Director of Marketing and Communications
DESCRIPTION
The Dallas Opera seeks a successful marketing and public relations professional who will maximize ticket sales and enhance the company’s exciting brand through proven and innovative promotional and communication strategies designed to increase engagement with current and potential ticket buyers of all ages.
The Dallas Opera (TDO) is a dynamic opera company located in downtown Dallas in the Dallas Arts District, cited by USA Today as #1 in the nation, and is known for productions of extraordinary artistry and innovation encompassing a broad range of repertoire. In its 67th season, and with an annual budget of $18 million, TDO is led by General Director and CEO Ian Derrer and Music Director Emmanuel Villaume. The Dallas Opera presents a season of four mainstage and two family opera productions, the annual Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors, the biennial National Vocal and Lone Star Vocal Competitions, the Robert E. and Jean Ann Titus Family Recital, the People’s Choice Concert, and several other concert and community presentations, as well as education and community engagement. As summarized in its mission statement, "The Dallas Opera connects local and global audiences through its world-class performances of both new and traditional works. We sing stories for all generations, harmonizing entertainment, education, and artistic quality.”
A champion of new work, The Dallas Opera has presented the American premieres of several operas and has commissioned new operas based on classic literature like Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer’s adaptation of Herman Melville’s nineteenth-century novel Moby-Dick. The company’s 2023 world premiere of the TDO-commissioned The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Joby Talbot with a libretto by Gene Scheer was praised by The Wall Street Journal as a “production that took flight…. fully embracing and exploring opera’s superpowers to speak inner thoughts aloud” and was nominated for Best World Premiere at the 2024 International Opera Awards. Other recent new works include the TDO commissioned Great Scott from Jake Heggie and Tony-award-winning librettist Terrence McNally (written for mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato), and the world premieres of Mark Adamo’s kaleidoscopic holiday celebration Becoming Santa Claus, as well as the phenomenally intense 2015 drama Everest, also by Talbot and Scheer.
Founded in 1957, The Dallas Opera opened with a glittering concert starring Maria Callas. In the years since, TDO has presented many international artists in their U.S. debuts including Dame Joan Sutherland, Plácido Domingo, Jon Vickers, and directors Franco Zeffirelli and Sir David McVicar. The Dallas Opera inaugurated mainstage performances in the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House at the AT&T Performing Arts Center in October 2009 along with its first free public simulcast. In April 2012, TDO extended its simulcast outreach to a record-setting 15,000 viewers at AT&T Stadium in Arlington Texas for The Magic Flute. While safely navigating the two-year pandemic, TDO launched a ground-breaking digital initiative, thedallasopera.tv, which brought worldwide audiences a vast array of digital programming and performances designed to engage with opera when live performances were not possible. TDO now maintains a strong digital presence by offering engaging content via social media channels, livestreamed mainstage productions, and free on-demand viewing during the summer months.
Filling another vital niche in the performing arts scene, The Robert E. and Jean Ann Titus Art Song Recital Series brings the world’s finest recitalists to Dallas to share their artistry in intimate venues. Recitalists have recently included Christian Gerhaher, Lawrence Brownlee, Ying Fang, Benjamin Appl, Angel Blue, Simon O’Neill, and Nadine Sierra. One of TDO’s most important developments in the past decade has been the creation of the Linda and Mitch Hart Institute for Women Conductors. Launched in 2015, The Hart Institute is the only program of its kind in the world and seeks to address the extreme gender imbalance of leadership on the operatic podium. More than 500 women conductors from 40 nations have applied to be trained, advised, and supported by this extraordinary initiative.
The Dallas Opera’s commitment to children and families has fostered several educational programs: Georges Bizet’s charming Doctor Miracle; Jacques Offenbach’s Pepito; Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love; and family-friendly fairy tale shows Jack and the Beanstalk, The Three Little Pigs, and The Bremen Town Musicians.
The Dallas Opera currently has an annual budget of approximately $18 million with 77% of revenue ($13.8 million) coming from contributed income; 15% ($2.7 million) from ticket sales; and 8% ($1.4 million) from endowment income. There are 47 full-time staff members and 80 members of the Board of Directors and Trustees.
Basic Function
Reporting to the General Director and CEO, the Director of Marketing and Communications will lead a department responsible for raising a minimum of 15% or $2.7 million of The Dallas Opera’s $18 million budget. The successful candidate will be responsible for increasing both subscription and individual ticket sales. The new leader will be a success-driven arts marketing and communications professional who embraces the mission, artistic vision, and core values of TDO. The successful candidate’s number one mission is to increase sales and audience retention. They should have in-depth experience in planning and implementing subscription and individual ticket sales campaigns, with current knowledge of promotional strategies. They should be a strategic and creative thinker. The candidate must be a results-oriented individual with a proven success record capable of leading a department of nine full-time professional marketing and box office staff that includes marketing managers for projects, web and e-commerce, group sales and audience development, digital content, and graphic design, as well as the communications manager and the patron services team.
