| Salary | $72,000 – $77,000 annually |
| Classification | Full Time, Exempt |
| Reports to | Director of Marketing & Development |
| Schedule | 40 hours per week, flexed around evenings and weekends on the show and event calendar |
| Benefits | Health, Worker’s Comp, Vacation and Sick Leave |
About Berkeley Playhouse
Berkeley Playhouse makes theater and theater education that engages, ignites, and celebrates the diverse communities of the Bay Area. Founded in 2007 out of an arts education organization started in 2000, we produce a four-show professional MainStage season from September through June, teach acting, singing, dance, and technical theater to beginners through advanced students in our Classes & Camps, and stage full-length musicals with young performers through YouthStage. In a typical year that adds up to roughly 28,000 patrons in our seats, more than 1,600 young people in our programs, and over 40,000 people connected to our work.
Our home is the Julia Morgan Theater, a 328-seat house on College Avenue that Julia Morgan designed in 1910 as St. John’s Presbyterian Church. Stewarding that building is part of our mission, and so is what it was always meant to do: bring people together.
About The Role
The Marketing & Communications Manager is the storyteller at the center of Berkeley Playhouse’s public life. This is a full support role across two of our external lanes: the marketing that fills the house and education programs and the fundraising that sustains the organization. You will execute campaigns designed with the Director of Marketing & Development, and you will bring ideas of your own. This is a job for someone who wants to build, not maintain.
You will live in our social channels, our email program, our website, and our playbill. You will be at opening nights, fundraisers, and camps and classes. And if you love the idea of sometimes being the literal on-camera face and voice of a theater company, there is room for that here.
This role follows the show schedule, so some evening and weekend work is required for events and performances. While day-to-day scheduling is flexible, attendance at select events is mandatory. We’re looking for someone who is energized by this pace.
Who You Will Work With
You report to the Director of Marketing & Development. Day to day you will partner closely with our Education and Production teams, the Director of Patron Services on ticketing and sales pages, and our contract photographers, videographers, designers, and print vendors.
What You’ll Do
Social Media & Content
- Own day-to-day management of the Berkeley Playhouse social platforms (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube): calendar, creation, posting, and community engagement.
- Create photo and video content across MainStage, YouthStage, and Classes & Camps, and coordinate contract photographers, videographers, and design vendors.
- Appear in social content as an on-camera voice of Berkeley Playhouse if you are comfortable there.
- Track what our community responds to and shares, and make more of it.
Brand & Communications
- Keep the Berkeley Playhouse voice consistent and alive across email, web, print, social, and press.
- Create, calendar, and send all email campaigns (Mailchimp) across MainStage, Education, and Development.
- Maintain the website (WordPress): content, sales pages, and event timing coordinated with the Director of Patron Services.
- Draft press releases, maintain media relationships, and pursue print and digital review coverage.
- Manage print collateral end to end: layout and design through fulfillment, including print and mail-house vendor relationships.
- Produce the in-house playbill for each production, including advertising layout and advertiser support.
Campaign Execution
- In collaboration with Education and Production teams, execute the marketing plan for every MainStage production and Education initiative: eblasts, social, paid digital, video trailers, and supplemental photography, tracking results across platforms.
- Support season pass and subscription campaigns: acquisition, renewal, and retention.
- Report campaign results against sales during each run.
Development Support
- Produce donor communications: the annual gratitude report, donor newsletter, and campaign mailings.
- Manage the playbill donor listings for each production and the website donor list.
- Run direct mail production for annual and end-of-year campaigns: merge, print, stuff, and mail.
- Provide logistics and production support for the online auction and fundraising events.
- Fulfill sponsorship deliverables: logo placement, playbill advertising, and partner recognition.
Events & Show Support
- Staff fundraising and donor events, opening nights, and community festivals; evenings and weekends follow the show schedule, and your week flexes around them.
- Support special events from setup through strike.
What We’re Looking For
Required
- 2–4 years in marketing, communications, social media, or a closely related field, or a portfolio that proves you do not need them
- Strong writing and proofreading across email, social, and print
- Working fluency in social media management and email marketing platforms (Mailchimp or similar)
- Comfort with web content management (WordPress or similar) and basic design tools (Canva, Adobe Creative Suite, or equivalent)
- Highly organized, with the ability to manage concurrent deadlines across a busy production calendar
- Genuine energy for both organic and paid marketing, and for supporting fundraising work with the same care
- Willingness to work some evenings and weekends around the show and event calendar
Preferred
- Experience in performing arts, nonprofit, or education marketing
- Photography, videography, or graphic design skills
- Familiarity with Google Ads, Google Analytics, or ticketing and donor CRM systems (AudienceView, Bloomerang)
- On-camera comfort
- Connection to the Berkeley or East Bay community
Read the full job description (PDF) for complete details on responsibilities, reporting structure, and terms of employment.
How To Apply
Interested applicants should submit the following to jobs@berkeleyplayhouse.org:
- Resume
- Minimum of 2 references (email and phone number)
- Introductory letter answering the following:
- Why are you interested in working at Berkeley Playhouse?
- Tell us about something you made that worked: a post, a campaign, an email, a piece of writing. What was it, and how did you know it worked?
No phone calls, please.
Berkeley Playhouse is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a staff that reflects the diversity of the Bay Area, and we strongly encourage applications from people of color, LGBTQ+ people, people with disabilities, and people whose backgrounds are underrepresented in professional theater. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
