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:

FLSA:

Employment Status:

ABOUT THE ALLIANCE THEATRE:  

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, including11 that went on to Broadway. The theaterperforms 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 over90,000 students and community members annually.   

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

POSITION DESCRIPTION: 

TheAssociate Director of Patron Experience is a key leadership position responsible for ensuring exceptional customer service and operational efficiencyacross Box Office, FrontofHouse, andConcierge teams at Alliance Theatre. 

 This role plays a critical part in providingoutstanding patron experience, from ticketingto seating arrangements, and involves collaboration across multiple departments including, but not limited to,marketing, education, data services, andproduction. TheAssociate 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, with flexibility to support evening and weekend events and show calls as needed. 

The individual in this role is not expected to attend every show call but shouldparticipatefrequently enough to oversee processes, assess effectiveness, and provide ongoing feedback and recommendations whenappropriate. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Team Management & Leadership 

• Train, supervise, and support a team ofapproximately fifteen employees, directly managing four managers and three concierges 

• Ensure effective staffing schedules forallpatron services, front of house, and conciergesshifts,optimizing for busy periods andspecial events and including classes and camp support 

• Workwith managersto ensure smooth operations and exceptional patronexperiences. 

•  Ensure patron email and voicemails are responded to as quickly and as efficiently as possible, ideally within 24 hours. 

Events & Patron Experience Oversight 

• Oversee and manage all customer service functions for performances, subscriptions,special events, and education activities including classes, camps, and familyevents.   

• Manage all rental-related patron services tasks, including contracts and staffing 

• Coordinate Opening Nightlogistics, includingrunning theseating meetings andexecutingseating arrangements 

• Ensure adherence to companycomplimentary ticketspolicies, including comps for staff and cast/creativeteammembers 

• Oversee contractual ticket allotments for producers and artists 

• Manage all chargebacks,investigatingdisputed credit card charges from patrons todetermine the accuracy and report the findings to the finance department 

• Build parking as a product in Tessitura and manageparking 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 TicketConcierge andBox Office Managers tobookseats for seasonsubscribers. 

• Generate box office statements and credit card reports at the close of each production run or eventandsubmit them tothe 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 andspecial events 

• Work closely with the Woodruff Arts Center Food & Beverage leads to ensure that concessions are provided for all performances andspecial events 

Staff & Hiring Management 

• Leadcandidate interviews, onboarding, and training ofnew 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 Tessituraisrequired, and skills must includeproficiency 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 forspecial 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 toresolve conflicts with patience and professionalism 

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) 

Education and Experience: 

• High School Diploma  

• 2 years of Customer Service Experience  

• Preference for candidates with a background in theater  

 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 

• Weekend , Evenings and Early Morning Availability