The Director of Marketing & Communications is a key member of the senior leadership team responsible for leading marketing as well as both internal and external communication efforts. The successful candidate works collaboratively with the senior leadership team (Operations/Artistic, Development, Education, and Finance) and Patron Services (box office) to identify opportunities and build strategies to grow audiences with a focus on sustaining current audiences, growing new audiences, and building visibility and awareness throughout the community. The Director will oversee public relations, advertising, publications, content creation, social media, promotions and patron services (box office). The Director of Marketing & Communications is an energetic, strategic, and creative thinker, deeply committed to emotionally resonant storytelling in line with the art form of opera itself. The candidate must possess superior written and verbal skills and be able to write compellingly about music, singing, opera and the arts.
Priorities and Responsibilities
The Director of Marketing and Communications will be expected to achieve these goals and oversee these responsibilities:
Senior Leadership
Develop, implement, and measure the success of comprehensive multi-channel marketing, sales and communication plans that achieve or exceed budgeted earned revenue for subscription and individual tickets and maximize community impact.
Oversee and assume accountability for an annual departmental revenue budget currently $2.6 million with an expense budget of $1 million.
Supervise the marketing, communications, and box office/patron services staff and lead them in achieving goals and completing critical tasks.
Provide General Director and CEO with financial analysis, reporting, budgets, and forecasts for all marketing and communications expense activities (i.e. advertising, printing, web, etc.).
Attend board meetings as a member of senior staff and provide reports.
Work nights throughout the season and attend performances.
Marketing
Identify opportunities, build strategies, and implement communications for The Dallas Opera’s institutional marketing and public relations that focus on: long-term audience development initiatives including group sales and university student incentives; increasing public awareness of the company’s community and industry impact; strengthening relationships between The Dallas Opera and its patrons, donors, board members, and other key stakeholders.
Strengthen The Dallas Opera’s existing brand identity by creating a style guide that communicates to a broader audience base, solidifying standards for written and visual communication, setting the tone for messaging, and ensuring brand consistency across the organization.
Support the company mission and vision to engage new and diverse audiences by continuously analyzing Dallas’s changing demographics, refining target markets, and creating relevant messaging to increase awareness of The Dallas Opera in diverse communities throughout North Texas.
Enhance new patron experience with a marketing plan to incentivize ticket buyers to return and become repeat patrons and eventually subscribers and donors.
Oversee and manage the Web & Digital Media strategy to ensure that online content increases revenue and patron engagement.
Evaluate the current TDO website and lead a plan to strategize its evolution.
Manage TDO’s media relations strategy, building relationships with local and national media outlets, journalists, and new media influencers to ensure continued media coverage.
Organize promotional activities such as appearances by artists at public events, in service of raising awareness of The Dallas Opera with the general public.
Generate partnerships with other arts and cultural institutions throughout the Dallas metro area for collaborative promotional and audience development programs.
Measure campaign success through quantitative and qualitative analysis.
Advertising and Creative Services
Oversee the process of design, copy, and production for all department deliverables from inception to final approvals, with the support of the staff and contractors.
Supplement dwindling arts coverage in local media outlets with strategic in-house editorial content—including video, photo, audio, and written pieces—with the support of the communications manager, digital content marketing manager and freelance creatives.
Work collaboratively across all departments to develop marketing assets for fundraising, education, and community engagement activities, as well as spotlight the many on-stage and behind-the-scenes stories of The Dallas Opera through in-house editorial content and public relations activities.
Negotiate contracts with vendors for services such as advertising, printing, ticketing and other support services.
Ideal Experience and Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have the following:
A minimum of five years of experience in Arts Communications, Marketing, Advertising, PR with demonstrated record of driving audience growth and maximizing ticket sales required – knowledge of opera a plus.
Educational background in marketing, advertising, or similar.
Strong organizational, leadership, communication and management skills.
The ability to translate strategic thinking into action with strong understanding of technology (knowledge of Tessitura Ticketing Software preferred) and multi-channel marketing.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to write compellingly about opera and the arts.
Effective presenter internally and externally to peers, subordinates as well as patrons, donors and community business and government leaders.
Strategic thinker with ability to work both independently and as part of a high-performing cross functional team.
A mission-driven individual with a belief in and commitment to The Dallas Opera’s mission, artistic vision and values.
A team builder– confident and competent, with strong skills in management and leadership; one who understands the subtleties of motivating and directing a diverse group of personalities with different work styles.
Emotionally mature with a good sense of humor and the flexibility and sensitivity to work with diverse personalities and situations.
Must be willing to reside in North Texas.
Desired Start Date: March 1, 2025
BENEFITS
Pay Range: $150,000 - $160,000 Annual
Benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance, PTO, paid parental leave, sick leave, 403b savings plan with employer matching, complimentary tickets to performances, and professional development opportunities.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply, please send a cover letter and résumé to recruitment@dallasopera.org, using the subject line “Director of Marketing and Communications” Please send Word or PDF file only. No phone calls, please. The Dallas Opera is partnering with Kappelman Consulting to fill this position:
Lee Kappelman kappelmanconsulting@gmail.com
Dennis Hanthorn kappelmanconsulting@gmail.com
Application Deadline: March 31, 2025
Application Email/Link: recruitment@dallasopera.org
JOB CONTACT
Sara Newman, Human Resources Administrator