Strategic Venue Operations Director

Arts Hacker; Bend (OR); On-site; USD 69,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Tower Theatre Foundation seeks a Director of Venue Operations in Bend, Oregon. You will drive financial performance, client experience, and front‑of‑house operations across Tower Theatre and Encore, shaping calendars, revenue, and staff growth.

The role requires tech‑savvy leadership to balance artistic vision with community access and sustainability while guiding a high‑performing team and overseeing multi‑function operations.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree in business administration, arts administration, hospitality, venue management, or a related field.
• Current First Aid/CPR certification and OLCC Alcohol Service Permit.
• Minimum 5 years of leadership experience in performing arts venue operations, hospitality, or related fields.
• Experience leading and developing staff across multiple functions.
• Hands-on experience with ticketing and event management platforms.
• Experience integrating systems (including via middleware platforms like Zapier) is a plus.
• Strong organizational and project management skills to prioritize tasks, meet deadlines, and oversee multiple initiatives simultaneously.
• Valid Oregon driver’s license, proof of current automobile insurance, and ability to meet driving requirements.
• Ability to pass a criminal background check.

Responsibilities

• Lead a mission-aligned operations team with clear expectations, development, collaboration and accountability.
• Collaborate with programming, engagement, education, marketing, development, production and finance for aligned strategies.
• Work with Finance to build and monitor budgets and provide regular progress reports to the Executive Director.
• Own and optimize facility calendars for Tower Theatre and Encore to reflect artistic vision and financial sustainability.
• Maximize calendar yield and manage event mix in support of TTF’s mission.
• Ensure technical feasibility and production requirements are incorporated into scheduling.
• Use data and planning tools to reduce dark days and improve long-range calendar performance.
• Own dashboards tracking utilization, rental margin, ticketing performance, and concessions profitability.
• Lead rental revenue strategy and negotiate contracts for 150+ annual events.
• Build long-term relationships with rental clients and grow ancillary revenue from concessions and services.
• Monitor event-level profitability with Finance and manage ticketing operations and pricing policies.
• Set and monitor FOH KPIs; oversee concessions and hospitality performance.
• Serve as senior escalation point for patron and risk management issues.

Skills

Leadership experience

Staff development

Ticketing systems

Project management

Data-driven decision making

Contract negotiation

Vendor/client relations

Financial oversight

Risk management

Education

Bachelor’s or Associate’s degree in business administration, arts administration, hospitality, venue management, or related field

Tools

Ticketing platforms

Data dashboards

System integration (Zapier)

Job description

Tower Theatre Foundation seeks a Director of Venue Operations in Bend, Oregon. You will drive financial performance, client experience, and front‑of‑house operations across Tower Theatre and Encore, shaping calendars, revenue, and staff growth.

The role requires tech‑savvy leadership to balance artistic vision with community access and sustainability while guiding a high‑performing team and overseeing multi‑function operations.