Now Hiring - Management Consultants for the Arts - Chief Marketing Officer - Alley Theatre in Houston, TX

Full description of the position

Photo by Lynn Lane - Michelle Elaine as Cynthia, Melissa Pritchett as Jessie, Adam Gibbs as Stan, and Luis Quintero as Oscar in Alley Theatre's production of SWEAT.BACKGROUND
The Alley Theatre, one of America's leading nonprofit theatres, is a nationally recognized performing arts company led by Artistic Director Rob Melrose and Managing Director Dean R. Gladden. The Alley produces up to 16 plays each year in its newly renovated Theatre, ranging from the best current work, to re-invigorated classic plays, to new plays by contemporary writers. The Alley is home to a resident company of actors. In addition, the Alley engages theatre artists of every discipline - actors, designers, composers, playwrights - who work on individual productions throughout each season as visiting artists. The recent renovation of the Alley's Hubbard Theatre created a new 774-seat state-of-the-art performance venue. Matched with the newly rebuilt 296-seat Neuhaus Theatre, the Alley offers nearly 500 performances each season. The Company reaches over 200,000 people each year through its performance and education programs. Its audience enrichment programs include pre-show and post-performance talks, events, and workshops for audience members of all ages.Artistic Director, Rob Melrose, is an award-winning director, writer, teacher, and translator with nearly two decades of creating productions ranging from experimental new plays to re-envisioned classics. Melrose places an emphasis on growing and strengthening the Alley Resident Company, increasing internal collaboration, continuing new play development, and producing work that is bold, innovative, and inclusive. Melrose was formerly the Artistic Director and Co-founder of Cutting Ball Theater in San Francisco and has worked nationally as a freelance director. He has professionally directed at some of the nation's top theaters including The Public Theater, The Guthrie Theater, The Old Globe, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and PlayMakers Rep. He has taught at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, USF, the University of Rhode Island, and Marin Academy. He has a BA in English and Theater from Princeton University and an MFA in directing from the Yale School of Drama.Managing Director, Dean Gladden, is in his 17th season with the Alley Theatre where he is responsible for the administrative, financial, marketing, facilities, and development aspects of the Theatre. His career in the performing arts spans over 40 years. Prior to joining the Alley, he was Managing Director at the Cleveland Play House for 19 years and was the Director of Arts Management Graduate Program at the University of Akron. During his career, he has overseen the production of over 300 plays, and produced internationally with theatres from Russia, Mexico, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Slovakia. Mr. Gladden holds a BA in Music from Miami University and a MA in Urban Arts Administration from Drexel University. He also graduated from the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program in Strategic Perspectives in Nonprofit Management. He has served on the Executive Committee of the League of Resident Theatres, Greater Houston Partnership, and was Vice President of the National Corporate Theatre Fund. He has led The Alley through multiple successes and challenges, including a major renovation, recovery from Hurricane Harvey, the pandemic, and (currently) a significant campaign to strengthen the Alley's endowment.Houston, Texas
Houston is one of the most vibrant cities in the United States and is the nation's fourth largest, with a population of over two million; the metro area has a population of over six million. The Bayou City - the nickname comes from its ten winding waterways - has a storied history as a boomtown as well as being a hub of commerce, arts and culture. If it were an independent country, Houston's economy would be the 30th largest in the world. Other than New York, no U.S. city has more Fortune 500 companies. Nonetheless, cost of living is low when compared with other major metropolitan areas - 8.3% below the national average. Other major arts institutions include Houston Symphony Orchestra, Houston Grand Opera, The Alley Theatre, The Museum of Fine Arts, and The Menil Collection. These and over 500 other arts and cultural organizations have thrived in this extraordinary place. Houston is a restaurant town and its residents eat out more than any other city in the country. It is also one of the youngest cities in the U.S. and its population is highly diverse, with over 145 languages spoken. Find more information on Houston here: [please apply online] CURRENT ENVIRONMENT
The Alley currently operates on an annual budget of $20MM with an earned / contributed ratio of approximately 48% earned and 52% contributed revenues. Annually they produce up to 16 productions, along with a festival of new works.The Alley Theatre's commitment to maintaining a Resident Acting Company has made the Alley unique among American theatre companies. The Alley's dedication to supporting the company actors ideal enables artists to deepen their work through long-term collaboration while strengthening their ties to the Houston community.The Alley has two venues: the Hubbard Theatre and the Neuhaus Theatre. The Hubbard Theatre is a thrust theater that seats 774 and the Neuhaus Theatre is a black box theater that seats 296. Both venues are in the same facility with volunteer ushers. Parking is on-site and concessions are managed in-house. In a typical season, there are approximately 207,000 attendees including 30,000 seats sold on subscription, and 190,000 single tickets sold. The average ticket price is $65 on subscription and $46 as a single ticket. Ticketing is handled in-house on Tessitura.The Alley's Education Program, Applied Theatre at the Alley, envisions a world in which the arts play a central role in creating healthy, experiential learning environments. The Alley's award-winning residencies and workshops enhance the existing core curriculum. Alley Theatre in-school programs teach theatre, the humanities and STEM through arts integration. The school programs create a psychosocial learning environment that boosts engagement and helps students of all learning styles succeed. Alley Theatre offers many opportunities for young performers to learn new skills and develop their talents both in and out of the classroom.El Z--calo (EZ) - Spanish for "town square," is the Alley Theatre's cornerstone community engagement program. El Z--calo was created to fill a void by creating Hispanic programming inspired by Houston's rich Hispanic legacies. The Theatre is creating and maintaining collaborative opportunities for Hispanic artists and community members to share their stories, explore their heritage and form meaningful connections that bridge the class and cultural divide that often exists between separate "neighborhoods." In its fifth year, El Z--calo has already seen immense growth and impact.Alley Theatre is committed to being an equitable, diverse, inclusive, anti-racist theatre. This process is iterative, on-going, and is never finished. This commitment is reflected in their work on stage, within the community and their workforce. The Alley's leadership team is committed to promoting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in all aspects of the Theatre's programming and operations. They are conscious about fostering an environment where everyone is encouraged to bring their authentic selves, embrace differences, and strive to be inclusive of all backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives.OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
