Lyric employs a year-round administrative staff of approximately 90, including management, professional, and support personnel in:
- Artistic, Production, and Technical Operations
- Development, Donor Services, and Special Events
- Finance, Facilities Management, Information Systems, Office Services, and Human Resources
- Marketing, Media & Public Relations, Tickets, and Education
Full Time Job Listings
Updated: May 1, 2013
Position: Research Associate
Reports to: Assistant Director of Development – Donor Relations and Research
Duties and Responsibilities:
•Assist supervisor in research for both annual campaign and CFE2 campaign including creating detailed research profiles for solicitation staff. Maintain research templates, work with Development staff to research and identify potential donors based on the needs of their areas.
•Assist appropriate staff to identify giving capacity and potential areas of interest for patrons currently affiliated with Lyric. Assist in identifying potential prospects and help assess likelihood for giving in all areas of needed support.
•Monitor current media for board member and major donor news, and philanthropic trends; create periodic update email as needed to keep internal and/or external constituencies alerted of related news concerning the Lyric donor family. Regularly cross-reference comparable institutions’ giving and advise appropriate staff.
•Manage research of donors in order to identify potential willingness to increase gifts; prioritize workload with focus on presently unknown, regular donors and off-radar donors. Periodically, with supervisor, review entire database for likely prospects for new gifts based on trend analysis of recent giving.
•Regularly identify key indicators of propensity unique to organization and forward to staff for discussion. Attend weekly prospect meetings and track all progress of solicitation cycle; record all information in database. Assist senior staff with tracking, and ensure all solicitation tracking is up to date within database.
•Research and create profiles for all new event attendees pre-event, and provided detailed research bios for all attendees of Grand Benefactor Dinners and Production Sponsorship dinners. Gather and record in Tessitura all post-event feedback and new information; hand off to appropriate staff any next steps.
•Review existing central files for imperative information that should be scanned/appended to fundraising database, and implement.
•Complete special projects and attend and assist with special events and other departmental objectives, as assigned.
Knowledge and Skills:
2+ years of experience in the areas of nonprofit prospect research or fundraising. Previous experience in creating research profiles and effective written communication skills required. Analytical aptitude, proficiency with MS-Office products (Word, Excel), and familiarity with fundraising databases highly desirable. Tessitura experience and knowledge of opera or the arts a plus.
Posted: May 1, 2013
Start Date: July 1, 2013
Please forward cover letter and resume to Human Resources Department.
Position: Administrative Assistant – Planned and Individual Giving
Reports to: Director of Planned Giving and Director of Individual Giving
Duties and Responsibilities:
• Provide high level customer service to Ryan Opera Center Board members and Overture Society members (planned givers), including entering performance ticket exchanges and Graham Room reservations, answering phones, composing meeting notices, memos, emails, and thank you notes.
• Schedule meetings and appointments for supervisors, develop and maintain filing system for applicable activities and events. Assist with maintenance of database records as related to correspondence and activity tracking.
• Assist with planning and detailed arrangements for Ryan Opera Center ongoing patron activities, including in-home hosted events (Soiree), program series at sister institutions (Art Institute and WFMT), Final Auditions and VIP attendance at Rising Stars, etc. Assist with planning and detailed arrangements for Overture Society Appreciation Luncheons and Planned Giving Seminars. Prepare and assemble invitation mailings and email correspondence, track responses in enterprise database, and complete post-event tasks as assigned. Periodic weekend and evening event work required for various programs.
• Provide administrative support for Ryan Opera Center Board Committees (Fundraising, Nominations, etc.). Prepare and distribute meeting notices, agenda and applicable reports, including assigned research tasks. Take and transcribe minutes, and provide accurate record of ongoing peer-to-peer solicitor activity in database.
• Maintain confidential Planned Giving records, including planned giving, seat-naming, and future endowment gifts; keep information current/accurate, generate targeted mailing lists, produce and analyze regular/ad-hoc data reports.
