ONTARIO VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
POSITION DESCRIPTION
TITLE: Event Program Specialist
REPORTS TO: Manager, Events & Sponsorship
LOCATION: Milton, Ont. (Hybrid)
SALARY: $79,000-$99,000 / 35 hours per week
TERM: Full-time
Position Summary
OVMA is host to Canada's largest annual veterinary conference, and the Event Program Specialist plays a central role in developing and delivering high-quality educational content across OVMA's conferences, webinars, and other learning programs. This role leads the coordination and delivery of conference programming developed by OVMA's conference committee and designated program leads, managing speakers and session materials, and helps to ensure an excellent educational experience aligned with the needs of the veterinary profession. A key focus is to increase member engagement, participation, and attendance across OVMA's educational programs and events.
This individual will coordinate speaker invitations and communications following program selection, develop and manage session materials, collect and edit speaker information and abstracts, and oversee key educational components. The role will work closely with committees, sponsors, speakers, and internal teams to develop cohesive and compelling programs from concept through execution. Strong writing, content development, project management, and relationship-building skills are essential.
The role will also support the marketing and promotion of OVMA's educational programming, working closely with the Communications team on email marketing, digital campaigns, and promotional materials. The ability to translate strong educational content into compelling messaging will be key to driving awareness, member engagement, participation, and attendance growth. This person will help take OVMA's conference to the next level by growing attendance, increasing member engagement, and creating a conference experience that members look forward to being part of.
Responsibilities
1) Program Development & Conference Programming
- Lead the planning, coordination and delivery of conference programs in partnership with OVMA's conference committee and designated program leads across all OVMA events.
- Support the conference committees in developing the True North Veterinary & the Great Ideas Conferences with their designated program lead.
- Recruit, coordinate, and manage speakers, including collecting speaker information, biographies, session abstracts, presentations, and other required materials.
- Manage symposium sessions and Showcase Stage content once sponsorship agreements are confirmed, including speaker coordination, abstracts, website content, publications, and AV requirements.
- Lead the development and coordination of webinar content and programming, including speaker management and logistics.
- Oversee Corporate Partner Program and breakfast series events including related content and event logistics.
- Manage CE program accreditation and RACE/CE approval processes.
- Ensure conference programming and educational content is accurate, timely, cohesive, and aligned with the needs of the veterinary profession.
2) Speaker Management & Event Content Logistics
- Manage all aspects of speaker logistics, including travel arrangements, accommodations, contracts, schedules, and onsite requirements.
- Coordinate speaker communications and ensure all required materials are received by established deadlines.
- Develop speaker promotional materials and graphics in collaboration with internal communications teams and relevant external vendors.
- Manage speaker content and materials across conference websites, publications, event platforms, and fulfill speaker & conference AV requirements.
- Lead AV planning and coordination for all conferences, working with speakers, AV partners, and internal teams to ensure technical requirements are met.
- Provide onsite support at conferences, including working alongside the speaker desk and assisting with speaker needs throughout the event.
3)
Content Marketing & Promotion
- Develop and execute strategies with internal communications team to effectively promote conference programming, speakers, educational sessions, and other event content.
- Manage event publications and promotional conference materials, including flyers, advertisements, newsletters, articles, speaker promotions, and onsite conference programs.
- Work closely with the Marketing & Communications team to ensure event messaging and promotional campaigns effectively communicate the value of conference programming.
- Create and coordinate branded content and graphics for speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, and educational programming.
- Apply strong writing, digital marketing, and content marketing skills to translate educational programming into compelling promotional content.
- Use digital advertising, marketing automation, and emerging event marketing techniques to support event promotion and audience engagement.
- Monitor registration trends and work with the Communications team to identify priority audiences, highlight relevant sessions and speakers, and adjust promotional efforts to support attendance goals.
- Work with the Events and Communications teams to ensure effective use of database data for event planning, engagement, and reporting.
4) Strategic Planning & Industry Expertise
- Stay informed on emerging trends, issues, and educational needs within the veterinary industry to inform conference content and programming.
- Develop a strong understanding of OVMA's audiences and share industry insights and attendee feedback with the committee, program leads and communications team - to guide speaker selection, session topics, and program development.
- Identify emerging topics, speakers, and content opportunities that will enhance the value and relevance of OVMA events.
- Contribute to long-term strategic planning for OVMA's conferences and educational programs.
- Build relationships with industry leaders, experts, and organizations to strengthen OVMA's content and programming network.
- Continuously evaluate conference content and attendee feedback to identify opportunities for improvement and innovation.
What We Are Looking For
- 5-7 years of experience in content development, event programming, communications, marketing, journalism, or a related field.
- 3-5 years of event experience, ideally with conferences, educational programs, or professional events.
- Bachelor's degree in business, Marketing, Communications, Journalism or a related field.
- Strong writing and content development skills, with the ability to create engaging and relevant educational programming.
- Experience managing speakers, committees, boards, and multiple projects or stakeholders.
- Strategic thinker with an interest in the veterinary industry and emerging trends in education and events.
- Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across teams and with committees.
What We Offer
- Pet-friendly office (obviously!).
- Fun (not awkward) team building activities.
- Summer hours.
- A culture that values work-life balance and employee well-being.
- Professional development opportunities.
- Opportunities for professional development and career growth.
- Exposure to both event management and financial operations, with mentorship across teams.
- A collaborative, supportive work environment.
- The chance to contribute to process innovation and data transformation projects.
- Work-life balance and flexible hybrid work arrangements.
