Theater Operations Manager

For more than 150 years, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) has been a leader in educating the world’s most influential artists, designers, and scholars.

Located in downtown Chicago with a fine arts graduate program consistently ranking among the top four graduate fine arts programs in the nation by U.

S. News and World Report, SAIC provides an interdisciplinary approach to art and design as well as world-class resources, including the Art Institute of Chicago Museum, on-campus galleries, and state-of-the-art facilities.

Is your CV ready If so, and you are confident this is the role for you, make sure to apply asap.

We offer a competitive, comprehensive benefits package :

• Generous paid time off
• Paid holidays (up to 14 days)
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Generous parental, caregiver, and medical leave benefits
• Tuition remission and Tuition Exchange Program
• Great employee discounts
• Complimentary general admission to participating cultural institutions

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

Since 1972, the Gene Siskel Film Center of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago has presented cutting-edge cinema as Chicago’s premier art house theater.

The Film Center’s programming includes annual film festivals that celebrate diverse voices and international cultures, premieres of trailblazing work by today’s independent filmmakers, restorations and revivals of essential films from cinema history, and insightful, provocative discussions with filmmakers and media artists.

ABOUT THE POSITION

This position will be responsible for the daily operations of the theaters at the Gene Siskel Film Center, ensuring that all guests to Chicago’s premier art house cinema receive an unparalleled movie-going experience.

Applicants should expect to work some evenings and weekends, including special events and receptions, as well as to support administrative work related to the success of the Gene Siskel Film Center as an organization.

This position will manage three Front of House leads in addition to student workers and volunteers.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The ideal candidate has experience in providing customer service and thrives in a fast-paced environment. A background in ticketing and special events management is preferred.

Specific responsibilities include :

• Partner with colleagues at the Film Center to ensure all screenings take place following policies and procedures.
• Participate in goal setting and strategic planning to provide an unparalleled movie-going experience at Chicago’s premier art house cinema.
• Participate in staff and administrative meetings as a core member of the GSFC administrative team.
• Assist members and patrons as needed with basic ticket and membership purchases online and at the box office.
• Maintain a clean and welcoming environment for all theater guests, including providing excellent customer service to guests and partnering with SAIC’s facilities and security teams.
• Manage concessions, including the ordering and stocking of supplies, menu design, and budget management.
• Provide ticketing support for new releases, repertory series, special events (GSFC uses the Agile ticketing system), such as putting tickets on sale, providing promo / discount codes, tracking sales, and providing ticketing reports as needed.
• Provide timely support for membership sales and respond to member customer service inquiries.
• Hire, train, and supervise three part-time Front of House employees, a staff of student workers from SAIC, and volunteers.
• Coordinate with colleagues at the Film Center, including the Executive Director, Assistant Director of Media Technology, and Director of Programming on sales and execution strategy.
• Respond in a timely manner to guests with accessibility needs and concerns.
• Support special events such as receptions, rentals, filmmaker Q&As, and fill in as needed for Front of House staff.
• Additional responsibilities as required.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Position may require approximately 50% standing while selling concessions and 50% sitting while selling movie tickets. Some lifting of concession supplies required.

QUALIFICATIONS

Minimum 3-5 years of experience in special event management, ticketing, and providing customer service highly preferred. Experience supervising a team and a desire to work with student employees.

Possess excellent oral and written communication skills, pay attention to detail, and take a solution-oriented approach to challenging situations.

Should embrace GSFC’s mission of providing an unparalleled film-going experience and lead by example.

CLOSING STATEMENT

The Art Institute of Chicago is an Equal Opportunity Employer that recruits, hires, and promotes qualified individuals without regard to race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, ancestry, veteran status, or citizenship.

The Institute complies with federal and state disability laws and makes reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities.

If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact the Department of Human Resources at apply [email protected].

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