Ordway Center for the Performing Arts seeks Vice President, Earned Revenue & Marketing
Organization
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is comprised of several key components, including the Ordway Music Theater, the Ordway Concert Hall, Ordway Education and Community Engagement programs, and major community access initiatives such as the Flint Hills Family Festival. Located in the heart of downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, the Ordway is a leading nonprofit performing arts center dedicated to serving as a cornerstone of exceptional artistic, educational, and cultural experiences. Since opening its doors in 1985, the Ordway has been a vibrant home for artistic excellence and community connection, presenting Broadway musicals, concerts, dance, vocal artists, and other live performances while advancing a steadfast commitment to making the arts accessible to all. In the most recent season, more than 217,000 audience members attended Ordway performances and events, representing an 11% increase over the prior season. The Ordway also generates an estimated $40 million in annual economic impact, supporting downtown Saint Paul’s restaurants, hotels, and local businesses.
The Ordway’s performance venues include the Ordway Music Theater and the Ordway Concert Hall, each designed to support a wide range of artistic experiences. The Ordway Music Theater is a 1,900-seat performance venue that brings audiences together for Broadway theater, music, dance, comedy, concerts, and other major productions. Complementing the Music Theater, the Ordway Concert Hall is a state-of-the-art, 1,100-seat performance and recording venue created through the collaboration of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Minnesota Opera, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and The Schubert Club. Officially opened in 2015, the Concert Hall was designed for acoustic and electro-acoustic music in an intimate setting, with no seat more than 90 feet from the stage.
Ordway Education celebrates the artist in every child through performing arts experiences. Since 1990, more than one million students and educators from across the region have attended an Ordway school performance. Through school performances, artist residencies, classroom resources, Festival School Week, and free video lessons, Ordway Education supplements arts learning for students and educators while helping make live performance accessible and affordable. School matinees feature world-class artists, and the Ordway supports school access through $4 tickets and bus reimbursement for all schools. During the most recent reporting period, more than 45,000 students, educators, and families were served through matinees, workshops, and community programs.
The Ordway’s Community programs connect live performances with thousands of community members each year through high-quality arts learning and engagement experiences. These programs include celebrations, backstage tours, community discussions, the Saint Paul Public Schools Honors Concert, the Flint Hills Family Festival, The Sally Awards, and other opportunities that inspire future generations and strengthen a diverse arts community. The Flint Hills Family Festival, first held in 2001, has welcomed more than one million students and families to downtown Saint Paul and remains one of the longest-standing and most accessible events of its kind in the country. The Ordway also expands access through complimentary and subsidized ticket programs, including 10,920 complimentary Access Tickets distributed through Tickets for Kids, Project Success, Boys and Girls Club, HopeKids, VetTix, and Ronald McDonald House.
Ordway has a 35-member board of directors led by Board Chair Dan Stoltz. The Vice President, Earned Revenue & Marketing, has three direct reports in its current team structure¬—the Director of Group Sales and Marketing, Marketing Manager, and Graphic Designer—and reports to the President and CEO. For the Fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, Ordway reported a total revenue of $16.9 million, with 71% from earned revenue sources, 29% from contributed income.
Sources: edited from ordway.org; propublica.org
Community
Saint Paul, Minnesota, is a welcoming capital city that combines historic neighborhoods, civic energy, cultural activity, and abundant outdoor amenities. With a 2024 estimated population of 307,465, Saint Paul is a diverse and well-educated community, where 18.2 percent of residents are foreign born, and 27.7 percent of residents age five and older speak a language other than English at home. The city’s 2040 Comprehensive Plan describes Saint Paul as a place of opportunity for people of all incomes, ages, races, ethnicities, and abilities, guided by a long-range vision for growth, strong neighborhoods, and inclusive development. Residents and visitors benefit from more than 180 parks, 26 recreation centers, 120 miles of trails, three public pools, a city beach, and Como Park Zoo and Conservatory, creating a vibrant urban community with recreation, gathering places, and cultural experiences throughout the city.
Saint Paul continues to invest in a resilient, vibrant, and inclusive future. The city’s planning work includes a comprehensive blueprint for development through 2040, as well as district planning, bicycle and pedestrian planning, the Mississippi River Corridor Plan, the Downtown Development Strategy, and the Great River Passage Plan. Downtown Saint Paul and the surrounding riverfront form a hub of culture, home to museums, theaters, concerts, sporting events, and historic charm. The city’s Cultural District includes major venues and gathering places such as the Fitzgerald Theater, Park Square Theatre, Union Depot, and Landmark Center. Through the Cultural STAR program, the City of Saint Paul has invested in arts and cultural programming and organizations since 1994, awarding more than $42.6 million to more than 1,450 projects. In this civic and cultural setting, Saint Paul offers the character of an established capital city with the energy of a community actively shaping its future, an ideal home for people who value the arts, public spaces, diverse neighborhoods, and meaningful community connection.