The Chief Marketing Officer will join an organization with high artistic & production standards, robust financials, strong leadership, and a high-performing team. Among the opportunities for The Alley - and the next CMO - are these:Building audiences on The Alley's well-deserved artistic reputation.Engaging more deeply with Houston's diverse communities.In concert with the Alley's development team, build an even stronger base of patron loyalty.Finding innovative ways to enhance the patron experience in this extraordinary facility.Articulate the artistic vision of the organization and the value of the institution to the Houston community and beyond.Along with these opportunities, there are challenges the CMO must embrace:Most importantly, rebuilding the audience following the pandemic, with a keen focus on subscriptions as well as single ticket and group [please apply online] in Houston's increasingly competitive live performance environment.Balancing the communication needs and timelines of projects that support the goals of other departments.Filling some staff positions lost during Covid.POSITION AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The Chief Marketing Officer is one of several senior administrative staff positions at The Alley, including Development, Education and Community Engagement, Finance, Human Resources and Culture, and Information Technology. Each of these positions report to the Managing Director, although the CMO also works closely with the Artistic Director in messaging and visual images. This is a high-performing team, deeply committed to Excellence, Integrity, Kindness and Respect, Inclusion, and Innovation. The successful candidate for this position will have a strong, proven track record in audience development and will be a keen strategist. An understanding of data management, evaluation, and analysis is essential. Serious candidates will also have a track record of building and supporting a strong team and a keen understanding of all of the financial aspects of audience development, including budget planning and management.Responsibilities
The CMO has the following core responsibilities:Strategic planning and execution of all subscription and single ticket campaigns.Build, nurture, and support the marketing, communications, Guest Services and Front of House teams.Ensure accurate data capture and analysis for sales efforts.Oversee branding and communications.Manage efforts with outside consultants on efforts including patron loyalty, marketing research, pricing strategies, and telemarketing, etc.Develop and monitor earned revenue income budgets as well as expense budgets for all marketing and communications.Create effective social media programs that support the artistic value of each play as well as drive engagement.Ensure the marketing and communications team supports other administrative teams, including development, education and community engagement.Oversee the production of all communication materials used in traditional and online advertising, for public and press relations, as well as manage email and online content related to ticket sales. Directly manage the graphic design team and collaborate with video production and others in the artistic department.QualificationsIdeally, the successful candidate for this role will possess most of these skills and experiences:Extremely strong strategic planning and organizational skills evidenced by a proven track record of developing and implementing effective marketing strategies in organizations of significant size and scope.Minimum ten years of marketing/audience development experience, ideally in a nonprofit performing arts environment.A strong knowledge of and commitment to subscription audience development.Demonstrated ability to create, execute and measure successful strategic initiatives.A keen understanding of marketing principles, analytics, demand-based pricing, market segmentation, target marketing strategies, tactical execution, brand equity development and planning.Experience with quantitative analysis and research.Knowledge of social media platforms and strategies.Exceptional writing and editing skills as well as experience directing graphic design and video production.Excellent communication and negotiation skills.Knowledge of ticketing systems, ideally Tessitura (although not a prerequisite).Public speaking experience, such as presenting to a board, on-air interviews, formal teaching experience.Public relations experience, including press relations, speech writing, and overseeing promotional events.Experience supervising large teams as well as managing volunteers.The following personal attributes are also important to The Alley:A personal style that is positive, enthusiastic, transparent and confident.Someone who is organized and detail-oriented.A love of performing arts, particularly theatre.Delight in helping others achieve their best [please apply online] APPLICATION PROCEDURE, AND START DATE
The compensation package will be competitive with other theater companies of comparable stature and size. The minimum salary for this position is $120,000. The Alley has a robust benefits package including health/dental/vision/life insurance (largely employer subsidized), Flexible Spending Account, 401(k) after one year, EAP, paid vacation and sick leave, disability benefits and free parking. The final hiring decision will be made by the Managing Director in consultation with the Artistic Director and other members of the staff team. The Alley is desirous of making a hiring decision by Q4 of 2022, with the new Chief Marketing Officer onsite as soon thereafter as possible.HOW TO APPLY -David Mallette and Kate Scorza Ingram are make up the team from Management Consultants for the Arts leading the process. Interested and qualified candidates are encouraged to submit in complete confidence a cover letter, resum--, and four professional references to the consulting firm retained to conduct the search. The cover letter of no more than 1 - pages should describe why this post and organization is attractive and what will make the applicant a potentially strong leader of the marketing and communications team. Application materials should be submitted in .pdf format and have the applicant's name included as part of each file name using the online application system. Once all materials have been submitted online, the applicant will receive a confirmation of their submission via the email address provided in the application. For clarification on any of this information, please contact Christy Wall at [please apply online] .Sign up for announcements on current searches and news and updates from MCA.