Associate Director, Patron Experience

Woodruff Arts Center employees play an integral role in creating and supporting great art and education initiatives at the nation’s third largest arts center. Comprised of three Art Partners—Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and High Museum of Art—there’s a role for everyone at The Woodruff.

Reports to:

Director of Marketing and Communications

FLSA:

United States of America (Exempt)

Employment Status:

Regular/Full time

The Tony Award® winning Alliance Theatre is the leading producing theater in the Southeast, reaching more than 165,000 patrons annually.  Over 140 productions have premiered at Alliance Theatre, including 11 that went on to Broadway. The theater performs on four stages: The Coca-Cola Stage at Alliance Theatre, Hertz Stage at Alliance Theatre, Goizueta Stage for Youth & Families, and the Selig Family Black Box. 

Off the stage, Alliance Theatre is dedicated to education and community engagement. Through performances, classes, camps, in-school initiatives, online programs, and more, Alliance Theatre reaches over 90,000 students and community members annually. 

Alliance Theatre’s mission is to expand hearts and minds on stage and off. 

POSITION DESCRIPTION:

The Associate Director of Patron Experience is a key leadership position responsible for ensuring exceptional customer service and operational efficiency across Box Office, Front of House, and Concierge teams at Alliance Theatre. This role plays a critical part in providing an outstanding patron experience, from ticketing to seating arrangements, and involves collaboration across multiple departments including, but not limited to, marketing, education, data services, and production. The Associate Director will lead a dynamic team, overseeing staffing, scheduling, special events, and contribute to the strategic vision for patron engagement alongside the Director of Marketing.

WORK SCHEDULE:

Full-time weekdays, (some nights & weekends for special events)

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

Team Management & Leadership

• Train, supervise, and support a team of approximately fifteen employees, directly managing four managers and three concierges
• Ensure effective staffing schedules for all patron services, front of house, and concierges shifts, optimizing for busy periods and special events and including classes and camps support
• Work with managers to ensure smooth operations and exceptional patron experiences
• Ensure prompt responses from team members for all patron email and phone inquiries

Events & Patron Experience Oversight

• Oversee and manage all customer service functions for performances, subscriptions, special events, and education activities including classes, camps, and family events. 
• Manage all rental-related patron services tasks, including contracts and staffing
• Coordinate Opening Night logistics, including running the seating meetings and executing seating arrangements
• Ensure adherence to company complimentary tickets policies, including comps for staff and cast/creative team members
• Oversee contractual ticket allotments for producers and artists
• Manage all chargebacks, investigating disputed credit card charges from patrons to determine the accuracy and report the findings to the finance department
• Build parking as a product in Tessitura and manage parking inventory by creating schedule reports in Tessitura for patrons with prepaid parking and ensure these reports are sent to the parking deck.
• Build and manage ticketing RSVPs in Tessitura for free events
• Work with Season Ticket Concierge and Box Office Managers to book seats for season subscribers.
• Generate box office statements and credit card reports at the close of each production run or event and submit them to the Finance Controller
• Collaborate with Director of Marketing to develop and implement the patron experience vision for the theater
• Work with managers to execute external calling campaign solicitations in collaboration with marketing, development, and education departments
• Attend regular meetings on behalf of the patron services team, including Marketing meetings, Sales meetings, Engagement team meetings, data services meetings, managers meeting, campus events/facilities/security meetings, and other meetings as assigned
• Work closely with Data Services on season builds and tracking patron data and engagement metrics
• Work closely with the Director of Marketing & Communications to support sales campaigns for season tickets
• Work closely with the Woodruff Arts Center Director of Security to ensure that security team members are scheduled appropriately for all performances and special events
• Work closely with the Woodruff Arts Center Food & Beverage leads to ensure that concessions are provided for all performances and special events

Staff & Hiring Management

• Lead candidate interviews, onboarding, and training of new staff members in collaboration with HR
• Oversee the creation and maintenance of comprehensive training materials, ensuring they are organized and accessible to the team via SharePoint for consistent reference and onboarding support
• Maintain staff handbooks and internal policies, ensuring all materials are current, clearly communicated, and aligned with departmental vision
• Develop and update job descriptions to ensure clarity in responsibilities and expectations
• Approve staff time-off requests and oversee timeclock entry and approvals for part-time staff

QUALIFICATIONS:

• 6+ years of experience in a leadership role within patron services, customer experience, or box office management
• Strong understanding of the theatre industry and patron engagement strategies
• Experience with Tessitura is required, and skills must include proficiency with:
  • List Manager
  • Reports & Utilities, with knowledge of scheduling reports
  • Holds Management
  • NScan/Access Control
  • Building events in Tessitura
• Proven ability to manage and motivate teams in a fast-paced environment
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to work effectively across teams
• Strong project management skills; ability to juggle and prioritize multiple projects simultaneously with multiple stakeholders
• Sharp attention to detail and organizational skills
• Flexibility to work nights and weekends for special events when needed
• Ability to handle and balance many responsibilities in a calm and efficient manner
• Ability to adapt to quickly changing policies, projects, and priorities
• High level of self-direction, self-motivation and ability to set priorities
• Ability to resolve conflicts with patience and professionalism
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.)

Education and Experience:

• High School Diploma and relevant experience in the field
• Preference for candidates with a background in theater and/or customer service

Physical Demands/Work Environment:

The work environment and physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Necessary accommodations will be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. 

• Some standing, walking, bending, frequent use of hands, stooping and light lifting (at least 25 pounds) is needed
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate
• Willingness to work weekends, late evenings and some early mornings
• Office hours are typically 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, with some nights and weekends required for special events and opening nights