Sponsorship & Donor Experience Associate

Our client The Cabaret is growing again!

POSITION PURPOSE

Founded in 2009 The Cabaret is a nationally acclaimed premier home for intimate cabaret where artists are uplifted audiences belong the next generation thrives and our community is strengthened through worldclass artistry and radical hospitality.

Reporting to the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO) the Audience & Donor Experience Manager is a seasoned relationshipdriven professional who leads The Cabarets guest services function while also supporting donor engagement and stewardship across the Advancement team. This is a current full-time role with some newly expanded responsibilities on The Cabarets growing staff. This role ensures that every audience member and donor experiences The Cabarets signature Radical Hospitality transforming transactional encounters into meaningful relationships that deepen loyalty and philanthropic connection to the mission. The Manager plays an essential role in strengthening organizational systems staff culture and operational readiness ensuring precision excellence and Radical Hospitality across every touchpoint.

As the leader of box office and frontofhouse operations this role oversees ticketing guest experience volunteer coordination sales reporting and patron/donor stewardship and hospitality. They work crossdepartmentally to ensure performance nights donor touchpoints and all audience communications consistently reflect The Cabarets commitment to excellence belonging and WOWlevel experiences.

This is a high-impact role suited for an experienced manager with strong leadership skills and the ability to grow into broader strategic responsibilities. With demonstrated performance and alignment with organizational values the position has the potential to progress into a future Director-level role supported by its high visibility within an entrepreneurial team and opportunities for mentorship and career development at one of Indys most beloved cultural institutions and leading nonprofit theaters.

All employees are expected to actively embody The Cabarets core Values: We Deliver the WOW We Practice Radical Hospitality We Welcome Everyone We Lift Each Other Upand We Do the Right Thing.

The ideal candidate pairs technical expertise and a passion for CRM excellencecombining accuracy attention to detail and a love of datawith positivity initiative curiosity warmth integrity and a genuine commitment to serving and caring for others. A flexible schedule is essential including the ability to work evenings and weekends during performances and events. The Cabaret presents 4050 performance nights annually in its awardwinning theatre with show weekends typically occurring twice per month.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Patron Services & FrontofHouse Leadership

• Lead elevate and refine all box office and guest services operations to ensure every patron and donor experiences seamless service warm engagement and The Cabarets signature Radical Hospitality.
• Serve as the organizations primary frontfacing guest services representative modeling hospitality standards that center empathy responsiveness professionalism and belonging.
• Oversee comprehensive ticketing operationsincluding website user experience phone services seating maps holds sales and performancenight executionensuring accuracy efficiency and a polished guest experience.
• Recruit train schedule and supervise volunteers and FOH support staff cultivating a culture of teamwork care accountability and valuesdriven excellence.
• Provide realtime problemsolving and conflict resolution during performances proactively anticipating and addressing guest needs.
• Maintain welcoming aesthetically aligned lobby and reception spaces that reflect The Cabarets hightouch whiteglove service standards.
• Lead ongoing Radical Hospitality and surprise and delight initiatives by auditing guest donor and volunteer touchpoints and identifying opportunities to elevate experiences across the patron journey.
• Collaborate with leadership to embed hospitality standards into onboarding training evaluation tools and FOH volunteer protocols aligning operational systems with organizational values.
• Support venueplanning and operational readiness by identifying environmental improvements including signage accessibility audience flow and ambiance that enhance the guest experience.

Donor Experience & Stewardship Support

• Support donor hospitality at performances by coordinating seating benefit fulfillment special requests and personalized donorcentered communications.
• Partner with the CAO to strengthen donor relationships through thoughtful stewardship touchpoints and meaningful individualized interactions.
• Ensure accuracy across donor ticketing acknowledgments listings and recognition maintaining consistency with advancement practices and stewardship expectations.
• Act as a key administrative partner in donor engagement by recording interactions tracking followup and supporting acknowledgment and stewardship workflows.
• Apply a developmentminded lens to all audience communication and service supporting donor cultivation and retention.
• Use CRM data to personalize audience and donor experiences manage preferences and contribute to longterm relationshipbuilding strategies.

