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Director, Theatre Consulting

Charcoalblue Llp, Chicago, IL, United States


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Location Chicago, IL 60654 US New York, NY 10001 US (Primary) Sunnyvale, CA 94089 US

Category Theatre Consulting

Job Type Full-time, Permanent

Job Description We are seeking a new Director to fill a vacancy on the Charcoalblue Theatre Consulting Americas Business Unit (TCAM) Board of Directors. Within Charcoalblue, the Theatre Consulting Americas (TCAM) Business Unit provides design consulting in the areas of theatre planning, theatre design, and technical systems design for a variety of project typologies. Our Americas team spans across New York, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Southern California, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Application Process To apply for the Director role, please write an application letter responding to the following prompts (1-2 pages):

Why do you want to take on the Director role in TCAM? Share your motivation for stepping into this position and describe what you will contribute to the leadership of TCAM in this role.

What do you see as the key challenges and opportunities across our industry? Describe how you plan to contribute to addressing these challenges and seizing opportunities to support our growth.

Which areas of leadership are you most passionate about? Board leadership areas include liaising with core business functions such as People, Operations, Marketing & Business Development, and Finance.

We look forward to receiving your application by 5 PM your local time on Tuesday, March 31, 2026.

If you are invited to interview, the process will include a meeting with the current TCAM board. Interviews will be held with all applicants in early to mid-April. Times and dates will be confirmed once all applications have been received.

Description of Role Theatre Consulting Americas is one of six (6) Business Units (BUs) within the Charcoalblue Group. The TCAM Board share the responsibility for the day to day running of the Theatre Consultancy Americas Business Unit (BU), as well as ensuring the BU’s long termlong-term development, commercial success, and sustainable growth. The Board strives to be a diverse group of individuals with varied and complementing skills in order to respond to current and future business needs. As a group, Directors share common key responsibilities (see Shared Board Responsibilities below), as well as having specific areas of focus. As Director, you will be responsible for contributing to the leadership of our TCAM team and supporting strategic planning and growth within the Charcoalblue Group, as follows:

Strategic Responsibilities

Leading the Business Unit alongside your Director colleagues, under the leadership of the Managing Director, to ensure the business objectives and goals are met.

Acting in the best interest of the business unit at all times by actively identifying areas of opportunity and risk.

Contributing to strategic thinking and business plan development.

Sharing fiduciary responsibility for the Business Unit with Director colleagues, including setting and monitoring of the annual budget and Business Plan, and ensuring ongoing commercial profitability.

Participating in quarterly Board meetings and approving or otherwise managing the implementation of initiatives, key policies, and strategic plans relating to the success of the Business Unit.

Driving major BU strategic initiatives or process improvements, fostering innovation, enhancing quality, and increasing efficiency.

Collaborating across project teams and with other Business Units to shape business and company-wide strategies; successfully advocating for key BU strategic initiatives within TCAM and across the company using data analysis to challenge assumptions and guiding innovative problem-solving.

Contributing to marketing & business development, including conference attendance, panel speaking, thought leadership opportunities, and business to business relationships, promoting the Business Unit and the Charcoalblue Group.

Enhancing Charcoalblue’s industry presence by building a strong network through external engagements, staying informed on trends, and independently representing the company in high-level meetings to contribute to project delivery and overall success.

Actively contributing to building TCAM’s Training and Development resources, supporting the creation and delivery of sessions to improve the knowledge base of others and Charcoalblue resources.

Identifying industry trends, opportunities, and areas requiring Research & Development.

Being an example to all team members of adherence to and promotion of Charcoalblue’s Cultural Values.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

Supporting the Business Unit by undertaking roles and responsibilities according to your personal interests and strengths and as required by the business unit’s needs.

Working on Charcoalblue billable projects for approximately 60%-70% of time (or otherwise agreed) with a significant share of these project assignments in the role of Project Principal.

Being the key commercial contact for clients on major projects, directing the overall service, reviewing and approving project billing and expenses, allocating team resources, and providing guidance to the Team Leader.

Leading projects to success by leveraging your understanding of commercial and operational factors, adapting your approach to drive strategic initiatives, and aligning with business goals, while managing multiple priorities.

Line Managing and mentoring assigned Associate Directors/Consultants, Senior Consultants, Consultants, and Assistant Consultants as appropriate.

Leading and mentoring your team to promote a solutions-focused mindset, and acting as a role model by setting and achieving clear goals, while providing guidance, care, training, and regular feedback to support individual and team growth while ensuring staff well-being and creating a nurturing, equitable, and engaging working culture.

Leading on the Annual Developmental Reviews and regular one-to-one check in meetings with your direct reports.

As a line manager to your direct reports, reviewing and approving leave requests, conference attendance, training and development allowance spending, and expenses for work consumables. Liaising with representatives from other BU’s and the Business Support Team (BST) on relevant HR, T&D, or operations matters.

Attending and Chairing, when required, the regular TCAM Director and Leadership meetings on an ongoing basis.

Attending and contributing to cross-business unit meetings, including regular regional Marketing & Business Development (MBD) meetings and the All-Director Forum.