Sources: edited from stpaul.gov; census.gov
Position Summary
The Vice President, Earned Revenue & Marketing (VP) of The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (Ordway) will be a dynamic revenue strategist and audience builder, leading the growth of an $11 million portfolio anchored by Broadway ticket sales, the organization’s primary economic engine. Working closely with the President & CEO and senior leadership team, the VP will shape bold, data-informed strategies that elevate the Ordway’s visibility, deepen audience loyalty, and expand participation across the community. Through innovative marketing, sales, and engagement initiatives, this leader will drive attendance, strengthen earned revenue, and help ensure the Ordway’s continued vitality as one of the region’s premier cultural destinations.
Roles and Responsibilities
Revenue Strategy and Audience Growth
• Provide strategic leadership to the Marketing, Sales, and Audience Development departments to maximize ticket sales, audience growth, and earned revenue.
• Lead strategically and deliver more than $11 million in annual revenue, driven primarily through Broadway programming, subscriptions, group sales, and single-ticket sales.
• Develop and implement innovative marketing and sales strategies that expand audiences, increase attendance, and grow revenue across Broadway and other Ordway-presented programming, promoting the Ordway’s programs, services, venues, and performances while reaching underutilized, diverse, and emerging demographic markets.
• Strategize and guide annual season campaigns, ensuring that financial and human resources are directed toward the most effective channels, including digital marketing, telemarketing, group sales, incentive programs, and community-based initiatives.
• Provide strategic direction for new market development, campaign planning, research efforts, and audience development initiatives that advance the Ordway’s strategic and financial goals.
• Partner with senior leadership to align Marketing, Advancement, and Business Resources strategies, optimizing the patron journey from first purchase through repeat attendance, deeper engagement, and long-term loyalty.
• Embrace other revenue strategy and audience growth responsibilities as needed.
Strategic Leadership and Organizational Collaboration
• Serve as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, providing strategic direction and leadership in support of the Ordway’s mission, vision, and long-term goals.
• Collaborate with the President & CEO, Senior Leadership Team, and Board of Directors to achieve organizational priorities and strengthen cross-departmental alignment.
• Translate the Ordway’s strategic plan into departmental goals, action plans, and measurable outcomes.
• Monitor departmental goals, performance indicators, and results, reporting regularly on key strategic areas and outcomes.
• Serve as an Ordway representative on outside boards and committees, including as the marketing representative for the Arts Partnership.
• Embrace other strategic leadership and organizational collaboration responsibilities as needed.
Brand Leadership, Visibility, and Market Positioning
• Raise the profile, visibility, and image of the Ordway locally, regionally, and nationally, positioning the organization as a leading cultural institution.
• Collaborate with the Senior Leadership Team, Board of Directors, communications agency, and Arts Partners to establish strategic branding, marketing plans, and goals that elevate the Ordway’s profile, expand audiences, and increase revenue.
• Identify and secure new and expanded opportunities to raise awareness of the Ordway, its competitive advantages, programs, venues, and partners.
• Parter with departmental leadership to translate strategic goals and operational plans into creative communications, media, advertising, and promotional initiatives.
• Guide positioning strategies across all channels, balancing creativity, consistency, budget optimization, and measurable impact.
• Cultivate, retain, and optimize media partnerships that build awareness, enhance visibility, and elevate the Ordway’s profile and reputation.
• Steer the ongoing development and enhancement of the Ordway’s website to ensure it aligns with institutional strategies, audience needs, and revenue goals.
• Oversee internal and external communication, editorial, and design standards for marketing materials and publications.
• Embrace other brand leadership, visibility, and market positioning responsibilities as needed.
Marketing Analytics, Research, and Performance Measurement
• Develop, oversee, and maximize efficient and resourceful marketing functions that generate timely, accurate, and meaningful quantitative and qualitative data.
• Inform strategic business decisions, audience development, and revenue growth using market research, data analysis, and performance metrics.
• Inventory and evaluate current market research tools, data analysis platforms, subscriptions, and methods, recommending enhancements, additions, or eliminations as appropriate.
• Identify and guide targeted data analyses that support understanding of current and future demographic, political, economic, and social trends impacting the Ordway’s audiences and revenue streams.
• Provide thoughtful analysis and interpretation of market research data, drawing clear implications and recommendations that support critical business decisions.
• Guide and influence marketing and ticket services strategies for seasons, subscriptions, single-ticket sales, and group sales to maximize revenue and audience engagement.
• Embrace other marketing analytics, research, and performance measurement responsibilities as needed.
