Jazz Festival director Arne Herrmann is leaving his job and Tauranga after a decision to downscale the event.
Mr Herrmann, who has been director of the festival for the past four years, has not had his annual contract renewed.
The society is advertising the position but he said he would not be applying.
"When I was contracted in 2009, they wanted me to grow it and give it more impetus. Now they want to bring it back again. It's not what they need me for," he said.
"The society has been quite clear the next festival will be a lot smaller, potentially without international musicians. That's not what I want personally and professionally ... it's not along my pathway."
Mr Herrmann, his wife Lisa and their two children, would be moving to Auckland when his present contract ran out in July.
The Jazz Festival, which this year celebrated its 50th anniversary, came under criticism after recording a deficit for the second year in a row and failing to pay some performers until 12 days after the event.
But Mr Herrmann believed this year's festival was the "greatest ever seen in New Zealand".
"From my point of view it was a good set up. We are working in a challenging economic climate at the moment, but I like working in challenging environments. Based on the fact that Tauranga has got one of the oldest jazz festivals, it should aim to do everything ... whether it sits in a provincial centre like Tauranga, Auckland or Wellington."
Mr Hermann said he was surprised Tauranga City Council was not able to be more supportive, following its initial "substantial" funding of $120,000.
He had hoped the council, as one of its major creditors, would defer payment in the weeks following the festival while the society established the actual size of the deficit, which turned out to be $30,000.
"We went to our city fathers requesting some support and except for a shoulder shrug, there was no support offered," he said.
Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby said Jazz festival boss not returning
the festival's financial failings were the responsibility of the organisers.
"When you get events the size and scale of the Jazz Festival, it needs to be run as a business. We had a commercial arrangement with them and we stuck to that. We're not an endless pit of money.
"It was ratepayer funded. It was an arrangement ... and they [organisers] need to take responsibility for that, not the ratepayers," he said.
Tauranga City Council would continue to support the event in future, Mr Crosby said, but it needed to change to ensure it was attractive to its fans.
But Mr Hermann believed downsizing the festival would result in the loss of millions of dollars worth of revenue to the city.
"Money was flowing into the city. What is going to happen to that benefit?"
Mr Herrmann, who moved to Tauranga with his family for a "lifestyle change", was previously the marketing director for the New Zealand International Arts Festival in Wellington for four years, prior to which he lived in Auckland for eight years after emigrating from his native Germany.
Tauranga Jazz Society president Darryl Haigh said the society had decided to take the festival "in a different direction".
"We had a loss this year and we had a loss last year. It was time to look at it as to where we're going," Mr Haigh said.
"We couldn't run that risk of another loss with big expenditure. It will still be a major festival and it will be in the tradition of what we have had in the past but we are not going for big overseas names from Europe, America and the UK."
The society would aim for a "conservative, controlled, entertaining and affordable" festival. Applications for the director's role close at the end of the month.