Artistic & General Operations Manager

Artistic & General Operations Manager

Full Time, 40 hours per week, Exempt

“Exquisite in every way” (Gramophone), The Thirteen is a professional choir and orchestra based in metropolitan Washington, D.C. Our operating budget, now $900,000, has grown 1,000% over the past decade, and we are well-positioned for the upcoming period of growth. The Thirteen’s six-program season of eighteen to twenty-five concerts spans late September through May each year, with summer months dedicated to long-range planning, preparing for the upcoming season, and advancing organizational priorities.

The Role

The Thirteen seeks a productive and inventive arts professional who has experience as a trained musician and is committed to the power of music. Working closely with Matthew Robertson, Artistic Director, and Angela Marroy Boerger, Managing Director—musicians themselves—you will help bring performances and programs from conception to completion while supporting the administrative functions that underpin that work.

As The Thirteen’s Artistic & General Operations Manager, you can expect:

• Substantial responsibility: You will lead aspects of planning and executing concerts, with the opportunity to exercise judgment, improve systems, and see your work directly shape the experience of our artists and audiences.
• A competitive compensation package: You’ll be compensated through salary, paid vacation, employer-paid health insurance and life insurance, and a professional expense stipend. Details are provided below.
• Significant flexibility: On a week-to-week basis, you will have substantial discretion over when you work, provided you are productive and communicative with the team in a timely manner. Though concert weeks typically require fixed, extended evening and weekend hours, we provide a compensatory day off immediately afterward.
• The opportunity to work in a critically acclaimed and growing organization: You will help produce performances of nationally recognized artistic quality while gaining firsthand experience in how a growing organization expands its programming, reaches new audiences, and builds the support to sustain its work.

The Candidate

Perhaps you’re a performer with substantial administrative expertise ready to bring your musical discipline and ambition to arts administration, a professional returning to music after working in another industry, or a recent graduate in arts administration or a related field with substantial experience managing productions or artistic projects. Or you are none of those things, but you enjoy taking on challenges and managing competing demands, want to build a career in arts administration, and believe in The Thirteen’s mission and music-making.

You should thrive while managing multiple projects simultaneously: coordinating today’s rehearsal logistics while finalizing contracts for a future season, answering patron questions, and preparing for next month’s concerts. You anticipate needs, ask questions early, and follow up on time, all with a strong work ethic.

Your Responsibilities

• Artistic Operations
  • Serve as primary liaison for musicians: manage contracts, homestay assignments and communication; track musicians’ hours, compensation, travel, and per diem.
  • Serve as production manager for The Thirteen: manage venue coordination, stagecraft and instrument rentals, setup and strike, and stage management; act as primary production contact among venues, musicians, contractors, and staff.
  • Provide on-site production leadership at all rehearsals and concerts: set up stands, podiums, risers, chairs, and music; coordinate rehearsal breaks and reset venue reset following events. Coordinate rehearsal schedules with staff and venues; communicate production information to musicians and staff.
  • Arrange and manage stagecraft deliveries and labor as necessary; coordinate needs at venues.
  • Lead in coordinating other production requirements, e.g., lighting, projection, subtitles, and props.
  • Supervise video livestream setup and strike; coordinate between video contractors and staff.
  • Coordinate delivery of sheet music to musicians, including marking, transferring bowings, etc.
  • Organize and maintain digital assets, such as photographs, videos, audio recordings, and sheet music.
• General Operations
  • Manage donor-related data entry; process gift acknowledgments.
  • Participate in Front of House responsibilities for concerts and special events.
  • Oversee merchandise inventory, music library, and archives.
  • Film and edit brief promotional videos.
  • Maintain constituent databases to ensure data integrity.
  • Serve as primary point of contact for patron and constituent communications via email and phone.
• Other duties as assigned.

What We Require

• Exceptional attention to detail, strong project and time management skills, adaptability, empathy, drive, ownership of deliverables, and calm under pressure.
• Excellent critical thinking skills. These skills are typically acquired through a bachelor’s and/or master’s degree, but The Thirteen will gladly consider candidates who have demonstrated these skills through prior work or other experience.
• Physical capacity to routinely lift, carry, and set up chairs, music stands, and production materials and to roll pianos for rehearsals and concerts; to move heavier furniture and equipment, such as tables, harpsichords, continuo organs, large church chairs, and risers, with assistance as needed.
• Flexibility to regularly work outside standard office hours for concerts/events. Available for attendance at all of The Thirteen’s rehearsals and concerts.
• Reliable access to a vehicle for transportation needs and to transport production materials.
• In-person attendance at all rehearsals, performances, and development events.
• In-person attendance at weekly staff meetings is required. Ability to work remotely outside of concert/event weeks.
• Experience with Google Workspace and Microsoft Office. We use these platforms for internal operations and external communications, including Excel to track contracts, schedules, budgets, and compensation in spreadsheets using formulas; and Word to prepare contracts, communicate, and create mail merges, production materials, and correspondence.
• Ability to read music fluently.
• Residence in the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area. (This is not a remote job.)

What We Prefer

• Three or more years of professional experience in performing arts production management, performance logistics, and/or stage management. Past positive employment experience in the field is one indicator of success in this position.
• Experience with box office ticketing software or systems, constituent relationship management systems, simple video editing software, and graphic design software is preferred. Familiarity with these tools will help you manage patron and donor records, support ticket sales, and prepare promotional materials; experience learning comparable systems is also valuable.
• Experience as a professional performer in our field is preferred. Understanding the demands placed upon performers in our field will help you anticipate musicians’ needs and communicate effectively with them.
• Residence in Washington, D.C. proper. Proximity facilitates in-person attendance when required at weekly staff meetings and other events and the transportation of production materials. 

Compensation

• $55,000-$60,000 per year, dependent on experience.
• Four weeks of vacation per year, much of which is expected to be taken in the summer.
• Twelve paid holidays per year; generous sick leave and family leave.
• 100% employer-paid Gold-level health insurance for full-time employees, flexible spending account benefits, and employer-provided life insurance; we plan to offer a defined contribution retirement plan by July 1, 2027.
• Professional expense stipend of $750 per year.

The Thirteen supports equal opportunity in employment and contracting. The Thirteen does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, sex, marital status, disability, or status as a U.S. veteran. The Thirteen abides by its staff policies, which include a Harassment Prevention Policy and a Whistleblower Policy. Applicants may be asked to undergo a background check, and employment may be contingent upon the successful completion of a background check.