The Community and Events Coordinator, leads community engagement and mascot programming to strengthen the Iowa Wild brand, overseeing outreach initiatives, donation fulfillment, volunteer programs, and year-round events while ensuring a dynamic, on-brand presence through Crash the mascot. This role also plays a key part in game presentation by supporting in-arena entertainment, coordinating ceremonial elements, assisting with scripts and production systems, and serving as stage manager to enhance the fan experience. By building strong community relationships, maximizing brand activations, and continuously innovating fan engagement strategies, the position is essential in driving revenue, deepening fan loyalty, and elevating the organization’s visibility and impact both on and off the ice.

Responsibilities/Essential Functions:

• Lead community engagement and mascot programming to strengthen the Iowa Wild brand presence.
  • Oversee Iowa Wild community activation, including educational and fan engagement programming.
  • Manage Iowa Wild mascot program including booking appearances and maintaining the cleanliness/quality of the costume.
  • Fulfill and track all donation requests submitted to the organization.
  • Represent Iowa Wild professionally and positively in all appearances and interactions with corporate partners, patrons, vendors, and fans.
  • Professionally interact with internal contacts, corporate partners, the community, and fans to promote the team and foster an environment of fun, goodwill, and support.
  • Assist in booking brand activation events throughout the season and offseason.
  • Manage, execute, and grow community programs such as Kid’s Club, Wild About Reading, Floor Hockey, and Donations.
  • Assist in the coordination and execution of year-round events and community appearances.
  • Manage the mascot’s schedule, appearance strategy, and on-brand representation to maximize impact.
  • Cultivate strong relationships with community groups helping grow brand presence.
• Assist in game presentation responsibilities.
  • Assist in choreographing concourse activations, community groups on concourse, including decorating concourse.
  • Assist Director of Game Presentation writing game format and public address scripts for each event including sponsored inventory deliverables, entertainment, community, team, and tickets informational elements, as well as fan engagement components.
  • Coordinate scheduling of hero of the games, kid captains, puck drop, and other theme-specific ceremonies such as the pink in the rink rose ceremony, military appreciation, etc.
  • Serve as the stage manager for Iowa Wild home games.
  • Assist in the creation and execution of new in-game elements, including theme night elements and sponsorship deliverables.
  • Learn Daktronics and Expressions systems and assist in uploading assets prior to games.
• Consistently monitor industry trends and continuously develop new fan engagement elements and features. 
  • Coordinate with marketing staff to understand current initiatives and identify opportunities to support them through the use of Crash.
  • Decide which appearances meet the mission of the organization and maximize revenue.
  • Maximize Crash’s appearances by effectively managing the schedule.
  • Use good judgment and make appropriate decisions regarding Crash’s appearances and schedule.
  • Respond to email and calls for requests in a timely manner from both internal departments and external contacts.
  • Develop and maintain a positive and creative social media image as Crash that aligns with current marketing and brand goals to engage fans through Crash’s Twitter and Instagram accounts.
• Design and maintain mascot performance elements to ensure quality, creativity, and engagement.
  • Design costumes and props that represent the Wild brand and enhance Crash’s reputation at games and appearances.
  • Network and maintain relationships with vendors for purchasing new costumes and maintaining existing ones.
  • Manage regular costume and prop maintenance and cleaning, including sewing and laundry.
  • Design choreography for Crash.
  • Stay up to date on the latest trends (e.g., viral videos, dances, music) through research and networking with other teams’ mascots.
  • Attend and participate in applicable game operations and event planning meetings.
  • Manage and maintain the vehicle used for traveling to events and appearances.
  • Support other Wild marketing initiatives and events as directed by Marketing leadership.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Position Requirements:

Formal Education & Certification:

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, Event Management, or Public Relations, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Knowledge & Experience:

• Previous experience in a community relations role or a programming role preferred.
• Computer and programming skills including Microsoft Office and Adobe Suites.

Personal Attributes:

• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Exhibits an outgoing and friendly personality.
• Innovative self-starter with the ability to be highly creative with good follow-up skills.
• Ability to multi-task, handle multiple projects simultaneously, and work under tight deadlines a must.

Work Conditions:

• Valid driver's license required.

• Ability to work nights, weekends and holidays as needed for games and events. 

• Physical requirements include sitting, walking, standing, bending, squatting, climbing, kneeling, twisting, lifting, grasping, etc. 
• Lifting up to 50 lbs.
• Benefits offered including Medical, Dental, Vision, Retirement, and a robust PTO policy.

ADA/EEO Statement:

Our company is committed to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you require an accommodation to participate in the application process or perform the essential functions of the job, please contact the People Team to request an accommodation. We will engage in an interactive process to assess your needs and provide appropriate accommodations to enable you to perform the essential functions of the position unless it would cause an undue hardship.

We are an equal-opportunity employer and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other legally protected status. It is our policy to provide equal employment opportunity for all employees and applicants for employment. We value diversity and inclusion in our workplace and promote a work environment that respects and supports individuals without bias.