Job Highlights
Reporting to the Associate Director of Marketing, the Marketing Grassroots Coordinator, serves as a key public-facing representative of Houston Grand Opera, helping grow audience engagement and strengthen HGO’s presence across Houston. This role leads the coordination and execution of promotional events, and audience engagement initiatives while serving as a bridge between the Marketing department and other internal teams, with an emphasis on collaboration with the Community Impact team ultimately helping expand HGO’s reach and welcome new audiences to opera.
Join Us!
We are looking for talented, passionate, and dedicated people who are eager to make contributions to our community and our mission. If you are excited about this position but your experience does not align perfectly, we encourage you to apply! You may be just the right candidate for this position or another role at HGO.
About the Houston Grand Opera
The mission of HGO is to enrich our diverse community through the art of opera. We do so by creating, curating, exploring, and producing outstanding experiences centered around the human voice. HGO has received a Tony Award, three Grammy Awards, and three Emmy Awards – we are the only opera company in the world to win all three honors.
Our strategic focus is two-fold: creating profoundly enriching experiences for our diverse audiences and clearly defining and positively promoting the HGO brand. We believe every team member enriches our organization by exposing a broad range of ways to understand and engage our community and discover, design, and deliver enriching experiences.
Compensation and Benefits
We offer robust benefits to full-time employees, including:
- Comprehensive and affordable health benefits.
- Generous paid time off.
- 403b retirement plan with employer match.
- Flexible work schedule.
- Professional development fund and opportunities.
- Discounted parking in the Theater District garage and nearby lots, plus easy access to Metro transportation.
- Free tickets to our mainstage and community productions and events.
Key Responsibilities
- Serve as a front-line representative of HGO at audience engagement initiatives, festivals, partner activations, tabling opportunities, and public events, managing logistics and on-site execution to ensure successful engagement and brand representation.
- Nurture and fulfill promotional partnership initiatives with organizations across Houston.
- Coordinate and execute audience engagement and themed events including Military Appreciation Night, Pride Night, Noche de Ópera, Overture, ONYP, Under 40 Friday, and other special themed performances.
- Serve as a liaison between Marketing and Community Impact teams by attending cross-departmental meetings, amplifying upcoming programs and events, and providing on-site support for Community Impact events, as needed.
- Partner with Philanthropy, Butler Studio, OGD, and other departments to support additional outreach opportunities, providing branded materials and collateral, and recommending marketing messaging and assets for community events and tabling opportunities.
- Organize and manage promotional codes, partner offers, collateral and signage for audience-facing events.
- Build and support email communications regarding events and programming with primary work focused on Community Impact initiatives.
- Maintain and update HGO.org content related to community programs, themed events, partner information, and audience engagement initiatives, ensuring information is accurate, timely, and aligned with current marketing efforts.
- Coordinate distribution of promotional materials, ticket offers, and event information to audience engagement partners.
- Oversee inventory of marketing collateral, signage, swag, and internal checkout process for other department events as requested.
- Track engagement efforts and provide reporting related to event participation, promo code reports, partnerships, and audience development initiatives.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, events, or community engagement preferred.
- 1-2 years of relevant experience required.
- Proficiency in writing is required. Writing samples will be requested.
- Background in performing arts is a plus.
- Must be able to work evenings/weekends.
Special Characteristics
Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment, high energy and exceptionally strong interpersonal and communication skills are a must. An eye for detail and quality control is imperative, as well as being able to multi-task and prioritize effectively. An enthusiastic, proactive and collaborative professional manner required.
Physical Demands
The physical demands described here are representative of those we consider important for an employee to successfully perform essential functions of this job: extended periods of sitting and performing tasks such as typing and using a computer mouse, with strong visual and auditory focus, occasional lifting (not exceeding 20 pounds), reaching for items, effective communication skills, and fine motor abilities, being mobile within the office for activities like attending performances, events, and meetings. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.
Equal Opportunity
Houston Grand Opera is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all employees and to providing employees with a work environment free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions at HGO are based on business needs, job requirements and individual qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion or belief, national, social or ethnic origin, sex (including pregnancy), age, physical, mental or sensory disability, HIV Status, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, marital, civil union or domestic partnership status, past or present military service, family medical history or genetic information, family or parental status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local laws or regulations. HGO will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics. HGO encourages applicants of all ages.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, events, or community engagement
- 1-2 years of relevant experience
- Strong writing proficiency; writing samples will be requested
- Ability to work evenings and weekends
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills
- Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment
- Ability to multitask and prioritize effectively
