Box Office Manager

Box Office Manager

Position Profile

Reports to: Director of Marketing

Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Supervises: Assistant Box Office Coordinator, Part-Time Ticketing Staff

MCKNIGHT CENTER MISSION:

The McKnight Center for the Performing Arts inspires and transforms individuals’ lives through artistic excellence, shared creative experiences, and impactful learning opportunities. Performances and events are presented in a supportive environment that seeks to eliminate obstacles to attendance for all audiences.

VISION STATEMENT:

Oklahoma State University leads land grant universities in their contributions to art and culture in America, creating a dynamic, highly reputable institution where young artists desire to attend and learn, faculty are eager to contribute, and the OSU family continue their loyal journey with a balance of exceptional academics, innovative research and an enriching art and culture environment.

PRIMARY PURPOSE:

The Box Office Manager oversees all daily operations and activities of the Center’s Lou and Jim Morris Box Office with the objective of optimizing ticket sales for all events and performances at the Center and delivering a positive brand experience that earns institutional support. Events will include, but are not limited to, McKnight Center presentations, presentations by the Greenwood School of Music, and facility rentals. The Manager executes a variety of administrative duties related to ticket sales and fulfillment, subscription acquisition and renewal, special events and rentals, accounting, reporting, list generation and audience analysis.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS:

• Hires, trains, schedules, and manages box office staff to service all ticketed events. Ensures staff are knowledgeable about McKnight Center events, skilled in selling tickets, processing orders and requests, providing superior customer service, answering phones, and attending to required office support tasks.
• Maintains current knowledge and provides primary oversight of CRM software to maintain customer accounts, process sales and exchanges, hold and open seat inventories, reserve seats, and enable price types and performances as needed.
• Ensure proper sanitization, security and oversight of database and assist in coordination of data sharing with OSU Foundation.
• Responsible for the setup, planning, execution, and maintenance of all ticketed events. This includes, but is not limited to, the computer programming of events, seat maps, prices, dates, seating holds; and online website listings; and the processing, printing, and distribution of all tickets including those sold through third-party sources.
• Develops, maintains, and documents box office policies and procedures. Ensures box office staff compliance with these policies and procedures.
• Creates, produces, and distributes routine and ad hoc reports to Center leadership and authorized vendors such as CPA. Reports include financial data; single and subscription ticket sales, revenue, and attendance; royalty reports; and marketing response statistics.
• Maintains annual budget for full-time Box Office staff, casual labor, and materials with regular communication updates with Director of Marketing of any variance(s).
• Participates in planning and coordination of annual subscription campaign and administers its implementation and fulfillment including programming of subscription campaign on computerized ticketing system, price and calendar setup, printing and mailing renewal forms, processing orders, sales reporting, patron seating, printing, and mailing of tickets.
• Monitors public response to subscription and single ticket campaigns and initiatives and communicates feedback to Center leadership.
• Actively contributes to outbound sales initiatives for group sales and facility rentals.
• Ensures preparation of box office and ticketing staff for daily curtains (ensure batch ticket printout, order racking, GA assignment, emergency seat holds, open radio to house staff and company management, etc.)
• Manages staff and works sales window during daily curtains, ensuring positive customer experiences and on-time house turnover.
• Complete end-of-shift reporting duties. Sign off on staff’s daily user drawers, report errors or irregularities.
• Maintain equipment and supplies to keep a well-stocked, clean, and organized box office. 

The McKnight Center further expects each employee to: adhere to policies and procedures; work in a safe manner; maintain a positive and respectful attitude; communicate regularly with supervisor about department issues; demonstrate efficient time management and prioritize workload; demonstrate regular and consistent attendance and punctuality; meet department productivity standards; participate in McKnight Center events as needed or required; and complete other duties as assigned.

JOB COMPETENCIES AND EXPERIENCE:

• B.A. or B.S. in Arts Administration, or Business.

• Five-plus years of professional customer service experience, preferably within a box office.
• Proficiency with ticketing / CRM programs (AudienceView) strongly preferred.
• Highly organized, motivated self-starter that can multitask and juggle priorities during peak seasons.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel.

• Excellent organizational, communication, and analytical skills.

• Must be flexible and dependable and have an enthusiastic and positive attitude.

• Able to facilitate a collaborative work environment. 
• Capable of problem-solving through appropriate channels.
• Deal effectively and courteously with all patron needs and customer service issues, and project an absolute air of professionalism.
• Delegates responsibilities as appropriate and able to effectively oversee a staff with differing skills, experience, and abilities. 
• Experience in leading support staff and ensuring that work is completed in a timely, efficient, and professional manner.

ORGANIZATIONAL COMPETENCIES:

• Effective Communication: Able to present effectively to large groups of individuals; is clear, articulate, and direct in sharing and providing feedback.
• Execution & Initiative: Drives a high-performance culture, having the ability to differentiate performance and demonstrate managerial courage; maintains focus on organizational priorities; seeks to ensure that strategic initiatives are effectively executed and communicated to relevant audiences within the organization; encourages an environment in which results surpass activity and teamwork surpasses results; able to remain focused on only mission-related initiatives.
• Teamwork/Interpersonal Skills: Builds cohesive teams of people across organizations based on strong personal trust and relationships; motivates the organization to increase employee engagement levels; constantly assesses and builds team morale; seeks out relationships with experts as a means of obtaining information about best practices and skills vital to departmental and organizational success; maximizes personal networks in different parts of the organization, campus & community partners, and effectively uses contacts to achieve organizational goals.
• Problem Solving/Judgment: Appropriately applies risk management practices, including the escalation of risk issues, and recognizes and undertakes opportunities for others to learn from inevitable mistakes, and incorporates experience in future decisions; able to anticipate problems/challenges and required strategy for a situation; makes connections among previously unrelated ideas and looks beyond the first right answer.
• Adaptability/Flexibility:  Encourages others to challenge the status quo; able to quickly adapt during changing circumstances; foresees potential breakdown in the establishment/development of change and proactively recommends modifications to maintain standards of deliverables; anticipates specific reasons underlying resistance to change and proactively implements approaches to address potential concerns; remains active, visible, and engaged throughout all stages of change management.
• Courage & Conviction: Takes responsibility for outcomes regardless of success and learns from all results; creates a departmental environment where failure is an opportunity for learning.
• Patron Centered: Uses patron and university feedback to improve service and feed into the business planning; builds performance-based business relationships by identifying and meeting patron needs rather than simply relying on social or affiliated relationships.

 PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must use a computer terminal and view a computer screen for extended periods of time.  Must talk in person or by phone (frequently and sometimes for extended periods). Must constantly use visual acuity to check printed and designed materials of various types. Must be able to navigate within The McKnight Center. Typical office working conditions.

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION:

The McKnight Center is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, race, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, or status as a protected veteran.

SALARY AND BENEFITS

The McKnight Center offers a competitive benefits and compensation package.

 APPLICATIONS:

Please submit cover letter, resume, and professional references to HR@McKnightCenter.org. Please, no phone calls.