Mockingbird Gallery & Peterson Contemporary Art | Bend, Oregon

20 hours per week | Bend-based with regular in-gallery presence

Want to build and own the marketing function for two of Bend’s most respected art galleries—and help take them national?

This is a hands-on role for a senior marketer who sets direction, executes, and builds from scratch. You’ll own outcomes end-to-end and shape how these galleries grow. You'll decide what matters, where to focus, and how to turn marketing into a real growth engine for two galleries ready to go national.

Based in Bend, this role includes regular in-gallery presence and close collaboration with the gallery owner.

We’re a small, 5-person team running two of Bend’s most respected art galleries—one showcasing traditional art, the other focused on contemporary works. Our galleries are known for thoughtful curation, deep artist relationships, and creating spaces where collectors feel at home. When people in Central Oregon want to experience serious art, they come to us. We're ready to expand our reach nationally, attract high-value out-of-state collectors, and build a marketing function that matches the caliber of our galleries.

This is not a typical marketing role.

You will own the marketing function end-to-end—setting direction, executing hands-on, experimenting, and contributing to sales while representing the galleries at a high level. You’ll work closely with the gallery owner—bringing ideas, testing them, and doubling down on what works.

You won’t inherit a polished machine. You’ll build structure where it doesn’t yet exist—deciding what matters most and focusing there. You'll prioritize relentlessly—focusing on what drives results and ignoring what doesn’t:

• Clear understanding of who the right buyers are
• A consistent, high-quality content engine
• A marketing system that connects to real revenue

This role is part-time (20 hours per week), based in Bend, with meaningful growth potential as the function matures.

• Define ideal customer profiles and highest-impact marketing channels
• Define brand voice and messaging to ensure consistency
• Create a data-driven experimentation roadmap—test, measure, optimize, and scale what works to meet business goals

• Own gallery websites, social, email, and art publications — driving traffic, engagement, and inquiries
• Create photo and video content showcasing artwork and artist stories
• Write the majority of marketing content
• Optimize CRM to segment audiences and nurture relationships
• Establish and utilize analytics infrastructure (data over guesswork)

• Attend monthly First Friday art openings (required)—critical to our community presence
• Coordinate gallery events, guest artist shows and private viewings
• Build relationships with Visit Bend, hotels, restaurants, and Bend's arts ecosystem

• Clear understanding of the buyers and artists for both galleries
• 3-5 Instagram posts/week with 10%+ engagement increase
• Email segmentation with initial campaigns launched and list growth of 100+ qualified subscribers
• Baseline analytics to track traffic, engagement, inquiries, and sales by channel
• 2-3 focused wins implemented (e.g., Google Business, First Friday promotion, welcome email flow)

• 20%+ growth in gallery event attendance
• System for tracking customer acquisition source at point of sale
• 500+ new email subscribers
• Measurable increase in out-of-state collector inquiries
• Marketing system that consistently drives qualified gallery visits
• Clear attribution of marketing executions to sales

These are ambitious but achievable goals. We’ll provide a clear starting point—ICPs, a roadmap, and brand guidelines—so you can focus on execution and results from day one.

This role is best for senior marketers who've built marketing systems before and want to do it again—but this time with full ownership, faster feedback loops, and work that actually matters. 

You're energized by ambiguity, not paralyzed by it. You’d rather work part-time and build something meaningful than operate within a fully built system. And you genuinely love art—not as a marketer, but as a human.

If that sounds like you, here's what we need:

• 7+ years of marketing experience with proven results owning outcomes
• Strategic mindset: You define customer segments, identify high-leverage channels, and build roadmaps
• Hands-on executor: You set strategy and execute it—you write emails, create posts, and run campaigns
• Data-driven experimenter: You test, measure, iterate, and kill what doesn't work
• Passionate about art: This is non-negotiable—you love art and can learn the buyer psychology
• Sales-comfortable: You can engage naturally with gallery visitors and support sales conversations
• Self-starter with ownership mentality: You figure things out and make things happen
• Able to create compelling visual content (photos, videos) that showcases artwork and tells artist stories

• Compensation: $50-$58/hour depending on experience (Approx. $52K-$60K annually at 20 hours/week)
• Reports to: Jim Peterson, Owner
• Work environment:
• Flexible schedule—results matter more than specific hours
• Opportunity to grow the role (hours and scope) as marketing function matures
• Direct partnership with gallery owner who trusts your expertise
• Gallery event access and artwork discount
• Ideal start date: Mid-May

Email john@mockingbird-gallery.com with subject line "Marketing Lead Application - [Your Name]"

Include:

1. Resume
2. Short note:

• What excites you about this role?
• What's your connection to art?
• Describe a marketing experiment you ran—what was the hypothesis, what did you learn, and what did you do with that learning?
• One example of a creative marketing effort you're proud of (show us how you think and what results you drive)
• How did you learn about this job?

That's it. We'll have deeper conversations if there's mutual interest.

This is an opportunity to build something meaningful—not just run campaigns.

If you’re looking to own a function, work closely with an experienced operator, and help shape how two respected galleries grow, we should talk.