Assistant General Manager

Fine Arts Building; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 50,000 - 61,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Vision insurance

Dental insurance

Life insurance

PTO

Transit FSA

401k with employer match

Job summary

Fine Arts Building in Chicago seeks an Assistant General Manager to support Studebaker Theater operations, contracts, and rental studios. You will manage calendars, rental communications, and data tracking, ensuring smooth production planning and stakeholder satisfaction.

The role emphasizes collaboration with the General Manager and Managing Artistic Director, with emphasis on inclusivity, accessibility, and anti-racist practices while handling day-to-day administrative duties.

Qualifications

• Degree in Arts Administration or equivalent professional experience.
• Understanding of non-profits and commercial producing models.
• Ability to work efficiently under pressure and manage multiple priorities.
• Proactive problem solving in fast-paced, collaborative environments.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Flexibility to work some evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Commitment to inclusivity and anti-racist practices.
• Proficiency with Google Workspace and Microsoft Office Suites.
• Experience with Airtable is a plus.
• Ability to lift up to 40 lbs; stand and walk for extended periods.

Responsibilities

• Oversee rentals of rehearsal studios, including renter communications and scheduling.
• Maintain operational systems including contracting, calendar management and data tracking.
• Support contracting, fee tracking, billing and maintaining records for timely deliverables.
• Prepare Weekly Settlement Statements for renters.
• Maintain up-to-date records of key organizational data used by management.
• Handle day-to-day administrative office operations including receipts, reimbursements, inventory, and deliveries.
• Collaborate effectively with clients from diverse production backgrounds.

Skills

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Organization

Google Workspace

Microsoft Office

Airtable

Team collaboration

Event coordination

Education

Arts Administration degree

Tools

Airtable

Google Workspace

Microsoft Office

Job description

Assistant General Manager – Studebaker Theater

Fine Arts Building, a historic landmarked building located at 410 S. Michigan Ave, home of the Studebaker Theater (a 600 seat proscenium), is seeking a dynamic individual to join our team.

At Fine Arts Building and Studebaker, we view our employees and co-workers as equals who deserve our respect, and are subsequently seeking an Assistant General Manager to support the company’s growth. Our team aims to represent the communities we serve, and it is of utmost importance that we create and foster an affirming space for our employees to be seen as their full selves. We are seeking a passionate arts administrator who embodies these core values, and is excited about joining a thriving community within a historic arts building.

Reporting directly to the General Manager and under the supervision of the Managing Artistic Director, the Assistant General Manager is essential in supporting the day-to-day operations of the organization. While maintaining the calendar and communications of future events, the Assistant General Manager supports the operational success of the Studebaker Theater and our supplemental rehearsal studios. You will oversee the rental of the rehearsal studios while building strong relationships with new and returning renters – providing exceptional customer care and assistance throughout their engagement(s). The ideal candidate is someone who is passionate about Chicago’s arts and culture sector and who leads strategically with empathy and curiosity. You are someone who enjoys working collaboratively as much as independently while maintaining strong administrative systems. You are someone who is highly organized while drafting contracts, supporting production planning in the Studebaker Theater while tracking and maintaining institutional data and files.

The Studebaker, being primarily a rental venue, hosts clients with very wide ranging needs and budgets. Fluency in both non‑profit and commercial producing models is critical. You will play a key role in our renters’ experience from contract to final settlement. We seek individuals who are detail‑oriented, enthusiastic, and are excited about joining a young company that is still growing.

Candidates with previous experience in Arts Administration are strongly encouraged to apply.

Key Responsibilities:

• Oversee rentals of rehearsal studios, including renter communications and scheduling
• Maintain operational systems including contracting, calendar management and data tracking.
• Responsible for supporting the contracting process, fee tracking, billing and maintaining clear records to ensure timely deliverables.
• Assist in preparing Weekly Settlement Statements for our renters.
• Maintain up to date records and files of key organizational data, used regularly by management for future planning and decision making
• Responsible for day to day administrative office operations, including processing receipts, reimbursements, product ordering, inventory management, coordinating deliveries, etc.
• Strong collaboration skills, curiosity, and effective communication with clients that have a wide range of production experience and expectations, and who come from a variety of diverse backgrounds.

Ideal Candidate Requirements:

• Degree in Arts Administration or equivalent professional experience.
• Understanding of non‑profit and commercial producing models.
• Ability to work efficiently under pressure and respond quickly and strategically to dynamic situations and multiple stakeholder priorities.
• Ability to proactively and confidently navigate fast‑paced, fluid environments by developing creative solutions both independently and in collaboration with the General Manager
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Flexibility to work some evenings, weekends, and holidays.
• Passionately brings an appreciation of inclusivity to their role.
• Proficiency with Google Workspace and Microsoft Office Suites
• Experience with Airtable a plus
• Ability to lift up‑to 40lbs; stand, walk for extended periods; and navigate a multi‑level, historic building
• Values accessibility, supporting clients and visitors who will express a range and variation of ability: wheelchairs, assisted listening devices, canes, walkers, blind, deaf or hard of hearing, closed and open captions, ASL
• Will elevate anti‑racist practices and assist our team in dismantling the systemic racism perpetuated within arts and culture

Compensation:

The position pays a salary range of $50,000-55,000, along with a benefits package including employer paid health, vision, dental, and life insurance, a generous PTO policy, transit FSA, and a 401k with employer match.

Fine Arts Building joins the coalition of Chicago theaters in implementing safety policies and guidelines for our staff and audience to protect against the spread of Covid‑19. Full vaccination is required to be considered for employment.

Fine Arts Building was built in 1885, originally designed as the carriage assembly and showroom for the Studebaker Company. Situated on Michigan Avenue overlooking Grant Park, the building was immediately hailed as one of “Chicago’s architectural jewels.” In 1898, the building was repurposed to become the Fine Arts Building, Chicago’s first fine arts colony. From the beginning, the building attracted influential artists from all creative disciplines, becoming a cultural hub for some of the most acclaimed visionaries of their time – A home for art in all forms.

The Fine Arts Building acknowledges its place on the traditional unceded homelands of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations. Many other tribes such as the Miami, Ho-Chunk, Menominee, Sac, and Fox also historically called this area home.

The Fine Arts Building strives to be an organization which embraces a commitment to Indigenous rights, racial justice, and cultural equity. As a home to some of Chicago’s most prominent artists, the Fine Arts Building strongly believes that art is for everyone and aims to be a driving force in showcasing art that is accessible to all. The Studebaker Theater, while not a producing organization, is committed to building, fostering, and maintaining an inclusive, accessible, affirming, diverse workplace that is an equitable and anti‑racist environment for artists to thrive. By honoring our past as a home for art in all forms, we carry that legacy into the future through articulating these core values. This vision of being an intersectional home to today’s artists shapes the organization’s decision‑making and institutional policies.

Fine Arts Building is an equal opportunity employer where all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.

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