Director of Marketing and Communications - Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival:

Director of Marketing and Communications



Opportunity in Brief:



HVSF seeks a Director of Marketing and Communications to join our year-round administrative staff. A cultural organization with deep roots in its local community and a rising profile in the Greater New York City arts landscape, HVSF is an organization with an attractive mix of stability and ripe opportunities for innovation. This position will work in close partnership with the Artistic Director, Managing Director, and an engaged and energized Board to expand strategic initiatives in support of high artistic standards, strong connection to the community, and successful engagement of loyal and growing audiences. The Director of Marketing and Communications will be supported by external resources for graphic design, press representation, and digital marketing, and responsible for an annual ticket sales goal of approximately $1 million, representing 48% of the annual operating budget. This role will be essential to the success of the brand transition as HVSF establishes permanence in our new home.



In late 2019, HVSF was offered 98 acres of land to create its first-ever permanent home and make its next leap forward – from a seasonal festival into a year-round cultural anchor for the Hudson Valley region. The vision for the new campus is centered on cultural placemaking, community engagement, and environmental sustainability, each viewed through the lens of HVSF’s ongoing work toward anti-racism, dignity, and belonging.



HVSF is currently in the design phase for its new campus, which includes the construction of a permanent open-air theater designed by the celebrated architecture firm Studio Gang and is engaged in a multi-year capital campaign with significant support appropriated on the federal and state level. (Read more at hvshakespeare.org/nysca)



HVSF Mission Statement



Rooted in the landscape of the Hudson Valley, with the plays of William Shakespeare as our touchstone, HVSF engages the widest possible audience in a theatrical celebration of our shared humanity.







Vision



We are a classical repertory theater that embraces the present moment, and our work springs from the most essential of elements — actor, audience, language, and landscape. As both a local community hub and a national arts destination, we foster meaningful human connections at the convergence of nature and culture.







HVSF Core Values



Excellence, Inclusion, Generosity, Playfulness, Sustainability







About HVSF and Its History



Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival is a critically acclaimed, professional, non-profit theater company based in Garrison, NY currently operating with a $3M budget. The festival has established a reputation for lucid, engaging, and highly inventive productions staged in rotating repertory under its iconic, open-air theater tent overlooking the Hudson River. In recent years, the festival has also ventured beyond the Tent, touring its work to other venues throughout the Hudson Valley, transferring productions to other theaters, engaging its community through radically participatory artmaking, and reaching over 50,000 students and educators annually through its year-round Education programs. Over the years, HVSF’s exuberantly irreverent productions have gained a devoted following. Critics from The New York Times, The New Yorker, and The Wall Street Journal have applauded the clarity, energy, wit, and imagination of our productions, and the unique and playful nature of the actor-audience relationship under the tent. Every summer, over 35,000 friends and supporters come together to enjoy vibrant productions in one of the most unusual and exciting performance venues in the American Theater. In 2021, HVSF was one of the first theaters in New York State to return to in-person programming after a dark season in 2020 due to COVID, with a production of James Ijames’ The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington. In 2023, HVSF celebrated its second season in a spectacular new 98-acre home in Garrison and welcomed audiences to productions of Shakespeare’s Henry V and Love’s Labor’s Lost, and the world premiere of Penelope.



At HVSF, inclusion is one of our core values. We are committed to dismantling oppressive practices and advancing the work of anti-racism throughout our entire organization. HVSF’s regular updates regarding the company’s work towards a more equitable future can be found here:  An Update on Our Anti-Racism Commitments & Actions – HVSF



The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival operates on the unceded territory of the Lenape, Munsee, and Wappinger people, what is colonially known as Philipstown, New York. HVSF gratefully acknowledges their stewardship of this land in the past and present.





Director of Marketing and Communications Job Description



Overall Objectives

The Director of Marketing and Communications (DMC) is a full-time, year-round senior staff leadership position responsible for moving the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival’s mission forward by cultivating new and existing audiences through marketing and communications campaigns and promoting HVSF as a tourism destination. This role oversees the creation and implementation of strategies designed to increase awareness of and generate excitement about the organization and its work, as well as elevate the Hudson Valley region and HVSF's new campus as a cultural destination. These strategies will build new audiences and deepen relationships with existing audiences, thereby increasing earned income and improving brand position. Additionally, the DMC will participate as a member of the HVSF leadership team and assist in strategic thinking and long-term planning for the institutional brand and vision of the company.



The DMC’s results-oriented approach to marketing and communication will allow the organization to:



Meet or exceed revenue goals



Strengthen its brand



Retain and grow a strong customer base



Attract new audiences



Ensure a positive and welcoming audience experience for all



Expand community awareness and appreciation of the various programs at HVSF



Enhance the pride of association experienced by donors, theatergoers, community members, artists, partners, and other stakeholders







Responsibilities



Oversee the creation and implementation of a new brand for HVSF as we take root in our new home.



