Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications

ROME GROUP; Quebec; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is seeking a Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications to enhance its marketing strategies and audience engagement during its 25th anniversary. This vital role involves leading marketing initiatives, overseeing brand identity, and collaborating with stakeholders to drive the Festival's mission in the St. Louis community.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of progressive marketing experience with a proven track record.
• Knowledge of nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.
• Understanding of the St. Louis community demographics.

Responsibilities

• Create and implement marketing and communications strategies.
• Oversee audience growth initiatives and marketing campaigns.
• Serve as spokesperson and enhance brand identity.

Skills

Strategic Planning

Project Management

Communication

Interpersonal Skills

Analytical Skills

Budgeting

Job description

OVERVIEW

The St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is entering its 25th anniversary season having matured into one of the cultural gems of the bi-state region. Its free summer Shakespeare productions play to thousands of residents and visitors every night, offering world-class artistry and an unmatched sense of community in one of America’s great urban parks. Its innovative Shakespeare in the Streets program builds bridges all across the St. Louis metro area by empowering local residents to tell and own the unique stories of their neighborhoods. And recently the organization has committed itself to developing and nurturing new work in an effort to elevate Midwestern voices in the national cultural conversation.

OPPORTUNITY

The Festival entered its 25th anniversary with tremendous momentum. The 2024 season was the most successful in its history. Its COVID-era innovations dramatically boosted its profile both locally and nationally. The organization has grown over 30% since the pandemic and over 80% since the current administration began in 2018. As the team works to shape a vision and plan for the next chapter in the life of the Festival, a highly skilled and strategic Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications will play a crucial role in developing and executing that strategy. Bolstering and invigorating the organization’s marketing and communications strategy, the Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications will be a key part of expanding the Festival’s audience for the deeply connective, life-affirming and innovative experiences that the Festival offers to St. Louis and its entire surrounding region.

POSITION

The Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications will serve as a key member of the Festival’s team and oversee its day-to-day and long-range marketing and communications plan. Building on established best practices and innovating boldly within the unique context of the Festival, the Senior Manager of Marketing and Communications will enhance the Festival’s messaging and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders on realizing truly transformative plans for the Festival and St. Louis.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Leadership and Strategy:

• In partnership with the Producing Artistic Director, create and implement institutional and event marketing, communications, and sales strategies that align with the Festival’s vision, values, and objectives.
• Maintain and enhance the Festival’s brand identity in the local and national marketplace
• Serve as a spokesperson for the Festival when required.
• Lead audience growth initiatives across live events, partnerships, programs and creative services
• Oversee activation of all owned, earned, and paid channels, including digital and social media, email marketing, press/communications, and more
• Participate in organizational reporting to and planning with the Festival’s board of directors.

Marketing:

• Develop and implement comprehensive marketing strategies to drive audience and revenue growth; guide paid, earned, and owned media campaigns that meet the Festival’s objectives.
• Participate in revenue goal setting, and develop pricing, packaging, and other ticket sales strategies based on those goals.
• Ensure campaigns are insights-driven and use current and emerging tools to optimize results.
• Meet or exceed ticket sales goals. Maximize revenue for the organization through incremental and ancillary sales. Serve as a strategic partner to Development and fundraising.
• Develop and promote collaborative relationships with a variety of community organizations and co-manage joint projects which attain mutual brand and marketing benefits.
• Lead robust, timely and accurate reporting so internal and external stakeholders have a full view of campaign and revenue progress.
• Ensure cohesive branding across all institutional and programmatic marketing.

Institutional Communications:

• Create and maintain a high level of visibility for the Festival’s institutional activities with messaging that enhances the organization’s local and national awareness and reputation.
• Support the design, production, and communications needs of all of the Festival’s programs.
• Develop and distribute original institutional content that tells the unique story of the Festival’s impact, including social media, email, and print materials.
• Create key organizational performance indicators that can be tracked, reported, and analyzed over time.
• Engage and manage external design, marketing, and public relations resources when required.

EXPERIENCE

We are actively seeking a diverse applicant pool The ideal candidate will have:

• 5+ years of progressive marketing experience with a demonstrated track record of successfully building and retaining a broad and sustained audience through crafting, executing, and measuring a comprehensive integrated marketing strategy.
• Knowledge of the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors with an understanding of and a genuine passion for the Festival’s mission.
• Understanding of the history and unique demographics of the St. Louis community.
• Demonstrated strong strategic planning, analytical, and project management skills.
• Proficiency in budgeting and forecasting.
• Superior organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• Must be a self-starter who is a strong and collaborative team member.
• Ability to identify relevant trends and market opportunities to engage the appropriate resources to further Festival’s mission.
• Proficient in media/marketing channel capabilities and tactics that deliver upon sales strategies and plans.
• Familiarity with Patron Manager or other patron relationship management, ticketing, or fundraising databases a plus.

As well as:

• A positive and optimistic outlook.
• A desire to nurture and bring out the best in those around them.
• A brisk internal tempo and bias toward action coupled with a genuine and generous patience.
• A growth mindset, candid self-assessment and resilient constitution.
• A deep love for St. Louis, its many neighborhoods and surrounding regions.

PROCESS

Please send a pdf of cover letter, and resume to [e-mail] by July 18.

St. Louis Shakespeare Festival is an Equal Opportunity Employer and has a strong commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) in our hiring process, as well as in all areas of our work. We believe that diverse ideas, cultures, and traditions are vital assets that enrich the programs and productions we produce for our community. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, familial status, sexual orientation, national origin, ability, age, or veteran status.