About Theater Alliance

Theater Alliance creates bold, socially conscious work that is rooted in justice, powered by local artists, and built to ensure our community is central to everything we do. We make theater that inspires action, brings people together, and empowers humanity — thought-provoking work that leaves you with more questions than you came with. An alliance by design, we anchor a multidisciplinary space and a new model for the arts: creating infrastructure, sharing resources, and growing a thriving ecosystem. With justice at the core of our operations, we amplify underrepresented voices, welcome all, and invest in the people who make the work possible. We believe the arts are a central tenet of a flourishing society.

Our values are Solidarity, Excellence, Justice, and Authenticity. We are a small, high-functioning team that takes our work seriously and each other personally. Hard work, Artistic Rigor, and Collaboration are core to who we are. Cross-functionality is essential and valued. We believe that Excellence is an act of service — for our artists, our audiences, and our community.

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 relations
• Knowledge 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.

Applications and Inquiries: Please submit a cover letter, resume, or other materials  in whatever form best suits your style to: Shanara Gabrielle, Executive Artistic Director at search@theateralliance.org

Theater Alliance is an equal opportunity employer. In accordance with anti-discrimination law, it is the purpose of this policy 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.