepare information packages for partners, staff, and production coordinators including agreements, contracts, and schedules. 
• Update databases to reflect all finalized event and participant information.
• Work with outside partners and Harbourfront Centre Departments and attending planning meetings as required.
• Take meeting minutes.
• Work in-person (in accordance with provincial guidelines) and digital events.
• Assist with other duties of a similar nature as required.

 

Requirements

• As this position is supported by Canada Summer Jobs, candidates must meet these 3 essential criteria: 1) Be no more than 30 years of age at the start of employment; 2) Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the duration of the employment; 3) Have a valid Social Insurance Number at the start of employment and be legally entitled to work in Canada in accordance with relevant provincial or territorial legislation and regulations.
• Completed courses, certifications or internship experience in the areas of arts administration, event planning, media, communications, or publishing are considered an asset. 
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to work/thrive in a fast-moving, collaborative environment.
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work independently and take initiative.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to balance multiple high priority projects simultaneously.
• Superior organization skills for detailed, timely and accurate project coordination.
• Ability to show tact and diplomacy when dealing with outside organizations, contacts, volunteers, and audiences.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite or equivalent.
• Experience working or volunteering in a not-for-profit environment is desirable.
• Knowledge of the arts and culture sector and/ or events industry is desirable. 
• Knowledge of Microsoft Teams and Zoom is considered an asset. 
• Knowledge of database systems and previous travel booking and hospitality experience is considered an asset. 
• Availability to work some evenings and weekends as needed to support events taking place during these times.
• Ability to manage occasional lifting of materials and event furniture for event set-up/strike down. 
• TIFA recognizes its heightened duty to protect employees from health and safety risks during the current pandemic. As such, an offer of employment shall be conditional on proof of full COVID-19 vaccination with a vaccine series approved by Health Canada or the World Health Organization.

Apply

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Our Values

Open
We’re friendly, welcoming and inclusive, with an experimental attitude that thrives on collaboration.

Brave
To achieve our bold ambition we empower and support imaginative risk and we always try to learn from our mistakes.

Rigorous
We are committed to excellence in all we do, ensuring every visitor encounter is safe, memorable and enriching.

Kind
We value and respect each other and all our visitors, celebrating difference and striving to realise potential.

How To Apply

TIFA values and is committed to diversity and inclusiveness in our teams, creative communities, programmes and services. We invite qualified applicants from all backgrounds to apply.

Acceptable applications must include a current resume and a cover letter outlining the qualifications and experience that you would bring to the position. Qualified applicants can submit their candidacy by contacting events@festivalofauthors.ca by no later than June 17, 2022. Please quote Administrative Assistant, Events in the subject line of the application.

We sincerely thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those being considered for an interview will be contacted. Suitable accommodations will be available upon request during the hiring process.