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Director of Marketing

The New Jersey Symphony is looking for an experienced marketing professional to fill the role of Director of Marketing. This position plays a key role in the promotion of the Symphony’s concerts and programs by contributing to the sales of ticket offers and packages, growing the Symphony’s audience reach and utilizing multiple sources of media to advertise and promote upcoming events.

Department: Marketing, External Affairs & Patron Services
Reports to: Vice President of Marketing & External Affairs
Supervises: Marketing Manager, Digital Media Content Manager, Marketing Production Specialist
Status: Full Time, Exempt
Salary: $80,000 to $85,000 annually

About the Organization

As an integral part of the musical landscape in the country’s most vibrant cultural corridor, the New Jersey Symphony (Symphony) has for over one hundred years continued to enrich lives through a passion for musical excellence and a commitment to New Jersey, its people, and its communities. The Symphony has been recognized by The Wall Street Journal as “a vital, artistically significant musical organization,” led by Music Director Xian Zhang—a “dynamic podium presence”—since 2016. The New York Times has praised Zhang for her “technical abilities, musicianship, and maturity.”

The New Jersey Symphony, with an annual operating budget of more than $17 million and a modest endowment, currently serves as the resident orchestra of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center with additional performance series in four other outstanding venues throughout New Jersey. With more than 140,000 New Jerseyans of all ages enjoying more than 160 concerts, education, and community events each year, and with numerous partnerships with arts organizations, universities, and civic organizations, the Symphony has cultivated broad support, with more than 3,000 loyal patrons donating and subscribing, with thousands more attending each concert weekend.

In addition to its lauded artistic programming, the New Jersey Symphony presents a suite of nationally recognized education and community engagement (ECE) programs that promote meaningful, lifelong engagement with live music, annually serving as many as 60,000 New Jerseyans in nearly all of its 21 counties. Core program offerings include Concerts for Young People; the New Jersey Symphony Youth Orchestra; Preschool Program; and the touring chamber music program, New Jersey Symphony Community Partners. Through its diverse array of programs, the Symphony expands access to quality music instruction as well as provides vital arts learning experiences that reinforce social and emotional learning outcomes, foster confidence, and bring joy.

Following its 2022–23 Centennial Season, the New Jersey Symphony is riding a wave of momentum as it enters an exciting new phase in history. The Symphony adeptly navigated the pandemic, earning Emmy awards for its virtual concerts featured on NJ PBS; completing its first-ever professional branding engagement with an outside branding agency; and moving to a new ticketing, CRM and eCommerce system, which has resulted in single ticket sales exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

With a new strategic plan, the New Jersey Symphony now embarks on a bold vision for the future, the centerpiece of which will be a new Symphony Center that includes a 550-seat, versatile performance space in Jersey City.

This transformational initiative and expansion into Jersey City will make the organization a community place-maker and will be the largest venue in Jersey City’s Powerhouse Arts District–a city that is on track to surpass Newark as the most populated city in the state. The new 44,000-square-foot Symphony Center will also include space for administrative offices, establish a permanent rehearsal hall for the musicians, and expand performance, education programs and community engagement opportunities. The Symphony Center will diversify earned revenue through rentals and presenting activities, and increase contributed revenue associated with capital projects and expanded community programs. The New Jersey Symphony, which will activate and manage the venue for the City of Jersey City, expects final interior theater construction to be completed for a January 2027 public opening.

About the Position

The Director of Marketing plays a key role in how the New Jersey Symphony communicates its work, grows its audiences, and supports the organization’s next chapter. Reporting to the Vice President of Marketing and External Affairs, this leader guides the planning and execution of all marketing, digital and audience development strategies, ensuring the Symphony presents a clear, consistent and compelling message across every platform. The Director oversees the Marketing Manager, the Digital Media Content Manager and the Marketing Production Specialist and helps foster a collaborative and solutions-oriented environment that supports strong working relationships across the organization. The role is both strategic and hands-on, partnering with the Vice President to set priorities and support the smooth execution of the department’s work. The position is based in person at the Symphony’s Newark headquarters until the new Symphony Center opens in Jersey City, expected in January 2027, at which point it will transition to the new facility. As the Symphony prepares for this next chapter, the Director will contribute to expanding audiences, strengthening the brand and advancing a positive and coordinated culture that aligns with the organization’s goals.