Leading on project proposals with the relevant Team Leader and support from the MBD team.

Collaborating on allocation of staff resources including participation in regular people and resource review meetings; and providing ongoing leadership for operations and resource related matters for both internal and external projects and initiatives.

Participating in regular review meetings of invoicing, pipeline, debtors, and otherwise liaising with the finance team as well as the CEO/COO/Managing Partner.

Engaging with our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software to track CRM information, inputting project opportunities and starting up contracted projects, and reviewing dashboards and reports to monitor project and business needs.

Upholding the standards of professional excellence at Charcoalblue.

Contributing to design standards and workflow process improvements across disciplines, with ownership of major internal initiatives and process improvements that contribute to improved efficiency or quality of work.

Deputizing for other Directors or Managing Director of TCAM BU when requested.

Successfully applicants should demonstrate:

Leadership in a collaborative style within a fast-paced environment, with flexibility and adaptability to changing business needs.

A high degree of self-motivation, proactivity, organization, and initiative.

Strategic thinking, but with high attention to detail – the ability to strategize, plan, and execute on multiple projects and initiatives in different phases simultaneously.

Ability to identify new business opportunities with new clients, architects, and other potential partners.

Networking skills with the confidence to seek out and nurture new professional relationships, and to effectively manage and sustain established relationships.

Ability to communicate well with a wide range of stakeholders and contexts, with an adaptable style and strong verbal and written communication skills.

Demonstrable project management skills and experience of managing a team with an ability to work calmly and effectively under pressure.

Ability to work through ambiguity, proactively source solutions, and deliver tangible results.

This position offers a salary of up to $149,350 per year, based on a full-time, forty (40) hour workweek. It is also eligible for a discretionary Director-level bonus, awarded at the end of each Charcoalblue fiscal year.

The role is being offered on an 'at will', exempt basis at forty (40) hours per week.

As an international organization, the needs of the business are such that this role requires a flexibility in working hours (which can be variable from week to week) to facilitate project demands and maintain support across our global entities’ varying time-zones. Working hours patterns will be agreed with your line manager to suit your personal circumstances and the current project load.

We are currently working in a distributed hybrid model, meaning you will be able to work from your home (or other place of your choosing), with regular working hours at one of our US studios (New York or Chicago) if you are local. Fully remote candidates will be considered. Travel within the US and occasional travel internationally for projects and/or team building will also be required, with advanced notice.

Take-What-You-Need (TWYN) Leave Team members have no ‘cap’ on the number of days they wish to take in any one year. This means you can plan holiday or vacation time or request time when you need it, without the worry of running out of leave days. TWYN leave requests must follow policy guidelines and team members are encouraged to use a minimum of 15 days of paid time off per year (prorated in the first year), in addition to federal and some local public holidays. Charcoalblue traditionally closes its studios between Christmas and New Year’s Day, resulting in an additional 4-5 discretionary paid vacation days each year.

Benefits

To support you in successful hybrid/distributed working, you will receive a laptop and any other associated IT peripherals required for the role.

You will receive contributions towards your home internet and utilities to enable you to work productively and comfortably.

You will be eligible immediately to join our 401K plan (employee contributions only). Employer contributions begin after two (2) years of service.

You will be eligible immediately for life insurance cover, Short Term Disability and you may take advantage of joining our FSA/Dependents’ Care plans.

Following successful completion of the insurance waiting period, you will be eligible to join our company healthcare plan for the duration of your employment.

Following completion of your three (3) month probationary period, you will receive an allowance for live event tickets each month in line with our policy limits, to keep current with our industry.

Charcoalblue operates a bonus plan which you will benefit from following successful completion of a three (3) month probationary period. Please note that this is subject to the company's performance year-on-year and is not guaranteed.

You will receive regular check‑ins with your line manager to enable you to succeed in the role.

Company Overview Charcoalblue is widely regarded as the most exciting and innovative theatre, acoustics, and experience consultancy in the world. We specialise in the performing arts, live entertainment, media, technology, education, experiential, hospitality, workplace and cultural sectors. We imagine, design, and deliver captivating spaces that entertain, educate, and transform individuals through collective experiences. Guided by listening, collaboration, and a passion for innovation, excellence, emotion, and theatricality, we strive to create extraordinary moments. Since our inception in the UK in 2004, Charcoalblue is now the largest organization of its kind, delivering projects to every corner of the globe. We operate as a cohesive and collaborative team with studios in London and Bristol in the UK, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco in the US, and Melbourne in Australia.

Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Overview We are committed to becoming an increasingly inclusive organization. We continuously work to eliminate unfair and discriminatory practices within the company while encouraging full and equal contributions from our diverse community. Our mission is to foster an inclusive ethos by creating a welcoming work environment across our global practice. We provide recruitment opportunities that are open to all and encourage applications from candidates of diverse backgrounds to ensure our global team reflects the clients we collaborate with and the communities we serve.

If you require this application in a different format or need support during the application process, please contact Jake Katz via email at jake.katz@charcoalblue.com or via telephone at +1 212 645 0790. If you have any questions about accessibility or how the role may accommodate your personal circumstances, please reach out.

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