Long Wharf Theatre seeks Director of Marketing and Communications

[Arts Consulting Group]

 Organization

Long Wharf Theatre (LWT) is embarking on an unprecedented journey, building a theatre company that can belong to the people of the city and region, centering possibility as a guiding ethos with an unwavering commitment to creating a boundary-breaking theatre with, for, and by the people to reimagine the experiment that is the American theatre.

Located in New Haven Connecticut, LWT was established in 1965 on a dream of starting a professional theatre company in Connecticut. The guiding ethos for LWT is “Theatre is for everyone.” This ethos is supported by a commitment to a culture of collaboration, equity, and inclusion and enriching the community through programs and partnerships to engage audiences of all ages. The 2022-2023 season included new play readings with Black Trans Women at the Center, a work-in-process sharing of Dignity, Always Dignity; a concert reading of Jelly’s Last Jam; a play reading of Flying Bird’s Diary; I AM: Muslin/American film and dialogue, a production of Live From the Edge, and Kristina Wong for Public Office.

Long Wharf Theatre is seizing the change sweeping across American theatre, facing head-on both the provocative questions and new opportunities these times demand. In 2022, LWT departed from its longtime space at Sargent Drive to bring theatre to spaces and stages around the Greater New Haven area. The company is embedded within the city, making the work more accessible to the entire community. This departure from anchoring performances to a single space is shaping a new model of theatre that engages all people and actively builds bridges to those who have historically not been in relationship to LWT.

Long Wharf Theatre is driven to be an exemplar in using the power of theatre to strengthen communities through its work onstage and offstage. It is committed to a culture of inclusion and anti-racism that inspires fellowship; sharing stories that provoke empathy, acceptance, and understanding; removing real or perceived barriers to learning and discourse; seeking renovated or new facilities that are inviting to all members of its expansive community; uncovering contemporary resonance in classic works; and nurturing new voices to help make sense of our times. In its next chapter, LWT will use the power of theatre to build bridges, spur new thinking, and excite our collective imagination through performance, education, and community partnership.

LWT has a 22-member board of directors led by Chair Nancy Alexander, Jacob G. Padrón as Artistic Director, and Kit Ingui as Managing Director. For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, LWT reported a total revenue of $3,070,000 with $2.87M from contributions, grants, and endowment disbursements and $200,000 from program services.

 

Community

New Haven is the cultural capital of Connecticut—a vibrant and welcoming community that celebrates arts and culture as catalysts for civic engagement and spiritual uplift. Founded in 1638 and one of the first planned cities in America, New Haven is home to Yale University, whose presence offers access to top notch medical care at Yale New Haven Hospital, renowned art museums, music, theatre, and lectures featuring internationally known speakers. Greater New Haven hosts a rich diversity of higher education institutions, including Quinnipiac University, Wesleyan University, University of New Haven, Southern Connecticut State University, Albertus Magnus College, and Gateway Community College.

A coastal city with New England charm and a distinct cosmopolitan influence, New Haven has a population of nearly 130,000 residents and is ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s 100 best places to live. New Haven is recognized as a city of innovation and prosperity with a small town feel. New Haven Green, a privately owned park and recreation area, remains a social center. As the birthplace of a wide variety of inventions—from the frisbee to the hamburger—it is no surprise that New Haven’s entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well, whether in the start-ups at Science Park or the craft breweries and artisanal bakeries appearing in once-abandoned warehouses. The local economy is defined by health care and social services. There is a strong tech community and a world-renowned architecture and design sector with principals like César Pelli. Yale University and Yale New Haven Hospital provide many of the area's job opportunities, attracting highly specialized physicians, researchers, and academics.

