Tourism Development Advisor

The Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage supports communities across the province to be welcoming, inclusive, and accessible, providing a great quality of life for Nova Scotians and a memorable experience for visitors. We value the collective diversity of our heritage and our people and believe in the transformative nature of culture to help create healthy, active, growing communities.

Tourism Nova Scotia, a division of CCTH, is focused on attracting visitors to the province and maximizing the value of tourism to Nova Scotia’s economy through experience and sector development, business coaching, marketing, and visitor servicing. This work is guided by the Tourism Sector Strategy for Nova Scotia, a shared strategy with industry and partners that aligns efforts around a vision for sustainable, year-round tourism growth.

As a Tourism Development Advisor, you will play a key role in advancing Nova Scotia’s tourism sector by leading the development of market-ready tourism experiences and destinations that align with visitor demand, travel trends, and strategic priorities. Working as part of the Experience Development team, you will implement product and experience development initiatives that enhance the quality, competitiveness, and distinctiveness of Nova Scotia’s tourism offerings.

In this role, you will provide advisory services and coaching to tourism operators, non-profit organizations, and communities; design and deliver tourism capacity-building tools, resources, and development programs; evaluate tourism investment opportunities; and support research and planning initiatives that inform product and experience development. You will also build strong partnerships across industry and government to advance strategic development opportunities.

This position operates in a dynamic, relationship-driven environment and requires strong facilitation, collaboration, communication, and strategic thinking skills, along with the ability to manage multiple priorities. This position reports to the Manager, Experience Development.

Primary Accountabilities

As the Tourism Development Advisor, you will:

• Lead and implement tourism product and experience development initiatives that improve the quality, sustainability, and market-readiness of Nova Scotia’s tourism offerings.
• Support communities, industry, and other levels of government in the preparation and implementation of strategic tourism plans.
• Provide coaching and advisory services to tourism businesses, communities, and organizations to support planning, tourism development, and market alignment.
• Design, deliver, and implement development programs across their full lifecycle, including application intake, evaluation, stakeholder coordination, contract management, monitoring, and reporting.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with tourism businesses, industry stakeholders, community organizations, and federal, provincial, and municipal partners to advance development priorities.
• Evaluate tourism-related proposals and investment opportunities, providing analysis and recommendations aligned with strategic objectives.
• Lead or support creation of tourism development resources to inform decision making, including industry capacity-building resources and research initiatives in collaboration with internal teams and external partners.
• Contribute to departmental communications, including briefing notes, stakeholder correspondence, presentations, and participation in industry events and committees.

Qualifications and Experience

To be successful in this role, you have:

• A bachelor’s degree in Tourism, Public Relations, Business, Community Development or related field plus one (1) year of tourism development experience focussing on tourism product and/or destination development.
• Strong facilitation, interpersonal, relationship-building, and stakeholder engagement skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across communities, sectors, and partners.
• Demonstrated project management skills and strategic orientation, with the ability to lead initiatives, manage multiple priorities, and deliver results.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Experience managing meetings, handling complex or sensitive situations, and representing an organization in a professional capacity.
• Experience managing projects and administering programs, including coordinating multiple priorities and timelines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience preparing briefing materials, tourism development resources, and delivering presentations.
• Demonstrated analytical and problem-solving skills, with the ability to evaluate proposals and information to make sound recommendations.
• The ability to exercise sound judgement, discretion, and professionalism in a government or client-service environment.
• Experience using Microsoft Office 365 applications and digital tools.

While not required, it is considered an asset if you possess:

• Public sector experience, including knowledge of public sector policies, programs, and services.
• Ability and willingness to travel (valid driver’s license considered an asset).
• Written and verbal communication skills in French.

Candidates may be assessed using one or more of the following tools: written examination, standardized tests, oral presentations, interview(s), and reference checks.

An equivalent combination of training, education and experience will be considered. Applicants relying on education and experience equivalencies must demonstrate such equivalencies in their application.

Based on the employment status and union agreement, the Government of Nova Scotia offers its employees a wide range of benefits such as a Defined Benefit Pension Plan, Health, Dental, Life Insurance, General illness, Short and Long Term Disability, Vacation and Employee and Family Assistance Programs.

Normal work week is 35 hours/week, 7 hours/day. May be required to work overtime on occasion.

Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the citizens we serve. The Government of Nova Scotia has an Employment Equity Policy, and we welcome applications from Indigenous People, African Nova Scotians and Other Racially Visible Persons, Persons with Disabilities and Women in occupations or positions where they are under-represented.

We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. Candidates may request accommodations based on any grounds protected by the Human Rights Act.

Offer of employment is conditional upon the completion of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials, the results of which must be satisfactory to the employer. We thank all applicants for the interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.