Chief of Staff

barringtonstageco; Pittsfield (MA); On-site; USD 80,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Paid time off

Job summary

Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, MA seeks a strategic Chief of Staff to partner with the Executive Director and align operations across departments. The role translates priorities into coordinated plans, strengthens accountability, and guides cross-functional teams through complex projects.

You will oversee general management functions—production budgeting, contracting, compliance—and help forecast risk, manage calendars, and ensure timely information flow to all areas of the theatre.

Qualifications

• Experience in theatre general management, producing, or arts administration.
• Ability to manage production budgets and negotiate agreements.
• Strong financial fluency and cross-department coordination.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Executive Director on organizational management and planning.
• Translate priorities into workplans with owners, deadlines, and decisions.
• Prepare leadership for meetings with concise information and recommendations.
• Design cross-department operating rhythms and calendars for production and finance.
• Monitor budgets, contracts, and compliance across artistic, production, and company teams.
• Forecast risks and provide variance reporting to leadership and Finance.

Skills

Theatre management

Budgeting & contracting

Financial forecasting

Project management

Cross-functional collaboration

Seasonal producing environments

Education

Bachelor’s in Theatre Administration or related field

Tools

Microsoft Office Suite

Financial software

Job description

Chief of Staff

STATUS: Full-time, year-round, exempt

Reports to: Executive Director

Working Location: Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Regular on-site presence is required

Compensation: $80,000-$90,000 annually, commensurate with experience

Benefits: BSC offers a competitive benefits package, including health insurance and paid time off.

Schedule: This position requires flexibility during the producing season, including occasional evening and weekend work

ABOUT BARRINGTON STAGE COMPANY

Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is an award-winning, not-for-profit professional theatre company in the Berkshires with a three-fold mission: to produce top-notch, compelling work; to develop new plays and musical; and to engage our community with vibrant, inclusive educational outreach programs. BSC operates multiple venues in downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and brings together artists, staff, audiences, donors, and community partners in a dynamic seasonal producing environment.

BSC is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, or age. We strongly encourage candidates of color, and/or from diverse backgrounds/underrepresented groups to apply.

POSITION SUMMARY

BSC seeks a strategic, highly organized, and collaborative Chief of Staff to serve as a principal partner to the Executive Director and a connective leader across the organization. This position translates institutional priorities into coordinated plans, strengthens communication and accountability among departments, anticipates operational risks, and ensures that important decisions move through to completion.

The Chief of Staff also leads BSC's core general management functions, including production budgeting, artist and creative-team contracting, union and contractual compliance, payment schedules, and coordination among artistic, production, company management, and finance. The successful candidate will combine sound judgment and discretion with a producer's practicality: able to see the whole organization, ask the right questions, build trust, and move complex work forward without creating unnecessary bureaucracy.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Serve as a trusted thought partner and right hand to the Executive Director on organizational management, planning, problem-solving, and follow-through.
• Translate institutional priorities into clear workplans, owners, deadlines, dependencies, and decision points.
• Prepare the Executive Director for key internal meetings and decisions by gathering information, identifying open questions, and presenting concise recommendations.
• Represent the Executive Director in selected internal meetings and advance agreed-upon decisions with appropriate authority.
• Design and manage a practical cross-department operating rhythm, including senior staff agendas, production and institutional calendars, decision logs, and follow-up systems.
• Ensure that artistic, production, finance, marketing, development, company management, education, audience services, and facilities share timely information needed to do their work.
• Clarify ownership when responsibilities cross departments; identify gaps, overlaps, and conflicting assumptions before they affect artists, audiences, donors, vendors, or staff.
• Facilitate productive resolution of interdepartmental issues while reinforcing direct communication and shared accountability.
• Support implementation of strategic-plan priorities and other organization-wide initiatives assigned by the Executive Director.
• In partnership with the Artistic Director, Director of Production, Finance, and other leaders, develop, maintain, and monitor production budgets from early planning through final reconciliation.
• Provide timely cost scenarios and identify the financial, schedule, labor, housing, travel, and contractual implications of artistic and production choices.
• Draft, negotiate, route, and track artist, director, designer, creative-team, co-production, enhancement, licensing, and other production-related agreements, working with counsel when appropriate.
• Coordinate union requirements and ensure compliance with applicable collective bargaining agreements, contract terms, approvals, credits, and reporting obligations.
• Maintain a complete contract pipeline and ensure agreements, tax forms, payment schedules, reimbursements, and supporting documentation reach Finance and other departments on time.
• Partner with Production and Company Management on calendars, housing, travel, onboarding, and other contractual logistics; make ownership explicit and confirm completion.
• Review production invoices and change requests against contracts and approved budgets; resolve discrepancies and secure approvals before commitments are made whenever possible.
• Provide regular forecasts and concise variance reporting to the Executive Director and Finance, including emerging risks and recommended corrective action.
• Lead or support time-limited institutional projects that require coordination across multiple departments.
• Maintain discretion in handling sensitive personnel, contractual, financial, and governance matters.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

• Experience in theatre general management, producing, company management, arts administration, or a comparably complex mission-driven organization.
• Demonstrated ability to build and manage production budgets and negotiate artist, creative-team, union, vendor, or partnership agreements.
• Strong financial fluency, including forecasting, variance analysis, and the ability to connect operational decisions to cash flow and organizational risk.
• Exceptional project management and follow-through across multiple simultaneous productions, events, venues, and institutional priorities.
• Excellent judgment, discretion, diplomacy, and written and verbal communication skills.
• A collaborative, service-oriented approach paired with the confidence to ask difficult questions, clarify accountability, and raise concerns early.
• Ability to work effectively through the intensity and changing demands of a seasonal producing organization.
• Working knowledge of LORT, AEA, SDC, USA, or other relevant theatrical agreements is strongly preferred.
• Commitment to BSC's artistic mission, community service, and an inclusive workplace in which people can do their best work with joy.

* This job description is not comprehensive and is subject to change at any time

Barrington Stage Company is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, marital status, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law. BSC is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and will engage in an interactive process to identify reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and employees.