Key Responsibilities

Staff Management & Coordination

  • Lead and develop a team of three who are responsible for advertising and media placement, audience development, broadcast email and website production, social and digital media content and other departmental coordination.
  • Work with the content team to set goals for website and email engagement.
  • Support overall strategy to engage trustees, musicians and staff, as well as our patrons, through social media outlets.
  • Hire, train, mentor and conduct performance reviews for direct reports.
  • Identify and create opportunities for professional development for direct reports.

Marketing Strategy & Audience Development

  • In collaboration with the Vice President of Marketing and External Affairs, develop strategies to support subscriber acquisition, retention and repeat single-ticket purchases.
  • Work with the Marketing Manager to develop and grow existing and new audience development programs, including the Next Gen Young Professionals program, the Student Tickets program and other constituency-focused initiatives.
  • Collaborate with the Vice President to integrate key Strategic Plan initiatives into the department’s day-to-day work plans and identify annual deliverables.

Subscription and Single-Ticket Campaign Strategy and Production

  • Develop and oversee marketing campaign plans and segmentation strategy in collaboration with internal teams and external vendors.
  • Track campaign performance and adjust future plans to meet revenue targets.
  • Oversee the subscription renewal, acquisition and single ticket direct mail campaigns, including strategy, segmentation, mail-house fulfillment, post office coordination and analysis of campaigns.
  • Work with the Patron Services team on subscription renewal and acquisition campaigns, including support for patron notifications and subscription ticket fulfillment.
  • Manage the telemarketing campaign by attending weekly meetings, reviewing reporting and coordinating telemarketing offers with direct mail and social promotions. Work with the Tessitura Database Manager to provide required data and with Patron Services to support patron-related inquiries and transactions.
  • Oversee the Symphony’s digital agencies on programmatic display and direct placement advertising.
  • Secure placements with venue partners to ensure strong revenue results for co-presentations and special concerts.
  • Create and embrace a culture of ongoing analysis, evaluate campaign results and recommend changes to strategy based on findings.
  • Assist in the creation of marketing expense budget and manage reconciliation of invoices. Seek opportunities to control costs and maximize conversions and ROI.

Content Strategy, Development and Creation

  • Serve as the lead producer for content planning across the Symphony’s communication channels, and coordinate and conduct interviews with the Music Director, musicians, guest artists and others.
  • Tell the Symphony’s story, with support from the Digital Media Content Manager and the Marketing Manager, through video and social content that promotes events, education programs and the personalities that shape the organization.
  • Build partnerships with community organizations, leaders and ambassadors to amplify brand awareness and strengthen connections with the diverse communities the Symphony serves.
  • Oversee the Symphony’s relationship with its digital agency, including social media content strategy and promotional budgets.
  • Manage the Symphony’s digital assets.
  • Collaborate with the Marketing Production Specialist to develop and provide content for email communications, and coordinate and edit content from all departments.
  • Curate and write content for social media, the website and email distribution.

Creative Services & Copywriting

  • Work with the Marketing Production Specialist and the Creative Director to lead project management for all graphic and digital production requests.
  • Meet with other departments on their graphic and digital needs and serve as a liaison to ensure projects stay on track and are completed on time.

Staff Management & Coordination

  • Lead and develop team of two, who have primary responsibility for advertising and media placement, audience development, broadcast email and website production, and other department coordination.
  • Work with the content team to set goals for website and email engagement. Support overall strategy to engage trustees, musicians and staff, as well as our patrons, through social media outlets.
  • Hire, train, mentor and conduct performance reviews for direct reports. 
  • Identify and create opportunities for professional development for direct reports.