Ticketing Data Management & CRM Integration

• Oversee all ticketing setup maintenance reporting and reconciliation ensuring accuracy and timely delivery of information to leadership for planning and analysis.
• Produce timely sales attendance and performancelevel reports that support strategic decisionmaking and crossdepartmental insight.
• Manage donations processed through the ticketing system and ensure accurate donor tracking.
• Play a leadership role in the organizations transition to an integrated CRM system merging patron and donor data to support a unified experience and enhanced organizational insight.
• Support implementation of new CRM ticketing workflow and reporting systems that increase operational efficiency strengthen data governance and advance strategicplan objectives.
• Partner with the CAO to standardize processes documentation and data protocols that reinforce accuracy alignment and crossteam collaboration.
• Utilize and related tools to support transparent workflows timelines and accountability.

Audience Development & Outreach

• Lead the development and implementation of audience surveys collecting data that measures audience growth satisfaction and alignment with The Cabarets commitment to Radical Hospitality inclusion and belonging.
• Collaborate with Marketing to design and execute outreachdriven strategies and promotional campaigns to authentically invite and engage new audiences in mutually meaningful ways.
• Develop steward and grow group sales relationships with community partners corporations and affinity organizations supporting expanded reach and community connection.
• Analyze data dashboards CRM insights and audience feedback to identify trends and inform audience development strategies service enhancements and new opportunities.

Education & Community Engagement Support

• Partner with the Artistic team to coordinate ticketing and front of house support for educational programs community partnerships student engagement opportunities and outreach activities.

Administrative & CrossTeam Collaboration

• Serve as an active member of the Advancement and crossdepartmental teams contributing to planning conversations and institutional alignment.
• Maintain organized efficient and welcoming administrative and box office environments.
• Serve as the primary liaison with phone voicemail and communication service providers.
• Support Advancement initiatives and organizationwide priorities as needed.
• Participate in biweekly donor movesmanagement meetings and biannual SMARTgoal evaluations as part of institutional rhythms that support strategic accountability.
• Contribute to crosstraining efforts across Advancement FOH and Box Office to increase organizational resilience and operational flexibility.
• Support staff culture that nurtures internal leadership collaboration and valuesdriven excellence.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE
Required

• Bachelors degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 7 years of progressively responsible experience in guest services advancement hospitality management guest experience theatre administration or related fields.
• Demonstrated success supervising staff or volunteers managing highdensity service environments and coordinating complex operational systems.
• Exceptional interpersonal and relationshipbuilding skills with the ability to warmly and effectively engage audience members donors sponsors and VIP guests.
• Ticketing software experience and expertise.
• Strong belief in The Cabarets mission vision and values with a passion for the performing arts.
• Excellent communication skillsclear empathetic and aligned with The Cabarets values.
• Strong organizational habits with sharp attention to detail the ability to manage multiple priorities and a commitment to accuracy in a performancedriven setting.
• Comfort working evenings and weekends during performance periods.
• Commitment to cultural equity inclusion and belonging.

Preferred

• Experience with Office 365/Outlook.
• Experience with CRM/database management (The Cabaret currently uses Bloomerang).
• Understanding of philanthropic practices and the donor stewardship cycle.
• Strong hospitality instincts and a desire to genuinely Deliver the WOW.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

• Ability to be physically engaged/active for extended periods during shows (work host stand etc.).
• Frequent use of computer phone and office equipment.
• Occasional lifting (up to 20 lbs.) for event support.
• Moving through theatre spaces to greet donors and sponsors as needed.

THE CABARETS VALUES IN THIS ROLE

This position exemplifies The Cabarets core values by:

Delivering the WOW by orchestrating flawless detailobsessed audience and donor experiences that surprise delight and raise the bar for what Radical Hospitality feels like at every touchpoint.

Practicing Radical Hospitality by anticipating patron and donor needs resolving concerns with warmth and urgency and ensuring every interaction feels personal celebratory generous and human.

Welcoming Everyone by creating inclusive and accessible experiences stewarding processes that honor differences and ensuring all audiences and donors feel truly seen and valued.

Lifting Each Other Up by modeling empathetic leadership supporting volunteers and staff with clarity and kindness and fostering a collaborative communicative egofree frontofhouse culture.

Doing the Right Thing by stewarding data systems and relationships with integrity communicating transparently and making thoughtful ethical decisions that strengthen longterm mission impact.

The Cabaret offers a competitive total compensation package and fosters a culture that supports flexibility wellbeing and balance- including planned flex time during highintensity performance periods. We welcome everyone and are proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. The salary range for this role is $55000 to $60000 plus benefits.