Deputy Director - Tourism & Events

City of Scottsdale, AZ

• $125K — $170K *
Hospitality & Recreation
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Urban Planning, Economic Development, or related field.
  • Seven years of managerial experience in municipal government or a similar public-sector organization.
  • Experience supervising professional staff and administering programs and contracts.
  • Preferred experience in tourism, destination management, or economic development.
  • Preferred participation in relevant professional associations.

Responsibilities

  • Manage day-to-day operations of the Tourism and Events department.
  • Oversee major tourism and cultural contracts for the City.
  • Ensure performance accountability and alignment with strategic priorities.
  • Monitor and address issues with contracted partners proactively.
  • Translate policy and agreements into operational execution.

Benefits

  • Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision insurance.
  • Vacation, holiday, and medical leave.
  • Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program eligibility.
  • Commute Solutions Program with free transit passes and vanpool subsidies.
Full Job Description
Salary: $125,944.00 - $170,102.40 Annually
Location : One Civic Center - 7447 East Indian School Rd, Scottsdale, AZ
Job Type: Full-Time Regular
Job Number:
Division: Tourism and Events
Department: Tourism Development - Bed Tax
Opening Date: 10/02/2026
Closing Date: 10/16/2026 11:59 PM Arizona

Introduction
The Deputy Director of Tourism & Events serves as a key operational leader, providing day-to-day management of the department and oversight of the City's major tourism and cultural contracts. Reporting directly to the Senior Director, this role is responsible for ensuring consistent execution, performance accountability, and alignment with the City's strategic priorities. This position is central to the effective administration of Scottsdale's tourism and events portfolio. The Deputy Director oversees the City's relationships with its contracted partners, including Experience Scottsdale and Scottsdale Arts, ensuring contractual obligations are met, performance is monitored, and issues are identified and addressed proactively.
While the Senior Director serves as the City's primary strategic and external-facing leader, the Deputy Director ensures that departmental operations, contract administration, and team performance are executed with consistency, discipline, and attention to detail. This role requires a highly organized and thoughtful professional who can translate policy and agreements into day-to-day operations, manage competing priorities, and support a high-performing, accountable team environment.

NOTE: Please submit a cover letter describing your interest in the Deputy Director of Tourism & Events position and explaining how your professional experience has prepared you to succeed in this role.
Anticipated starting salary for this position may be up to mid-point depending on candidate's experience and internal equity. The full salary range is listed above and mid-point for this position is $147,950.40 annually.
Please note: Be sure to check your email junk/spam folders regularly for possible notifications and/or self-schedule interview invitations from Governmentjobs.
Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience
  • Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Urban Planning, Economic Development or related field from an accredited educational institution.
  • Seven years of progressively responsible managerial experience in municipal government or a comparably complex public-sector organization, including responsibility for supervising professional staff, administering programs and contracts, and coordinating work across organizational functions.
  • Any equivalent combination of education and/or job-related experience that meets the minimum qualifications may be substituted.
  • Preferred: experience in tourism, destination management, special events, economic development, marketing, cultural affairs or closely related field.
  • Preferred: Participation in relevant professional associations, including leadership roles.
Licensing, Certifications and Other Requirements
  • Must possess, at time of application, and maintain a valid, unrestricted driver's license with no major citations within the past 36 months prior to the start date. The Arizona Motor Vehicle Department requires that out-of-state driver's licenses must be surrendered within 10 days of relocating to the State of Arizona. Note: Graduated Driver's Licenses are considered restricted.
  • Every person employed by the City of Scottsdale shall reside in the State of Arizona during active employment by the city, regardless of whether the employee is approved for remote work.

Essential Functions

To view the job description and list of Essential Functions, click here
Work Environment/Physical Demands

To view the Work Environment/Physical Demands, click here

Selection Process:
The application and supplemental questions are an integral part of the selection process and must be completed in full in order for you to be considered as a candidate. Please complete each section and answer all questions as thoroughly as possible.DO NOT state "See Resume" in lieu of answering. Unanswered questions, incomplete responses, omissions, or partial information may result in disqualification from the selection process.

Applicants whose education, training and experience most closely meet the needs of the position may be invited to participate in a selection process that may include a panel interview. Successful candidates will receive a post-offer, pre-employment background screening that may include:
  • Fingerprinting search of the national FBI Database
  • Criminal Background screening


The City of Scottsdale reserves the right to change this process at any time, potentially without advance notice.

PLEASE NOTE: Years of experience are based on a work schedule of 2,080 hours per year for full-time positions and 1,040 hours per year for part-time positions, and while work experience may substitute for education on a year-for-year basis, depending upon the job classification, education may not be substituted for work experience.

Full-Time Positions:
The City of Scottsdale offers a comprehensive benefit package including vacation, holiday and medical leave as well as insurance for medical, dental, vision, life, short and long term disability insurance. For a more detailed overview of the employee benefits,

Part-Time Positions:
The City of Scottsdale offers paid medical leave for part-time staff.

Commute Solutions Program
City of Scottsdale provides free Valley Metro Platinum passes to employees for the bus and light rail systems when commuting; a vanpool subsidy is also available. Employees can decrease stress, decrease wear & tear on their vehicle, and help the environment all at the same time.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).
The City of Scottsdale is considered a qualified employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). You may find more information about the PSFL program by going to the Federal Student Aid website by clicking
01

Do you have a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Urban Planning, Economic Development or related field from an accredited educational institution?Note: the degree AND major must be listed in the education section of your application.
  • Yes
  • No

02

Do you have at least 7 years of progressively responsible managerial experience in municipal government or a comparably complex public-sector organization, including responsibility for supervising professional staff, administering programs and contracts, and coordinating work across organizational functions?Note: this job experience must be listed on your application.
  • Yes
  • No

03

Please describe your experience managing professional staff, working within or alongside local government, administering significant contracts or partnerships, and coordinating work across multiple departments or organizations.
04

Please indicate how you learned about this job opportunity with the City of Scottsdale.
  • City Website
  • Employee Referral
  • Facebook
  • Glassdoor
  • Governmentjobs.com
  • Indeed
  • Instagram
  • Job Fair (In-Person / Virtual)
  • Recruiter
  • Other

05

I understand that any communication for this recruitment may come via an email from governmentjobs.com and I will check my email junk/spam folders regularly for possible notifications and/or self-schedule interview invitations.
  • Yes
  • No

06

Did you remember to attach your Cover Letter to your application?
  • Yes
  • No

Required Question

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