Plan, develop, and execute all phases of promotional campaigns, including print (season brochure, postcards/flyers, season program book, education and development brochures, etc.), email, blog, digital display, press, and social media campaigns with an eye toward consistency of the brand voice



Plan, develop, and execute all phases of audience development campaigns, including new audience outreach and donor outreach



Build and monitor predictive ticket sales income forecasts and ticket pricing models as a part of the annual budgeting process, in collaboration with the Box Office Manager, Finance Department, and Managing Director



Build and monitor the Marketing and Communications expense budget and Audience Services/Front-of-House expense budget, in collaboration with the Finance department and Managing Director, and with input from the Box Office Manager and Audience Services Manager



Oversee and manage all vendor and marketing-focused consultant/contractor relationships and deliverables



Consult and strategize all public facing communications with HVSF executive leadership, and design/ execute related communications.



Design and publish all social media, email, website, and blog content.



Plan and execute photo and video shoots, with professional photographers and videographer and in collaboration with HVSF staff



Oversee and manage press representation consultancy to build and maintain relationships with local and national media contacts, ensuring comprehensive press coverage in local, regional, and national markets



Oversee and manage the Box Office Manager and Audience Services Manager to train and supervise a professional, warm, and engaged Front-of-House staff while ensuring their compliance to COVID regulations, if/as applicable



Develop promotional partnerships and advertising deals throughout the region, including maintenance of relationships with local businesses that advertise in HVSF’s season program book



Plan and execute strategic promotional events, both on-site and throughout the region



Collaborate with Director of Development on the strategy, execution, and analysis of donor appeals, as well as planning and execution of donor communications



Partner in HVSF’s goal to be an anti-racist organization, participating in regular staff sessions to identify and address issues of structural racism in our organization, and supporting public communication about our efforts to increase diversity, equity, access, and inclusion, and nurture our audiences and community with dignity and true belonging.



Oversee compliance with HVSF’s style guide, both internally and with external marketing & design consultants.



Support any digital programming HVSF produces including any zoom theater, podcasts, or recorded streams and ensure digital ticketing and distribution to HVSF’s audience



Prepare quarterly reports for Board of Directors



Represent HVSF locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally.



Other related duties as assigned





Qualifications and Experience



Our ideal candidate will demonstrate:



Leadership and supervisory experience in the field with at least five years’ experience in the arts at an advanced level



Administrative experience that demonstrates strong analytical, problem-solving, organizational, budgeting and financial management skills, and judicious prioritization.



Excellent judgment, deep listening, and attention to detail.



Experience in theater and/or multi-arts marketing planning, strategies, and tactics



Experience interacting with high-level contacts, including artists, community leaders, donors, and patrons



Experience in training and supervising staff and interns, as well as fostering positive team environments



Proven visual, oral, and written communication skills







Our ideal candidate will also demonstrate familiarity with/expertise in:



Ticketing/Donation Platforms (Spektrix, Tessitura, Vendini, Blackbaud, etc.)



Project Management Platforms (Asana, Basecamp)



Wordpress and iFrame or API integrations, as well as basic styling (HTML, CSS)



Adobe Suite (Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator) or comparable design software



Microsoft Office (Excel, Word) and Google Suite







Personal Characteristics



Our ideal candidate will demonstrate:



Superior leadership, strong motivation, and strategic focus



A high level of creative energy, self-confidence, integrity, humor, and generosity



Ability to work calmly, effectively, and flexibly in high-pressure situations with artists, administrators, and audiences



Strong design sensibilities and ability to communicate abstract concepts to designers and contractors



A love for the Hudson Valley and familiarity with the geography and press distribution of local communities





Terms and Compensation:

This is a full time, year-round, permanent on-site role in Garrison, NY with reasonable flexibility for some remote work. Our ideal candidate will reside within reasonable commuting distance of Garrison, NY, with reliable personal transportation. Nights and weekends, especially during the summer season (June – September), will be required. Benefits package, including health coverage and paid vacation/personal/sick time, is offered. Salary range: $70,000-$80,000 annually.



Anticipated Start Date: December 2023



TO APPLY:

HVSF is an equal opportunity employer dedicated to building a culturally diverse and equitable environment and we strongly encourage applications from BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) candidates to apply.



Please submit a letter of interest and resume, and via email to jobs@hvshakespeare.org with the subject “2023 Director of Marketing and Communications”. No phone calls, please.
Salary: 70,000-80,000