• Assist supervisor in monitoring open estates in and through Probate.
• Assist other units of the department as assigned.
Management retains the right to change or add to the duties of the position at any time.
Knowledge and Skills:
Strong organizational, interpersonal, and oral/written communication skills essential, as are previous experience in an administrative support role to include a demonstrated orientation to detail and high quality customer-service. MS/Word and Excel proficiency are also required; previous Tessitura experience is desirable. Knowledge of opera a plus.
Start Date: Immediate
Posted: April 15, 2013
Please forward cover letter and resume to Human Resources Department.
Position: Administrative Assistant - Donor
Services and Special Events
Reports to: Assistant Director of Development - Donor
Services and Special Events
Duties and Responsibilities:
• Graham Room: performs a variety of patron services,
including reservations and cancellations, response to inquiries, and resolution
of perceived problems or service issues; prepares, updates, and distributes
attendance lists to internal contacts; maintains membership records, organizes billing
preparation, schedules room usage/maintenance, and tracks inventory and
statistical data; creates menus and wine lists; serves as a liaison to catering
vendors, and assists with the supervision of catering staff on room set-up requirements
for all events.
• Special Events:
assists with the coordination of special events, annual donor appreciation
events, et al. Provides support in the
implementation of fundraising events and activities as assigned; assists in the
preparation of invitation lists, printing and mailing of invitations, and
confirmation of hosts/hostesses; oversees room preparation, and provides
on-site support at events to check-in guests and troubleshoots problems that
may arise.
• Fundraising:
as a Lyric Bravo Circle Representative, assists with VIP ticket requests
for assigned donor accounts, and with solicitation letters and other
correspondence.
• Other:
maintains schedule of Graham Room and company-wide event calendar; maintains office filing system and related
Development department central filing, and assists with office
invoices/bookkeeping; completes special projects and provides other clerical assistance
to supervisor, as requested.
Management
retains the right to change or add to the duties of the position at any time.
Knowledge and Skills:
Strong
organizational, interpersonal, and written/oral communication skills
required. Previous experience in an
administrative/office support role to include a demonstrated orientation to
detail and the ability to successfully resolve a variety of customer-service
issues. Proficiency with MS-Office
products (Word, Excel, Access) is also required; knowledge of Tessitura is a
plus.
Start Date: Immediate
Posted: March
27, 2013
Please send
resume to Human Resources.
Postion: Director of Marketing
Lyric Opera of Chicago, one of the world’s most admired and successful arts organizations, seeks an innovative and successful Director of Marketing to maximize ticket sales revenue, and drive participation in Lyric’s extensive public and educational programming.
Steeped in almost 60 years of ground-breaking work by diverse artists, Lyric and its new leadership team continue to build a reputation for excellence and audience engagement. Just four leaders have held the post of General Director, with dynamic innovator Anthony Freud assuming the position in 2011. He is joined by internationally renowned conductor Sir Andrew Davis (just the second Music Director in Lyric’s history), and celebrated soprano Renée Fleming, who recently joined Lyric as the organization’s Creative Consultant. A new energy exists around this great team and company, an energy that has already had a tangible impact on Lyric’s performances, programs and operations. Together with Lyric’s staff and board, Freud, Davis and Fleming are introducing a groundbreaking new strategic plan that includes (and demands), new programming, new marketing and new innovation geared to developing new audiences.
Over the next years Lyric will offer performances on the mainstage of the Civic Opera House as well as throughout the Chicago metro area, delivering a balance of traditional opera, an annual Broadway musical, and innovative and experimental programs. Such activities are designed to thrill current and develop new audiences, with the Director of Marketing playing a critical role in driving attendance and earned income though:
• A strong triple-bottom-line emphasis on Lyric’s artistic excellence, public and audience engagement, and financial responsibility.
• Exceptional performances, including 2012/13 productions of Elektra, Don Pasquale, La Bohème, Rigoletto, A Streetcar Named Desire, among others. Lyric has also announced the World Premiere of Bel Canto for the 2015/16 season, and will ensure that world premieres remain an important part of its future.
