Career Opportunity: Development Officer, Individual Giving (Werklund Centre)

DATE : January 16, 2026

DEADLINE: February 2, 2026 - 11:30 pm

At a glance

Employment: Permanent, Salaried
Hours: FT (40 hrs); includes overtime, weekend and evening work as based on a schedule of shows and events
Start Date: ASAP
Salary: $60,000 - $75,000 annually
Location: Calgary (on-site)

Closing Date: Monday, February 2, 2026

To apply, send your resume and cover letter to: employment@werklundcentre.ca

Job Description: 

Reporting to the Director, Development, the Development Officer, Individual Giving is responsible for building and stewarding meaningful relationships with Werklund Centre’s individual donors. As a donor-centric fundraiser, you help grow and sustain the individual giving portfolio and programs through thoughtful planning, management, and engagement.

Passionate about philanthropy, you understand the power of personal connection in inspiring support. You identify, cultivate, and steward relationships with individual and mid-level donors, ensuring they feel valued, informed, and connected to the impact of their giving. Working collaboratively across teams, you plan and execute donor events, support fundraising initiatives, track donor activity, and ensure accurate reporting, while contributing to the overall advancement objectives of the organization; and at all times representing Werklund Centre with professionalism and integrity.

Who we are:

Werklund Centre (formerly Arts Commons) is the steward of Western Canada’s largest arts centre and the artistic and civic cornerstone of Calgary’s downtown core that fosters the arts through live performance, educational opportunities, and artist development. For 40 years, it has been a key contributor to the social, economic, cultural, and intellectual life and well-being of Calgarians—a commitment that is being renewed through the Werklund Centre Transformation project, the largest cultural infrastructure project in Canadian history.

Our belief

• That equitable access to the arts is a human right

Our responsibility

• To redefine a bold and adventurous Calgary by championing and investing in creativity

Our mission

• To be an inspirational force where artists, community and organizations celebrate cultural identities, experience the full breadth of human emotions, and ignite positive change

What we offer:

Employee Promise

We cultivate a diverse community that encourages collaboration, connection, and empowerment. On top of the excitement of working with a team of committed performing and visual arts professionals & enthusiasts at one of Canada

• A collaborative, engaging and values driven work environment
• An annual salary in the range of $60,000 - $75,000
• A comprehensive health and dental benefits package, with RSP matching and access to an Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP)
• A positive working culture, keeping employee health and wellness a priority with generous paid time off policies and an annual lifestyle allowance
• A dynamic role that will have you engaging with the arts and communities in many different areas, and through different types of events and productions

What we value:

We are looking for individuals who share our vision of building a creative and compassionate society, inspired through the arts. Our team is made up of people with a diverse range of interests — singers, actors, musicians, playwrights, coaches, teachers, gamers, bakers, photographers, athletes, dancers. People whose interests encompass the widest spectrum. We even have furry, four-legged friends in the office. We value people who strive to do the right thing, and work to be their best. People with open minds, hearts, and arms.

What you will get to do here:

Thriving in a dynamic and fast-paced environment, the Development Officer, Individual Giving supports the growth and sustainability of Werklund Centre by advancing donor relationships and delivering meaningful engagement experiences. You will develop and implement communication, marketing, and event strategies that strengthen individual giving programs and inspire philanthropic support.

In this role, you will lead donor relations and manage a portfolio of individual philanthropic donors (under $25K), ensuring thoughtful stewardship, timely communication, and personalized engagement. You act as a key connector between donors and the organization, helping them feel informed, valued, and connected to the impact of their giving.

Working closely with the VP, Advancement, and the Director, Development, you contribute to the design and execution of individual giving strategies that align with the organization’s advancement goals. You steward your portfolio with care, professionalism, and a friendly, approachable manner; balancing strategic planning with personalized outreach. In collaboration with internal teams and external suppliers, you create, plan, and execute donor engagement events, and additional campaign-related activities. You also ensure departmental and organizational goals are met through collaboration, consultation, and clear communication.

Strategic Goals: 

Strengthen Werklund Centre’s individual giving programs by fostering lasting donor relationships, enhancing engagement strategies, and advancing the organization’s philanthropic vision.

Where you fit within our ecosystem:

As part of the Development & External Relations team, this position partners with internal colleagues to build lasting relationships with external stakeholders and secure financial support for Werklund Centre’s operating and capital priorities. The team’s work includes government and stakeholder relations, government and foundation grants, corporate sponsorships, individual and corporate philanthropic gifts, and special event management. The Development Officer, Individual Giving collaborates closely with the Event Services, Production, Marketing, and Programming teams as well as external suppliers to ensure seamless operation and execution of events catered to donor retention and growth.

You will be a great fit if you…

Must haves:

• Minimum 3+ years of experience in a fund development role or similar experience
• A successful record of identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of individual philanthropic donos
• Demonstrates strong administrative, analytical and organizational skills necessary to prioritize and manage concurrent assignments
• Keen understanding of philanthropy and donor engagement best practices
• Experience with execution of donor stewardship events
• Strong interpersonal and relationship‑building skills
• Strong written, verbal and presentation skills with a high degree of initiative, self-motivation and an entrepreneurial spirit
• Proven ability to successfully address challenges and change in reaching operating and project campaign goals
• Experience with software packages such as Excel, Access, PowerPoint and Word
• Positive attitude and comfortable working in collaborative environments
• Values and Patron Service driven
• A knowledge of, and passion for the arts!

Nice to have:

• Experience and is proficient with Tessitura, or other donor management systems an asset
• Experience with donor marketing plans and implementation, including creating content and campaign assets
• Experience working with arts organizations

Working Conditions & Physical Requirements:

• Event duty as required, which includes evening and weekend work according to a schedule of events and position responsibilities for these events
• Lifting of boxes up to 25lbs. when setting up for donor events

If you are interested in applying to this exciting opportunity, please forward your resume and cover letter in confidence to:

Human Resources
Werklund Centre
205 - 8th Ave SE Calgary, Alberta T2G 0K9
Email: employment@werklundcentre.ca

Interviews will be conducted on an on-going basis and the job posting will officially close when a suitable candidate is found. For best consideration, please apply by the deadline date. While we hope to fill this position as earliest as possible, our commitment to finding the right candidate may require more time.

We thank all interested applicants in advance but will only be contacting those selected for an interview.

If you have any specific questions to ask in relation to the role, please send them to the email address above and a member of our team will do our best to respond to you in a timely manner.

Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility 

As part of our organization’s commitment to IDEA, we work to remove barriers in collaboration with a broad range of voices. Removing these barriers begins with the hiring process. To that end, we are committed to recruiting, hiring, training, and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds, and providing accessible employment practices. Requests for accommodation can be made at any stage of the recruitment process, and applicants are asked to make their accommodation needs known.

We strongly encourage applicants who identify as part of underrepresented groups, including women, people of colour and those with disabilities to apply. Even if your past experiences do not align perfectly with every qualification, we strongly encourage you to apply anyway! An excitement and passion for Werklund Centre can go a long way here, whether it’s in this role or another