Williamstown Theatre Festival
New York, NY
US

DESCRIPTION

POSITION: Marketing & Communications Director

CLASSIFICATION: Year-Round, Full-Time

STATUS: Exempt

REPORTS TO: Managing Director, Strategy & Transformation

SUPERVISES: Marketing & Communications Manager, seasonal marketing team, and various

consultants

COMPENSATION: $120,000 - $140,000, commensurate with experience

LOCATION: Preference is for this individual to be NYC-based. Position requires relocating to

Williamstown, MA from June to August, during which housing is provided.

HIRING TIMELINE: Applications to be accepted until the position is filled with a priority application

deadline of October 18. Application review and interviews are to be conducted starting October 21 with an anticipated start date in November.

Job Summary

The Williamstown Theatre Festival is seeking a creative and strategic Marketing & Communications Director to lead the marketing, communications, and audience development efforts for a 70+ year old nonprofit organization in a period of exciting growth and transformation. Reporting to the Managing Director, Strategy & Transformation, this position is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the marketing department to deliver compelling marketing campaigns, content, and communications that support revenue growth, advance the Festival’s new brand, and develop new audiences. This role also works closely with colleagues from across the organization to ensure the institution’s branding and communications are reflective of the Festival’s mission and values. Duties include:

Creative and Brand Development

- Actively collaborate with senior-level staff on programming and season planning.
- Lead the development, implementation, and consistency of the new brand, ensuring its design integrity as defined by guidelines of the new brand across the organization.
- Oversee external vendors including design, brand, digital/website design, press/publicity, digital media, printing/mailing, and photography/videography, ensuring brand consistency.
- Oversee the development of performance venue branding and identify any in-venue experiential opportunities for patrons attending the Festival in collaboration with the Experience team.
- Embrace other creative and brand development responsibilities as needed.

Community Visibility and Earned Revenue

- Ideate, develop, and manage the Festival’s communication strategy and marketing plan, including goal/priority setting, target audiences, positioning, and key messaging.
- Support marketing and communication efforts across the organization, including development and community partnership needs.
- In conjunction with an outside press agency, support partnerships and working relationships with local, national, and international media to ensure positive coverage and expand brand reach, serving as a media spokesperson when needed.
- Negotiate media placement, marketing sponsorships, and promotional partnerships.
- Drive the development of all physical and digital assets and content that are designed to promote performances/programming, increase overall brand awareness, and advance the Festival.
- Collaborate with the Assistant Managing Director and other team members on ticket income strategy and pricing.
- Develop and oversee the strategy for new earned income streams, including, but not limited to, merchandising, licensing development, partnerships, corporate sponsorships, and ad revenue.
- Devise and lead the audience development/diversification efforts for the Festival, identifying and activating opportunities to engage new audiences and build community.
- Develop a thorough knowledge of Festival history, relationships, and venues and serve as one of the primary ambassadors for the organization.
- Embrace other earned revenue and community visibility responsibilities as needed.

Data Analytics and Financial Accountability

- Define key performance indicators and measures while taking into consideration industry/product trends and track the effectiveness of marketing and communications strategies and related campaigns.
- Regularly conduct and analyze audience and market research to assess audience satisfaction, understand demographic and psychographic profiles, and hone tactics for increasing audience size and market footprint.
- Establish and reinforce standardized reporting metrics to provide business intelligence regarding direct response rates and website data analytics.
- Create and manage department budgets and work closely with the Finance Director to track and forecast income and spending.
- Embrace other data analytics and financial accountability responsibilities as needed.

Team Building and Internal Communication

- Recruit, train, and lead a marketing team that currently consists of a year-round Marketing & Communications Manager, summer seasonal assistants, and external vendors.
- Manage the performance of and inspire a results-driven environment for the marketing and communications team.
- Effectively delegate, actively initiate, and personally complete marketing projects.
- Establish and maintain productive and collaborative working relationships with senior staff and board members.
- Collaborate with the Development Director to ensure necessary support for fundraising and organizational advancement initiatives.
- Provide strategic marketing and public relations support for all partnership programs.
- Share research and results, revenue and expense projections, and other marketing updates with the marketing team, senior staff, and board committees as required.
- Initiate additional promotions for events that experience lagging sales in a committed effort to achieve attendance and revenue goals.
- Embrace other team building and internal communication responsibilities as needed.

Key Traits and Characteristics

As the organization enters a new chapter, the Marketing & Communications Director will be a visionary leader, providing focused and strategic leadership that is grounded in collaboration, rigor, curiosity, and joy. They will exhibit a learner’s mindset, with a healthy disregard for the status quo, a penchant for experimentation, and a relentless curiosity. They will be a collaborative senior leader and an organized project manager with a robust understanding of organizational culture and change management. They will effectively communicate, both internally and externally, with a directness that aligns stakeholders and achieves desired outcomes.

