Opportunities

DESCRIPTION:
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is hiring the position of Executive Assistant to the General Director. This position serves as a trusted partner to the General Director, providing administrative, communications, and strategic support to advance company goals. This position is responsible for managing the General Director’s calendar, coordinating correspondence, internal and external reporting, as well as planning, scheduling, and organizing tasks for the Office of the General Director. This role requires a proactive mindset, the ability to anticipate the General Director's needs, and sound professional judgment to manage priorities and make informed decisions.

Duties and Responsibilities

Primary Responsibilities:

Office of the General Director
- Assist in tracking key organizational priorities and ensure the General Director is informed of upcoming deadlines, action items, and critical decisions.
- Manage the General Director’s calendar, exercising discretion to prioritize meetings and commitments based on strategic priorities. Includes the scheduling of meetings with staff, donors, community partners, and board members.
- Anticipate the General Director’s needs by preparing materials, background information, and briefing notes in advance of meetings and engagements.
- Draft high-level correspondence, remarks, and talking points that reflect the General Director’s voice and align with the organization’s strategic goals.
- Serve as a liaison between the General Director’s office and internal/external stakeholders, maintaining relationships and ensuring timely follow-up on key conversations and commitments.
- Assist with management of General Director’s email.
- Accurately track and code expenses, request payment, and manage financial paperwork for the General Director.
- Manage all travel arrangements for the General Director; assist with arrangements for visiting VIPs.
- Support meeting preparation for the General Director, including preparing the room, setting up technology, coordinating meals and refreshments, and other logistics for meetings.
- Take and distribute notes from Leadership Team meetings, as requested.
- Assist with the preparation and distribution of company welcome gifts.
- Collect information, confirm accuracy, and coordinate the submission of the annual Opera America membership survey, and other surveys and reports as requested.
- Various additional writing projects, including correspondence with artists, artists management, board members, donors, subscribers, and community partners.
- General clerical tasks such as filing and mailings.

Donor Communications:
- Working with the Development staff, coordinate the General Director’s fundraising appointments, follow up communications, and donor calls as requested.
- Draft and coordinate high-level correspondence between the office of the General Director and donors as requested by the General Director and Development Staff.
- Maintain and share accurate and up to date records of the General Director’s donor meetings, post-meeting notes, and other donor communications.
- Coordinate with Development staff to ensure updated information received by the Office of the General Director, such as donor contact information, name information, and other notes, are entered into Tessitura.

Required Skills, Experience & Qualifications:
- Demonstrated ability to think strategically and anticipate needs in a fast-paced environment.
- Sound professional judgment and the ability to make decisions independently while exercising discretion.
- The ability to deal with confidential information with discretion and maturity.
- Experience supporting senior leaders or executives with high-profile responsibilities.
- Skill in managing projects with overlapping deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
- Excellent spoken and written communication skills.
- Extraordinary attention to detail; Excellent ability to prioritize and organize tasks.
- Experience with Tessitura or similar CRM database.
- Experience with Teams, Zoom or similar video call systems.
- Proficiency with word processing and spreadsheets.
- Ability to work some nights and weekends at key times during the year, specifically during the festival season (May-June).

Ideal Candidate Profile:
- The ability to assimilate information quickly and work independently.
- The ability to assess priorities, anticipate needs, and proactively develop solutions.
- A collaborative mindset with strong diplomatic and relationship-building skills.
- Creative and efficient problem-solving skills.
- Familiarity with the arts and the non-profit sector.
- An interest in opera or the performing arts is helpful but not required.
- A high level of empathy and the ability to interact with staff, board members, donors, and volunteers in a range of professional and social situations

About Opera Theatre of Saint Louis:
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL) is a nationally recognized nonprofit organization known for innovative productions featuring outstanding young artists. The company offers a festival opera season each spring which attracts ticket buyers from zip codes throughout the metropolitan area, as well as visitors from nearly 50 states and multiple countries. As of 2024, OTSL has presented 41 world premieres, which may be the highest percentage of new work in the repertory of any American company. In addition to the spring Festival Season, OTSL operates year-round education and community programs serving nearly 17,000 local children and adults.

Opera Theatre of Saint Louis has a year-round artistic and administrative staff of approximately 45, which grows to more than 500 during the Festival Season. Several hundred volunteer members of the Opera Theatre Guild provide support for all aspects of Opera Theatre’s work and advocate for the company throughout the greater St. Louis community. The company’s annual budget size is approximately $12 million; contributed revenue represents more than 50% of budget.

At Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, we value equity, diversity, and mutual respect. We strongly encourage people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, women, people with disabilities, and others who have been historically excluded to apply. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative of our community. We are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. OTSL will not discriminate against employees or applicants on the basis of race, color, religion or belief; national, social, or ethnic origin; age; sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression; physical, mental, or sensory disability; family or parental status; genetic information or characteristics; protected veteran status; or any other protected class under federal, state, or local law. OTSL will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.

If you need assistance or accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please contact (314) 963-4233 or tbennett@opera-stl.org.

BENEFITS:
Pay Range: $53,000 - $60,000 Annual

Robust benefits package including health insurance, open PTO policy, 401k match, and more.

Opera Theatre has a flexible work policy which allows for some hybrid work and asynchronous schedule arrangements, based on position and o

HOW TO APPLY:
Application Email/Link: recruiting.myapps.paychex.com/appone/MainInfoReq.asp?R_ID=6721640