• Lyric Unlimited Initiative, a series of projects combining classic operatic arts and popular culture in an engaging mix that attracts new audiences of diverse ages, backgrounds and interests into the Lyric fold. Examples include presentation of the world’s first Mariachi Opera, collaboration with the Second City comedy troupe, and a strong partnership with the Merit School of Music to involve Chicago youth in opera.
• Ryan Opera Center Lyric’s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center is recognized as offering one of the world’s premier artist training programs for opera singers. More than 500 singers audition annually for 12 admittance slots.
• Audience Education, delivered through Lyric's Education Department that engage more diverse audiences through interesting operatic arts education experiences.
Having balanced its budget for 24 of the last 25 years, Lyric currently has an operating budget of $6 m funded by ticket revenues of $30m, contributed revenue of $23m, other operating revenue of $8m, and the balance through a reserve fund purposefully set-aside for that purpose by leaders who combine a strong artistic vision with prudent financial management. A new capital campaign to further ensure Lyric’s longevity long into the future is now being launched. The Lyric marketing budget averages $3.8 million annually, exclusive of personnel expense. The Marketing Department includes 6 professionals responsible for subscription and individual-ticket advertising, corporate sales, group sales, digital and social media marketing, and e-commerce. Additionally, 7 full-time staff is assigned to Ticketing Services, which reports to the Director of Marketing.
Reporting to General Director Anthony Freud and working with board members, staff, and diverse partners and vendors, the Director of Marketing will lead, plan, direct and implement strategies that maximize Lyric’s ticket sales revenue and program attendance. Digital marketing will be key to Lyric’s future audience development. The Director will manage, recruit and retain a small marketing department of top-notch staff and contractors capable of supporting Lyric’s marketing, sales and web marketing needs into the future, and will play a key role in the General Director’s leadership team.
For more information please contact:
Mark Oppenheim
(415)762-2640 or marko@mOppenheim.com
Barbara Kimport
(415)762-2648 or barbarak@mOppenheim.com
m/Oppenheim Associates
221 Main Street, Suite 540
San Francisco, CA 94105
Internships are available within the administrative office throughout the year for students or "career changers" who wish to gain experience in the arts administration field. Internships may be accommodated in a variety of work areas, based upon the interests and skills of individual applicants; areas most frequently able to offer internships include Development/Special Events, Education, Technical, Ticket Department, and The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center. Availability of assignments in specific areas is dependent upon workload needs during the time period an internship is desired, as well as the number of weekly hours an individual is able to commit.
Although internships are unpaid, a nominal travel stipend is offered; other benefits may include mentoring, complimentary tickets or ability to attend dress rehearsals, backstage tours, and "brown bag" lunch hour presentations. Internship inquiries should include an applicant's area(s) of interest, the time period that is desirable, and the number of weekly hours that are available.
Internship Opportunities
Updated May 17, 2013
Position: Internship for Technical Department
Time Commitment: 20-25 hours per week
Duration of position: As needed: June – August or September-December
From the scenery to the costumes, props, lighting, sound and wigs and make-up—the Lyric Opera Technical Department is responsible for all the visual aspects of a production. That responsibility involves a lot of inter-departmental coordination, planning, budgeting and creativity. The Technical Department Intern will have the opportunity to see how all those elements come together.
Projects/duties may include but are not limited to:
• Researching potential future production rentals
• Documenting past and upcoming productions
• Archiving production materials
• Assisting in revamping the Health and Safety program
• Production scheduling and budgeting
• Design research for production designers or technical director
Required Knowledge and Skills: The successful candidate will be motivated, detail oriented, possess excellent organizational skills and have the ability to prioritize multiple tasks effectively. Strong oral and written communication skills are a must. Proficiency with MS Word, Excel, and online research strategies are required. Adobe Photoshop and/or AutoCAD would be a plus. Interest and/or experience in arts administration, theatre production, and design is preferred.