New Haven is also a welcoming city to immigrants and, as result, has seen a growing population in contrast to some other places in Connecticut and the Northeast. In fact, a recent study by FiveThirtyEight that reviewed the education level, age, and ethnic diversity of every metropolitan area in the United States concluded that, of any place in America, New Haven most accurately reflects the demographics of the country as a whole in those areas. Demographically, the city is approximately 35% Black or African-American, 32% white, 27% Hispanic or Latino, 5% Asian or Pacific Islander, 0.5% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 4% of people who identify as two or more races. Its surrounding region of 860,000 residents is 65% white, 14% Black or African American, 17% Hispanic or Latino, 4% Asian or Pacific Islander, 0.5% American Indian or Alaska Native, and 2% claiming two or more races. The changing face of America is personified in New Haven.

Sources: bls.gov; usnews.com; gnhcc.com; fivethirtyeight.com

 

Position Summary

The Director of Marketing and Communications, in partnership with the Artistic Director and Managing Director, will create the most compelling narrative to tell the exciting new story of Long Wharf Theatre. This person will use innovative tools and initiatives to communicate the message that LWT makes exciting art and tells impactful stories that are for everyone. The Director of Marketing is an extension of the company’s artistic leadership and will work in deep partnership with the entire artistic staff. Reporting to the Artistic Director and the Managing Director and working closely with the senior leadership team, the Director of Marketing and Communications will ensure that all advertising campaigns, external messaging, and collateral materials fully represent the mission, vision, and values of LWT. They will develop brand awareness and will create and implement innovative initiatives to drive earned revenue through ticket sales. This individual will be a bridge builder who creates accessible pathways to underrepresented audiences, with the goal of radical inclusion in all marketing materials, social media platforms, and press strategies. They will create strategies to enhance relationships with existing members and subscribers while simultaneously inviting and encouraging them to join Long Wharf on its journey. They will be instrumental in supporting and communicating the theatre’s work in all areas of inclusion and anti-racism. This individual will speak with the voice of New Haven, have the capacity to represent that voice externally, and be a central hub for communication materials across all departments.

 

Roles and Responsibilities

Community Visibility and Earned Revenue

• Actively collaborate with the Artistic Director on artistic programming and season planning.
• Create a strategic marketing and communication plan to support all LWT’s initiatives.
• Support marketing and communication efforts across the organization, including development, education, and community partnership needs.
• Manage content and messaging for website and digital communications, including targeted email marketing, video production, and social media.
• Serve as the brand manager and develop key messages for all of LWT’s external communications.
• Provide leadership in the creation of visual assets that dynamically tell the story of LWT’s programming, new play development programs, and membership /fundraising campaigns.
• Cultivate opportunities for audience development and community connections that serve and engage underrepresented and marginalized audiences.
• Direct the implementation of an integrated marketing strategy and sales plan to support subscription, single ticket, and group sales goals through traditional tactics as well as in contemporary channels of digital media, direct response, and out-of-home advertising.
• Ensure that the highest level of customer service is delivered during all moments of the patron experience by proactively managing the Box Office and Front of House team.
• Guide all media relations, including writing and approving press releases, providing timely responses to media requests, and generating consistent local, regional, and national media interest.
• Represent LWT as a media spokesperson, as deemed appropriate by the Managing Director and Artistic Director.
• Negotiate media placement, marketing sponsorships, and promotional partnerships.
• Embrace other community visibility and earned revenue responsibilities as needed.

Data Analytics and Financial Accountability

• 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.
• Prepare annual income goals for earned revenue with the Managing Director.
• Create and manage expense budgets for all ticket sales campaigns, institutional marketing, and other related expenses.
• Monitor sales, forecast revenue, and provide analysis of season and single ticket sales throughout the season.
• Recommend appropriate demand-based pricing adjustments resulting from sales analysis.
• Initiate additional promotions for events that experience lagging sales in a committed effort to achieve attendance and revenue goals.
• Establish standardized reporting metrics to provide business intelligence regarding direct response rates and website data analytics.
• Embrace other data analytics and financial accountability responsibilities as needed.