Digital Experience & Platforms

  • Serve as the primary lead for the Symphony’s digital strategy for the website and email channels, with a focus on patron user experience that increases engagement and conversions.
  • Work with the Creative Director to manage photo representation across social, website and email channels to ensure the Symphony’s media presence is relevant and engaging.
  • Conduct analysis and create reports on the effectiveness of website and online advertising campaigns. Review and recommend changes to strategy for the online ticket sales portion of the site.
  • Research website best practices and implement changes to continually improve user experience and patron engagement.
  • Ensure the website is optimized for mobile support, search engine optimization and marketing, online advertising, social media campaigns and other external platforms that link to the Symphony’s site.
  • Coordinate with the Symphony’s digital agency on technical needs such as tracking codes, Google Analytics and tag administration.
  • Serve as the primary contact for website and online ticket sales IT issues, with a goal of consistent uptime. Act as a liaison between the ticketing vendor, website vendor and the Symphony’s IT services vendor to ensure timely resolution of issues.
  • Use marketing automation and A/B testing to research and recommend ways to improve broadcast email open rates, increase click-through rates, reduce subscriber churn and improve user experience.
  • Provide reports and analysis on the effectiveness of broadcast email campaigns.
  • Serve as the primary contact for the website vendor and the marketing automation vendor.
  • Oversee website and marketing automation development, including design and content redevelopment projects.
  • Oversee the Symphony’s domains and track domain renewal periods.

Support Organization’s Communication Needs

  • In collaboration with the Vice President of Marketing and External Affairs, create and implement internal communications strategies for staff, board members, musicians and key stakeholders.
  • Proofread produced materials to ensure adherence to the Symphony’s style guide, standards and brand messaging.
  • Attend concerts and represent the New Jersey Symphony to concertgoers throughout the state.
  • Provide support to marketing and other departments as needed.

Department Operations

  • Assist the Vice President in creating the department expense budget and actively participate in reconciliation efforts.
  • Maintain positive relationships with internal and external constituents, including community members, patrons, vendors, consultants, volunteers, trustees, musicians and staff.
  • Provide support to the Vice President of Marketing and External Affairs as needed, and represent the Symphony and the Vice President at meetings when requested.
  • Serve as the department point person for cross-department institutional initiatives.

Qualifications

  • A passion for working in the non-profit arts community.
  • Desire to embrace the organization’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and support an inclusive and respectful organizational culture.
  • Excellent proofreading skills, both in editorial capacity and in institutional messaging alignment.
  • Knowledge of AP Style is a plus.
  • Demonstrated experience in managing relationships externally and internally to support advertising, telemarketing and digital agency campaigns.
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across departments and with a wide range of internal and external partners.
  • Ability to think strategically and translate organizational goals into effective marketing plans and actions.
  • Bachelor’s degree required; 10 to 15 years of total professional experience required, preferably in a capacity directly related to marketing, advertising or communications.
  • Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.
  • Working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Basecamp project management software, Tessitura patron database software and ActiveCampaign marketing automation software is a plus.
  • Project management skills, especially in relation to content production.

Compensation

The salary range for this position is $80,000 to $85,000 annually. The New Jersey Symphony offers a generous benefits package, including health, dental, insurance options and pension. Relocation reimbursement is not offered for this position.

The New Jersey Symphony celebrates the cultural vibrancy of our communities and builds meaningful relationships that elevate and strengthen them. We seek to create a culture of inclusion and a work environment that values hard work, professionalism and creativity. We are committed to diversity and equal opportunity in our recruitment and hiring. Qualified candidates of all backgrounds are welcome to apply for open positions.

ThinkingAhead Executive Search is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to a work environment that supports, inspires and respects all individuals. Personnel processes are merit-based and applied without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, disability, national or ethnic ancestry, military service status, citizenship, or other protected characteristic. This applies to every aspect of employment including hiring, training, advancement and termination. The firm is committed to creating a just culture of diversity, equity and inclusion by practicing, within the company and the marketplace we serve, intentional strategies that serve marginalized individuals and groups.

To Apply

Interested applicants should send a resume to Rachael Holloway, Recruiter with ThinkingAhead Executive Search at rholloway@thinkingahead.com.

Contact Information

Rachael Holloway
Recruiter, ThinkingAhead Executive Search
615-391-2614