Other expectations include:

- Embrace the Festival’s commitment to EDIA and Anti-racism by actively participating in and encouraging behaviors among staff members that exemplify respect; interrupting microaggressions and other behaviors that hinder our EDIA and Anti-racism efforts; engaging in the diversification of the workforce; and demonstrating a degree of cultural competency that encourages healthy relationships with all company members.
- An essential function of this job is in-person work in NYC during the non-summer months with in-person work in Williamstown, MA for the months of June, July, and August.

Preferred Qualifications

- 5+ years of senior marketing experience, preferably with a company that has undergone transformation (significant change) and/or growth
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills; ability to craft and deliver clear, accurate, and engaging messaging, whether for marketing purposes or in the regular course of business
- Excellent interpersonal skills; ability to collaborate and facilitate conversations with a variety of stakeholders, including artists, press, vendors, board members, and staff
- Previous experience with and fluency in the craft and process of design
- Previous experience leading a team, fostering a cooperative work environment, and positively influencing others to perform their jobs effectively
- Ability to think strategically, generate new ideas, handle multiple projects simultaneously, set priorities, execute goals and objectives, and meet financial goals and deadlines
- High aptitude for CRM systems and data analysis
- Proficiency in G Suite software (Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, etc)
- Proficiency with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other social media platforms, as well as digital media and website reporting dashboard systems
- Familiarity with Figma, Adobe Creative Suite, or other design software
- Familiarity with MailChimp or other email marketing software
- Familiarity with WordPress or other web publishing software
- Familiarity with project management software
- Ability to manage multiple projects at once
- Experience interacting with artists in a close capacity
- Ability to manage confidential information and use discretion when handling specific tasks

Compensation & Benefits Package

Compensation range is $120,000 - $140,000, commensurate with experience. Benefits package includes 25 days of flexible time off; 10 office holidays, plus one week in August at the conclusion of the summer season and the days between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day; health and dental insurance with employer contribution; option to contribute to 403(b) with company match after 1 year of employment; and summer season housing provided.

To apply: Please submit a resume and cover letter through our employment portal (Paylocity) outlining how your background and experience sets you up for success in this position and what you would hope to bring to this role. We appreciate the value of myriad life and work experiences, and we recognize that many paths might adequately prepare someone for this role. We encourage anyone who believes they would be a good fit to apply.

About Williamstown Theatre Festival

Williamstown Theatre Festival has brought emerging and professional theater artists together for 70 years to create a thrilling summer festival of world premiere work alongside fresh, new revivals. New plays and musicals commissioned, developed, and produced at the Festival fill theaters around the world. In recent years, WTF has been represented on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally by The Sound Inside, The Rose Tattoo, Grand Horizons, Seared, Selling Kabul, Unknown Soldier, and Lempicka, among others. Cost of Living, which premiered at WTF, received the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Learn more at wtfestival.org.

Working and Living in Williamstown

Williamstown Theatre Festival’s season takes place on the beautiful campus of Williams College in Williamstown, MA with backdrops of the Berkshire, Green, and Taconic mountain ranges. Williamstown, MA (estimated pop. 7,813) is located in Berkshire County (estimated pop. 128,657) in Western Massachusetts and is an hour’s drive from Albany, NY and 30 minutes from Pittsfield, MA.

The Williams College campus and the 62’ Center for Theatre & Dance are within walking distance of Spring Street, which has several restaurants with dine-in and takeout options, a pharmacy, a coffee shop, an ice cream shop, a movie theater, and several stores. The nearest grocery store is a 10-minute drive from campus and not within walking distance. Having a personal vehicle does provide more flexibility in grocery-shopping and expands dining and activities options. For those who bring vehicles, parking is free at designated locations on Williams campus with a parking pass. For a list of all the things to do and see in Williamstown and the Northern Berkshires, visit DestinationWilliamstown.org.

All staff are provided housing free of charge on campus at Williams College. Housing is dorm-style with private bedrooms and shared common areas, including bathroom and kitchen. Williams College housing is not air-conditioned. Weather ranges from evenings on the cooler side but can also be quite warm with temperatures in the 90s with high humidity.

We acknowledge that Williamstown Theatre Festival is a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) located in a county that is 91% white, according to the US Census Bureau. We are actively engaged in the work of becoming a more equitable, diverse, inclusive, accessible, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive institution that not only welcomes BIPOC artists and staff but nurtures an environment that allows everyone to thrive. More specific actions on these efforts can be found in our Progress Report on our website: https://wtfestival.org/work-learn/.

Williamstown Theatre Festival is committed to telling diverse stories and to fostering an inclusive environment both onstage and off. We are committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and teammates. We believe that opportunity, access, resources, and rewards should be available to and for the benefit of all. Therefore, WTF is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants shall be afforded equal employment opportunities without discrimination because of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, sex/gender (including pregnancy and gender identity), disability, military status, veteran status, marital status, familial status, ancestry, genetics, or any other class or characteristic protected by federal, state or local law. Candidates from populations underrepresented in the theater field are strongly encouraged to apply.

SALARY

$120,000.00 – $140,000.00 per year

APPLY ONLINE

https://recruiting.paylocity.com/recruiting/jobs/Details/2739482/Williamstown-Theatre-Festival/Marketing-Communications-Director