Event Planner

​The Canadian Association of Defence and Security (CADSI) is the national and international voice of Canada’s defence and security industry. Our members produce world-class goods and services across Canada. CADSI is looking for a high-performing individual to join the event operations service team. As part of joining this exciting award-winning team, this individual will be directly involved in coordinating and executing a wide variety of association professional development activities including the production of exceptional virtual and in-person professional development events, meetings, conferences and Canada’s largest defence and security tradeshow, CANSEC. Equally important in this role, CADSI’s event operations and this position will plan, organize, and produce events for Women in Defence and Security (WIDS), an operating committee of the association who promote the advancement of women leaders within the defence and security profession.  

 

As Event Planner, you’ll have the opportunity to be on a team creating and delivering high-quality programming for CADSI and our operating committee WiDS.  You will be tasked with bringing individual projects together in support of the association’s mission, vision, and objectives.  The successful candidate must be a highly motivated, self-starter, ready to dive in and work with a variety of teams to plan, organize and successfully execute the association’s professional development events.  Working within the event operations team, your duties will include providing operational event support to the core Event Operations team, and as is the case in such positions, to “roll up your sleeves and pitch in” as required to service the member and get the job done.  Our ideal candidate is a proven leader, an outstanding communicator possessing a tireless work ethic along with experience in event (& virtual event) planning and production, project management, managing budgets and service contractors in a fast-paced, high-performing and dynamic work environment.

The ideal candidate will possess and demonstrate skill sets and abilities in the following areas:

Key Responsibilities:

 

• Project and program management
• Communications and marketing support
• Social media and website management
• Proposal writing for corporate sponsorship and government funding
• Event planning and execution
• Directing and working with event facilities and various event service contractors
• Budget coordination, tracking and reporting to a variety of people
• Remotely supporting regional liaisons and events across the country
• Contributing to the creation and maturity of governance and project management processes
• Document management (experience using Microsoft Sharepoint considered an asset)
• Engaging and managing volunteer teams
• Working with the extended team at CADSI to leverage and align opportunities
• Engaging internal and external stakeholders at all levels of government and industry to facilitate effective cross-functional communication and support effective inter-organization planning and collaboration.
• Assisting in the planning and execution of CADSI’s domestic events portfolio when required (ie: CAF Outlooks, CANSEC and others).
• Assessing and managing program performance by using key indicators, reporting and presentation of findings and suggestions to committees and boards.

 

 Why you are right for this job:

 

• You have a genuine interest in the promotion and advancement of careers for women in the defence and security domains.
• You are eager to work and contribute to a medium-sized non-profit, mission-driven organization with room to evolve.
• You have a highly collaborative approach. You naturally build strong relationships and establish credibility with leaders and employees across the organization.
• You are a detail-oriented project or event manager with a proven track record of managing multiple projects and teams in a highly energized fast-paced environment.
• You have a growth mindset, and you’re excited for the opportunity to be both a leader and learner. The ideal candidate will have no issues in transferring the mindset from leader to helper between projects.
• You are an adept creative problem solver, anticipating roadblocks and risks and offering solutions while managing many concurrent priorities.
• You are an excellent leader who can manage yourself, coordinate with others, and build healthy collaborative teams.
• You embody CADSI and WiDS’ values of inclusion, learning, collaboration, open-mindedness, and teamwork.
• You demonstrate an understanding and can successfully work within various management styles.
• You are available, from time to time, to support events outside of typical office hours (evenings and weekends) and occasionally, outside of the National Capital Region.
• You are known for your sense of humour, interpersonal skills, and positive outlook.

 

Requirements:

• College or Undergraduate degree
• Minimum of 5 years project and/or event management experience.
• Strong oral and written communication skills including website and social media strategies and content management.
• Proficient in the planning and production of virtual events (webinars, seminars, conferences etc) on a variety of platform solutions.
• Sales or business development experience including proposal writing, grant writing, fundraising etc. would be considered an asset.

 

Working Conditions

Downtown climate-controlled office environment, frequent interruptions, flexible hours. Overtime may be required as well as local & international area travel. Long periods of sitting, eye and muscle strain may result from using office equipment and a computer. Lift up to 25 lbs.

To apply for this exciting leadership position, please submit your resume and related materials to: applications@defenceandsecurity.ca. Please state the name of the position in the subject line of your e-mail. We thank all applicants for their interest, however only those under consideration for the role will be contacted.

CADSI is committed to building diverse, equitable, inclusive, flexible, and accessible working environments. CADSI welcomes those who would contribute to the further diversification of staff including, but not limited to, women, racialized persons, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and persons of any sexual orientation or gender identity to apply.