Team Building and Internal Communication

• 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 Director of Development to ensure necessary support for Long Wharf Theatre’s fundraising and organizational advancement initiatives.
• Provide strategic marketing and public relations support for all education and community 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.
• Embrace other team building and internal communication responsibilities as needed.

 

Traits and Characteristics

Long Wharf Theatre is looking to build a boundary-breaking future and is seeking a visionary leader to support the company’s evolution. As the company enters a new era, the Director of Marketing and Communications will lead from a place of collaboration. They will provide focused and strategic leadership that is grounded in creativity, rigor, curiosity, and joy. Guided by the core pillars of artistic innovation, radical inclusion, and kaleidoscopic partnerships, they will exhibit a commitment to life-long learning with a healthy disregard for the status quo and a relentless curiosity. The Director of Marketing and Communications will be hungry to think outside the box and have a passion for activating fresh and potent channels of communication with a vast variety of people. They will boldly and effectively message the unique role LWT plays in the dynamic civic life of the city. This individual will be a collaborative senior leader and an organized project manager with a robust understanding of organizational culture and change management. The Director of Marketing and Communications will be a participative manager who inspires a team by modeling behavior that achieves revenue goals through integrated marketing plans and a commitment to reaching new audiences. They will keep integrity in sharp focus at all times and effectively communicate with judicious directness, both internally and externally.

Other key competencies include:

• Collaboration – The capability to work empathetically and effectively with others towards a common goal that benefits the team.
• Creativity and Innovation – The ability to imagine, research, and implement new approaches, processes, and systems to achieve organizational goals. A willingness to suggest calculated risks as an active pathway to reach beyond what has been accomplished in the past.
• Project Management, Planning, and Organizing – The capacity to develop procedures, processes, and systems for order, accuracy, efficiency, and productivity and to deliver desired outcomes within allotted timeframes.
• Diplomacy – The facility to demonstrate superior cultural competence and awareness; effectively communicate with people across hierarchical and functional boundaries; understand cultural climate and organizational issues; and build rapport while displaying a sincere interest in the professional success of others.
• Customer Focused – The clarity to anticipate internal and external customer needs, wants, and expectations and to demonstrate initiative and willingness to work with the goal of meeting or exceeding those needs.
• Goal Orientation – The integrity to take ownership of situations, accept responsibility for actions and results, and prioritize and complete tasks necessary to meet deadlines and achieve revenue goals.
• Flexibility – The agility to embrace and implement change when needed, serving as an inspiring leader.

 

Qualifications

A minimum of five to seven years of leadership experience in the field of marketing, public relations, and communications with increasing financial responsibilities is required. Experience in interpreting statistical data that advances decision making and a demonstrable track record of earned revenue results are also necessary. Excellent verbal, written, and listening communication skills are critical to success in the role. A nuanced understanding of inclusion and anti-racism with demonstrated leadership will be essential. The Director of Marketing and Communications will be an enthusiastic supporter of the theatre arts with a proven track record of success.

 

Compensation and Benefits

Long Wharf Theatre offers a starting salary range of $95,000 to $100,000, commensurate with experience. Benefits include paid time off, health insurance, dental insurance, short- and long-term disability, and life insurance.

 

Applications and Inquiries

To submit a cover letter and resume with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments, please click here or visit artsconsulting.com/opensearches. For questions or general inquiries about this job opportunity, please contact us at:

 

Jenna Deja, Vice President

201 West Lake Street, Suite 133

Chicago, IL 60606-1803

Tel       [phone] Ext. 227

Email    [e-mail]

 

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that indigenous peoples and nations have for generations stewarded the lands and waterways of what we now call the state of Connecticut. We honor and respect the enduring relationship that exists between these peoples and nations and this land. We are standing on the unceded territory of the Paugussett, Quinnipiac, and Wappinger peoples. We remind ourselves that along with stolen land came stolen people. It is our responsibility to the future to know our past.

Long Wharf Theatre is an equal opportunity employer that welcomes and values diversity, inclusion, and equity in all forms.