Marketing Director

Job Description: Marketing Director

Bass Coast Festival  •  Full-Time  •  Reports to CEO / Music Director  •  Remote, with annual on-site attendance in Merritt, BC (July)

OVERVIEW

Bass Coast is an artist-owned electronic music and arts festival held annually in Merritt, BC. Since 2009, it has earned a reputation within the underground electronic music community for forward thinking programming, immersive visual art, and a culture built around consent, harm reduction, and genuine community care. It has twice earned Best Boutique Festival in North America from DJ Mag and Change Maker of the Year from Women in Music Canada. The Bass Coast audience are loyal tastemakers: knowledgeable, committed to authenticity, and looking for something beyond the mainstream.

We are looking for a Marketing Director to lead a team of six and take direct ownership of ticket sales and revenue. The team includes a campaign designer, graphic designer, social media manager, special events coordinator, photo and video manager, and street team manager. This is a senior leadership role with accountability across revenue performance, marketing strategy, and the operational systems that allow the team to deliver consistently. An understanding of where Bass Coast sits within the broader electronic music landscape, and what that means to the people who attend, is essential to this role.

THE OPPORTUNITY

You will take direct ownership of ticket sales and have a measurable hand in the success of the festival each year. You will lead a talented, creative team and build the structure that allows them to do their best work with greater consistency. You will help shape how Bass Coast grows, with the expectation that increased reach never comes at the expense of the independent spirit that makes it special.

This is a role for someone who wants to:

• Build the structure and support that allows a strong team to work with greater consistency and impact
• Lead that team through a period of growth with clarity and care
• See a direct connection between their decisions and ticket sales, audience growth, and overall success

Success means a marketing function that is focused, financially accountable, and effective at building culture and converting audience trust into attendance. This audience cannot be bought, so the work is to create genuine opportunities to connect and earn their attention over time.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Sales and Revenue

• Own ticket sales from strategy through execution: set revenue targets with leadership, track pacing weekly, and adjust tactics to hit numbers.
• Lead all on-sale campaigns across ticket tiers, including early bird, general admission, and VIP.
• Report on sales performance to the Festival Director / COO with clear data and recommendations.
• Monitor competitive pricing and market conditions in the Canadian festival landscape.

Marketing Strategy and Planning

• Own the annual marketing strategy: campaign calendar, channel mix, messaging framework, and budget allocation.
• Set and track KPIs across all channels; report performance to the Festival Director / COO with clear recommendations.
• Plan and execute campaigns around key milestones: ticket launches, lineup reveals, artist announcements, festival build-up, and post-festival engagement.
• Stay current on marketing trends and audience behaviour in the underground electronic music and festival space.

Team Leadership and Systems Building

• Direct, support, and coordinate the marketing team: Social Media & Ads Manager, Graphic Designer, Campaign Designer, and Street Team Manager (p/t), Special Events Coord (p/t), plus short-term contracts for Photo Manager and Video Manager.
• Build and implement the operational systems this team needs: workflows, briefing processes, review cycles, and clear accountability structures.
• Set deliverables, timelines, and briefs. Check in regularly and address gaps before they become problems.
• Support the team through the shift to more structure with patience and directness. Bass Coast has a culture of care; this role holds that while raising the bar.
• Run a tight production schedule so deadlines are met without last-minute scrambles.

Digital Advertising and Growth

• Plan and manage paid digital campaigns across Meta, Instagram, TikTok, and Google to drive ticket sales and audience growth.
• Manage ad spend within the approved marketing budget, optimizing for performance throughout the campaign cycle.
• Oversee email marketing strategy and execution in coordination with the social media manager.
• Ensure website and landing pages support campaigns effectively; flag updates to the relevant team members.

Direct and Community Marketing

• Direct the street team program and on-the-ground initiatives to reach the underground music community where they gather.
• Build and maintain relationships with aligned artists, collectives, record stores, venues, and community spaces.
• Identify cross-promotion opportunities that fit Bass Coast’s values and audience.
• Understand that word-of-mouth and community trust are central to how Bass Coast grows, and make decisions accordingly.
• Create ‘out of the box’ opportunities to introduce Bass Coast to wider audiences

Brand and Content Direction

• Ensure all marketing output is consistent with Bass Coast’s voice, visual identity, and cultural values.
• Work in consultation with the music curation team on all content representing artists, genres, and music culture to ensure accuracy and authenticity.
• Work in consultation with the art director to ensure all content looks and feels in line with our creative and artistic values.
• Brief and review content created by the design, photo, and video teams.
• Various duties as required: with a small and dynamic team, new initiatives arise regularly. Flexibility and the ability to shift focus are an integral part of this role.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

• Minimum 5 years of experience in a Marketing Director role with direct team management responsibility.
• Genuine knowledge of and respect for underground and independent music culture.
• Proven experience owning sales or revenue targets in a marketing context, with a track record of hitting them.
• Experience building operational systems in a team by introducing workflows, accountability structures, briefing and review processes.
• Demonstrated ability to support people through organisational change with care and directness.
• Experience managing marketing campaigns from strategy through execution, ideally in music, events, or entertainment.
• Experience leading a small team: setting direction, managing timelines, giving feedback, and holding people accountable.
• Hands-on experience running paid digital campaigns, including ad buying and performance analysis.
• Strong grasp of grassroots and community marketing methods beyond digital channels.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to keep yourself and the people around you on track.
• Clear, confident written communication. You can write a brief, a campaign concept, or a social caption and they all sound like Bass Coast.
• Direct experience in the electronic music scene or at an independent festival is a strong asset.
• Existing relationships within the BC or Canadian underground music community is a strong asset.
• A passion for music, arts, and cultural events is essential.
• Must be legally eligible to work unrestricted in Canada.

HOW TO APPLY

Bass Coast Project Ltd is an equal opportunity employer offering a fair, co-operative, respectful, safe, and healthy work environment. We conduct hiring on the basis of employment equity. Employment equity is designed to compensate for the nonexistence of a level playing field with regard to people’s experiences and job qualifications, given structural injustices and systemic discrimination that marginalize certain groups.

Bass Coast welcomes and encourages applications from Indigenous people, Black people, people of colour, women, LGBTQ2SIA+ people, people with disabilities, people living in poverty, and newcomers to Canada.

Send a resume and cover letter to the attention of the hiring team. In your cover letter, please address the following two questions. There are no right answers - we want to understand how you think.

1. EDM as a commercial genre has grown enormously over the past decade while underground electronic music has maintained a distinct identity. Where do you see that tension playing out right now, and how does it affect how you think about marketing to our audience?
2. Describe a time you introduced a new structure or accountability system to a team. How did you bring people along, and what did you learn about the difference between systems that help and systems that get in the way?

If you have a portfolio of relevant work, please include a link or attach samples.

COMPENSATION AND TERMS

• Employment type: Full Time Employee, Remote, with annual on-site attendance in Merritt, BC (July) and occasional in person meetings.
• Hours: 40 hours per week
• Required Availability: Monday to Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm with occasional availability requested on weekends
• Compensation: $80,000–$95,000, with potential bonus structure tied to ticket sales performance.
• Probation Period: 6 months.
• Benefits: Extended health and dental benefits begin upon successful completion of probation
• Vacation & Sick days: 15 vacation days and 5 sick days annually.
• Holiday Closure: Bass Coast shuts down for 5 paid days over the Christmas/New Year period, in addition to your vacation entitlement.
• Location: Remote, with annual on-site attendance required at the festival in Merritt, BC (July 8-14, 2026)
• Start date: As soon as the right person is available
• Reports to: CEO / Music Director