Advancement, Patron Engagement, and Institutional Alignment
• Collaborate with Advancement to align departmental goals, strategies, and communications in ways that increase giving, deepen patron involvement, and strengthen the Ordway’s image.
• Partner with Advancement to create integrated communications campaigns that deliver consistent messages to donors, patrons, and audiences.
• Support strategies that deepen donor understanding of and connection to the Ordway, optimizing giving, participation, and long-term engagement.
• Team with Advancement to broaden and integrate the donor base with subscription, single-ticket, and group sales buyers, increasing the likelihood that ticket buyers become donors and donors become ticket buyers.
• Strategize with Ordway departments and Arts Partners to identify public-, patron-, and audience-worthy ideas, programs, and initiatives.
• Embrace other advancement, patron engagement, and institutional alignment responsibilities as needed.
Traits and Characteristics
The Vice President, Earned Revenue & Marketing, will be a resourceful and results oriented leader who maximizes time, talent, energy, and resources to advance organizational priorities with efficiency and impact. They approach their work with purpose, ensuring that support, collaboration, and decision making align with meaningful outcomes rather than action for action’s sake. Their objective, practical mindset provides a clear understanding of organizational systems, operations, and surroundings, enabling thoughtful decisions grounded in functionality and sound judgment. Receptive to new ideas, methods, and opportunities, they remain open to innovation and approaches that extend beyond established practices. Focused and intentional, they demonstrate confidence, assertiveness, and a strong commitment to success in complex or high stakes situations. They act with urgency, responding quickly, moving priorities forward, and maintaining focus and momentum. As a highly interactive communicator, they engage frequently and effectively with staff, board members, community partners, donors, and other stakeholders. Versatility and adaptability allow them to navigate changing circumstances with ease while balancing strategic priorities, operational demands, and evolving organizational needs.
Other key competencies include:
• Time and Priority Management – The facility to prioritize and complete tasks to deliver desired outcomes within allotted time frames.
• Goal Orientation and Leadership – The capacity to organize, inspire, and influence people to believe in a vision, creating a sense of common purpose centered on the well-being and growth of Ordway’s staff, patrons, and community, and setting and attaining goals established to advance Ordway’s profile.
• Planning and Organizing – The aptitude to utilize logical, systematic, and orderly procedures to meet objectives, prioritizing tasks for optimum productivity and anticipating probable effects, outcomes, and risks.
• Conceptual Thinking – The ability to analyze hypothetical situations, patterns, and abstract concepts to identify connections, craft creative conclusions, and apply clear, connected reasoning to complex ideas.
• Self-Starting and Personal Accountability – The vitality to demonstrate initiative, inspire others to action, and model integrity, fairness, and objectivity in personal and professional interactions.
Qualification
A proven track record leading revenue functions of $11 million or more in Broadway, theatrical, or performing arts environments is desirable, along with deep expertise in ticketing strategy, audience behavior, demand generation, subscriptions, group sales, and dynamic pricing models. Strong experience in data-driven decision-making, forecasting, performance analytics, market research, trend analysis, and budget development and monitoring is essential. Demonstrated ability to build and lead high-performing, sales-focused teams while operating at the intersection of strategy, execution, and organizational leadership is needed. Knowledge of promotional and marketing techniques, media relations, public presentation, audience development, and partnership development is expected, as is the ability to communicate effectively with diverse employees, creative teams, technical crews, theater management, patrons, sponsors, media, and community organizations. Knowledge of the performing arts and experience attracting and sustaining diverse audiences for music, dance, theater, and Broadway programming are highly valued. Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite and related communications tools is required, along with excellent writing, editing, confidentiality, multitasking, professional representation, scheduling flexibility, and the ability to travel as needed.
Compensation and Benefits
The Ordway offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including an annual salary range of $140,000 to $160,000. Benefits include medical, dental, and vision insurance; retirement plan options through TIAA-CREF; financial counseling and college savings support; FSA, HSA, and transportation spending programs; company-provided life, AD&D, and long-term disability insurance; voluntary life/AD&D coverage; vacation, holidays, floating holidays, sick leave, earned safe and sick time, Minnesota Paid Family & Medical Leave, and employee assistance programs.
Applications and Inquiries
To submit a cover letter and resume with a summary of demonstrable accomplishments (electronic submissions preferred), please visit https://artsconsulting.com/opensearches/ordway-center-for-the-performing-arts-seeks-vice-president-earned-revenue-marketing/
The Ordway is an equal opportunity employer and will consider candidates regardless of race,
color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, creed, marital status, familial status,
public assistance status, age, local human rights commission activity, national origin,
veteran status, or disability status. The Ordway facilities and administrative offices
are wheelchair accessible, and service animals are welcomed.
