Position Summary
The Long Center is searching for a Tessitura champion and patron experience leader to join our team as Director of Ticketing & Patron Services at our beautiful performing arts center in Austin, TX. This role provides strategic leadership for ticketing operations, customer service, database administration, and front-of-house guest services. The Director is responsible for optimizing revenue opportunities, fostering exceptional guest experiences, and ensuring all patron-facing systems, services, and teams operate with efficiency, accessibility, and a commitment to hospitality.
Working collaboratively across departments, this position oversees the full patron lifecycle—from ticket purchase and constituent management through event attendance and post-event engagement—effectively supporting Long Center programming, rentals, and partner organizations.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Ticketing and Revenue Operations
- Supervise the Box Office Manager, Group Sales Manager, and Box Office Coordinator to ensure online ticketing, call center, and group sales operations are run with the highest level of efficiency and customer service.
- Establish departmental benchmarks, sales goals, service standards, and performance metrics, ensuring goals are met and regularly evaluated.
- Manage contracts and relationships for external cultural organizations through a centralized box office program.
- Handle accounting and financial operations including deposits, refunds, event ticketing estimates, settlements, cash/check reconciliation, recordkeeping, and reporting.
- Oversee event builds, inventory management, dynamic pricing & rezoning, promotions, premium offerings, and ticket fulfillment processes.
Database Administration and Systems Oversight
- Provide strategic oversight of Tessitura and other patron-facing technologies, ensuring data integrity, system optimization, security, and organizational best practices.
- Supervise the Database Manager and contracted DBA to support the development of efficient constituent management, reporting, segmentation, and business intelligence processes.
- Partner with Development, Marketing, Sales, Programming, and Finance teams to maximize the use of patron data and reporting tools in support of organizational goals.
- Ensure proper utilization, maintenance, training, and support for Tessitura CRM and related and integrated technologies.
Guest Experience and Front of House Leadership
- Supervise the Guest Services Manager to provide leadership and strategic direction for all Guest Services and Front of House operations, fostering a culture of hospitality, accessibility, inclusion, and exceptional customer service.
- Supervise the Guest Services Manager in the recruitment, training, scheduling, and development of Front of House staff and volunteers.
- Collaborate with operations, production, security, and event teams to ensure a seamless guest experience before, during, and after events.
- Establish and maintain service standards, policies, and procedures that support positive guest interactions and operational excellence.
- Review guest feedback, patron concerns, accessibility accommodations, and service recovery opportunities, implementing improvements as needed.
- Ensure Front of House operations, signage, accessibility resources, merchandise sales support, and guest-facing spaces are consistently guest-ready and aligned with organizational standards.
Strategic Leadership
- Assist with the budgeting, forecasting, staffing, and planning for daily and long-term patron experience initiatives.
- Partner with organizational leadership to develop and implement customer service, audience development, accessibility, and retention strategies.
- Lead, coach, and develop direct reports, fostering a collaborative and high-performing team culture.
- Attend departmental and leadership meetings and perform other duties and special projects as assigned.
Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities)
- 7-10 years of experience with ticketing, customer service, arts administration, venue operations, or a related field.
- Minimum of 5 years of supervisory experience managing front of house teams in a live entertainment environment.
- Advanced Tessitura expertise, including constituent records, system tables, facility builds and price zones, production elements and performances, pricing and modes of sale, TNEW programming, advanced ticket order processing, reporting, integrations, and security/self-service tools.
- Demonstrated experience leading customer-facing teams and developing service standards that enhance patron satisfaction.
- Experience managing complex operational workflows, technology systems, budgets, and cross-functional projects.
- Strong analytical, communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
- Commitment to accessibility, inclusion, and exceptional guest service.
Physical Demands, Benefits, and Work Environment
This is a hybrid position with an office on the Long Center campus in Austin and the ability to work remotely as needed. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the functions.
In addition to salary, The Long Center offers a competitive benefits package, including health, dental, vision, 401k plan with employer match, generous paid time off, and unparalleled access to arts and cultural programming.
The Long Center is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and we strive for a team that reflects Austin’s diverse culture. All applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, sex or age.