Project Manager - Nanaimo Fringe Festival Planning Framework

Our Organization
Pacific Coast Stage Company is a charitable, not-for-profit performing arts organization that presents the annual Nanaimo Fringe Festival. The festival celebrates independent theatre and performance, supports emerging and established artists, and brings accessible arts programming to the Nanaimo community.

Organization Mission
Pacific Coast Stage Company nurtures Central Vancouver Island’s emerging theatre artists and facilitates collaboration, development, and experimentation with all artists we work with, and are committed to the preservation of unbounded artistic freedom.

Project Summary
The Nanaimo Fringe Festival brings together artists, venues, volunteers, sponsors, local businesses, and audiences for an annual celebration of independent performance. While the festival has a strong track record of success, planning processes have varied from year to year, creating challenges with coordination, scheduling, and continuity between festival cycles. The Executive Director seeks a practical, integrated and repeatable festival project plan that combines the strengths of previous plans and captures lessons learned. The Volunteer Project Manager will help establish a connected planning framework for the 2027 festival and future editions, enabling clearer responsibilities, earlier decisions and more consistent delivery.

Required Qualifications
Minimum 5 years of Project management experience
Ability to link activities, milestones, dependencies, resources and accountabilities
Strong facilitation, communication and stakeholder engagement skills
Experience in event planning or nonprofit/community organizations is considered an asset
Experience with event planning, or community engagement initiatives is considered an asset
Ability to work collaboratively with diverse stakeholder groups including an Executive Director and volunteer teams
Strong organizational, planning, problem-solving and risk management skills

Scope of Work
Working with the Executive Director as project sponsor, the Volunteer Project Manager will review previous festival plans and lessons learned and develop an integrated planning package. This will connect major workstreams, timelines, dependencies, responsibilities, resource requirements, sponsorship and stakeholder engagement. The role focuses on planning tools and handover, not direct management of the festival or responsibility for event-day delivery.

Deliverables
Project Charter
Integrated festival master plan and linked schedule
Resource and responsibility plan (staff, volunteers, venues and key requirements)
Stakeholder map and engagement plan
Risk, issues and decision-tracking approach
Consolidated lessons learned and repeatable annual planning templates
Final planning package and Lessons Learned report

Accountability
The Volunteer Project Manager is accountable for the agreed planning deliverables and regular progress updates, reporting to the Nanaimo Fringe Festival Executive Director as project sponsor. Festival decisions, approvals and execution remain with the organization.

Additional Information
Applicant engagement and interviews may begin before the application deadline.
Candidates can be based in Nanaimo or elsewhere in BC; this position is remote.

Project Management Volunteers (PMV) Sponsored Project
This is a PMV sponsored project. The Project Manager will enter into a 3-way partnership between the Client organization, the Project Manager, and PMV. This will include additional responsibilities and benefits for the Project Manager. Project Manager applicants, please review the PMV Project Services Agreement .
Benefits	Responsibilities
Project mgmt. support from PMV representative	Review the Project Services Agreement
Access to PMV’s project templates inventory	Completing Project Charter
Invitation to networking opportunities	Completing Project Status updates