Theater Alliance is hiring: Marketing and Advancement Director in Washington

Position Summary
The Director of Marketing & Advancement is Theater Alliance's senior leader for marketing, communications, fundraising infrastructure, and audience development — and a key member of the leadership team as the organization steps into its permanent home and enters a major growth phase.

This role owns the strategy and systems that grow Theater Alliance's community of donors, audiences, and civic partners, and supervises the team that executes that work day to day. Theater Alliance's Executive Artistic Director is the primary frontline fundraiser; the Director of Marketing & Advancement designs and manages the infrastructure that makes that fundraising possible, expands earned revenue and audience reach, and ensures the organization's story is told compellingly across all channels.

This is a builder role for someone who is strategic, systems-minded, and energized by the challenge of growing a mission-driven organization at a pivotal moment. The Director of Marketing & Advancement works in close partnership with the EAD and supervises the Advancement & Strategic Growth Manager and the Hospitality & Engagement Manager.

Theater Alliance is a service organization. The Director of Marketing & Advancement understands that every donor relationship, every marketing campaign, every audience development strategy exists to support artists and serve community — and brings that ethic to everything they do.

Responsibilities
Marketing & Communications Strategy

Manage Theater Alliance's marketing and communications strategy: brand, messaging, audience development, and organizational storytelling across all channels

Set the creative and strategic direction for all marketing campaigns, season launches, and public communications in close collaboration with the EAD and Associate AD

Oversee press and media relations: cultivate journalist relationships, coordinate press releases, and build Theater Alliance's visibility locally, regionally, and nationally

Supervise the Hospitality & Engagement Manager on day-to-day marketing execution: social media scheduling, email blasts, website updates, and patron communications

Build and track audience development metrics: first-time attendee conversion, patron retention, demographic data, and earned revenue growth

Build regular feedback loops — surveys, post-show input, community listening — that inform programming, hospitality, and outreach

Fundraising & Donor Development

Design and manage the fundraising infrastructure that supports the EAD's frontline donor work: systems, calendars, tracking, and follow-through

Supervise the Advancement & Strategic Growth Manager on donor engagement strategy, major donor stewardship, and development events

Oversee grant management: pipeline tracking, reporting calendars, and support of the grant writer

Lead corporate and government sponsorship strategy: identify prospects, develop proposals, and manage relationships

Oversee board support functions in coordination with the EAD and Chief of Staff

Audience Development & Earned Revenue

Develop and implement strategies to grow Theater Alliance's audience across all programs — mainstage, HotHouse, civic engagement, and arts center events

Develop group sales and community partnership strategies that bring new audiences into the TA fold

Oversee patron experience strategy in coordination with the Hospitality & Engagement Manager and Venue Manager

Build a patron pipeline: from first-timer to repeat attendee to member to donor

Team Leadership & Management

Supervise, develop, and support the Advancement & Strategic Growth Manager and Hospitality & Engagement Manager

Manage and develop Advancement interns and entry-level staff

Set clear expectations, provide regular feedback, and invest in the professional growth of the Advancement team

Build a collaborative, mission-aligned Advancement pod culture

Cross-Functional & Organizational Responsibilities

Show up as a welcoming, knowledgeable, and energizing presence for everyone who interacts with Theater Alliance; theater is a service industry and every member of the team is a representative of the organization

Participate actively in staff meetings, organizational planning, company events, opening nights, and all-hands gatherings

Contribute to organizational culture, process improvement, and institutional knowledge-building

Align your work with the Root & Rise Strategic Action Plan: know the goals, understand how your work serves them, and actively lead your team toward them

A portion of this role is floating and cross-functional, available for organizational needs as assigned by the Executive Artistic Director

Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications
We value demonstrated ability and relevant experience over credentials.

Demonstrated experience in nonprofit marketing, development, or a closely related field

Strong systems-building and strategic planning skills

Experience supervising staff or managing a team

Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including donor communications, grant narrative support, and public-facing copy

Experience with CRM systems — EvolvArts, Salesforce, or comparable

Ability to manage multiple priorities, meet deadlines, and work proactively

Commitment to Theater Alliance's justice-driven, community-rooted mission and values

A genuine team orientation and spirit of partnership with internal colleagues, partners, and external stakeholders

Commitment to the idea that theater is a service industry, and that the work we do exists to serve our community, our artists, and the world around us

Experience in both marketing/communications and development functions

Familiarity with audience development strategies and patron pipeline building

Experience with press and media relationsKnowledge of the DC philanthropic and arts funding landscape

Experience working in or with a performing arts organization

What Success Looks Like

Theater Alliance's story is being told compellingly and consistently across all channels - audiences, donors, press, and partners know who we are

The Advancement team is well-managed, mission-aligned, and operating with clarity and momentum

Donor relationships are actively stewarded and the development pipeline is visible and current

Grant deadlines are never missed; the portfolio is growing

Earned revenue and audience numbers are moving in the right direction with clear tracking and targets

The EAD can rely on the Director of Advancement to run the Advancement pod with minimal oversight - bringing strategy, managing the team, and flagging issues before they become problems

Theater Alliance is increasingly visible and known in the DC arts community and beyond

Classification:

Full-Time, Exempt. We consider this role to be full-time, noting that the position will fluctuate between periods of intense in-person participation and periods of largely remote engagement, flowing with the cadence of a producing arts organization.

Compensation:

$48,000 – $52,000/year

Compensation framework and philosophy available to all applicants including our transparency policies, our 2:1 pay ratio cap, our living wage goal commitment, and our holistic compensation package.

Benefits:

Health, Vision, & Dental

Location:

Washington, DC — hybrid role, with in-person, on-site requirements

Unlimited PTO:

Theater Alliance offers unlimited paid time off, available from the first day of employment, subject to approval and in coordination with organizational needs and production schedules.

Theater Alliance is an equal opportunity employer. In accordance with anti-discrimination law, this policy aims to effectuate these principles and mandates. Theater Alliance prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type and affords equal employment opportunities to employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. Theater Alliance conforms to the spirit as well as to the letter of all applicable laws and regulations.

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