Public Relations Manager

Our Mission:  We create, perform, teach and promote dance as an essential and inspiring element of our community.

Our Vision:
Nashville Ballet is an accessible and inclusive organization that creates community through excellent and innovative dance and dance education; is recognized locally, nationally and internationally for artistry, community engagement, and financial sustainability; and is a rewarding and satisfying place to work.

Our Enduring Values

• We believe in the transformative power of art.
• We inspire appreciation for the art of ballet.
• We strive for excellence with integrity in all we do.
• We respect one another and the art form.

The understanding of and the ability to not only support but celebrate our culture is essential to each and every person at Nashville Ballet.

Nashville Ballet Diversity Statement:  

Nashville Ballet is invested in creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive community.  We believe we can best achieve our mission by creating a climate of respect that is supportive of all voices, celebrating diverse stories, increasing arts access, and sparking communal discussion about our community and our world through our art form and our artistic programming.  When considering the diversity of the Nashville Ballet community, we look at all aspects including race, gender, age, socioeconomic status, disability status, geographic (rural/urban), and sexual orientation.  However, Nashville Ballet recognizes the racial inequalities that have plagued the dance world for far to long and is deeply committed to educating our constituencies on systemic racism, engaging in antiracist work in every branch of our organization, and doing our part to abolish racial inequalities in ballet.   

Nashville Ballet provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.   

Job Description for Public Relations Manager

Position:                                              Public Relations Manager

Reports To:                                         Director of Sales and Marketing

Area of Responsibility:                   Marketing

Wage Classification:                        Salaried, Exempt             

Position Summary: The Public Relation Manager is a front-facing, key member of Nashville Ballet’s administrative staff. Responsible for overseeing the public presence of Nashville Ballet, The Public Relations Manager creates and maintains a visible and favorable public image of the organization through media relations and communications. This employee engages with all departments and requires a thorough understanding of all programs and facets of the organization.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities:

• Media Relations – Assess and respond reactively to media inquiries. Proactively seek out strategic media opportunities that further the strategic goals of Nashville Ballet and keep the organization in the public eye as much as possible. This includes award nominations, content submission, news releases, pitching, planning for editorial calendars, personnel announcements/profiles, event listings/calendars, advertorials, and other opportunities across media formats. This also includes direct coordination with the School of Nashville Ballet team to support School programming and initiatives as well as the Development team, Ballet Ball Co-Chairs and Ballet Ball PR Committee to execute and oversee publicity efforts of Ballet Ball. Utilize Cision (Nashville Ballet’s PR software) to maintain up-to-date on media contacts and manage relationships with members of local, national, and industry press. 

• Writing/Editing for Internal and External Communication – Serve as editor-in-chief of the organization; prepare and/or edit written materials for all facets of the organization that maintain a consistent message and voice. Assure accuracy in all communications (including Nashville Ballet and School of Nashville Ballet collateral, performance programs, advertising copy, website content, internal and external newsletters, etc.). Directly assist all departments in achieving this goal in internal and external communications. Actively monitor communications from peer organizations to stay up to date on global current events as well as industry-specific trends.

• Maintain Brand Standards: Maintain company style guide and update annually to assure brand consistency and management across the organization. Provide assets to outside organizations as requested.

• Strategic Communication – With the Director of Sales and Marketing, develop and execute the strategic communication plan and implementation timeline for each sector of Nashville Ballet’s organizational structure – performance season, School of Nashville Ballet, outreach initiatives, and Ballet Ball. Execute elements of strategic communications plan or oversee execution by staff members. Monitor media coverage and report out on analytics in meetings.

• Email Marketing – Oversee all aspects of marketing plans that utilize direct email communication. Execute ticket sales and School of Nashville Ballet acquisition emails utilizing email platform Wordfly. Work closely with Sales and Marketing team and School Director to identify appropriate messaging and segment audiences for most effective direct communications possible. Oversee all external email communications by manage Communications calendar and leading monthly email marketing meetings to coordinate schedule across all departments. Train new employees on Wordfly and troubleshoot should issues arise.

• Social Media – Develop overall social media strategy for organization and oversee execution by Social Media and Project Coordinator.

• Utilization of Tessitura (Training Provided) – Collaborate with marketing team to generate targeted lists for Nashville Ballet email communications. Oversee list trades from outside organizations as needed.

• Media Training and Spokesperson – Train and prepare staff and dancers for potential and acquired media opportunities through media training, preparation of talking points, and rehearsal. When necessary, serve as spokesperson for the organization in public forums.

• Crisis Communication – Provide support to Nashville Ballet leadership in reaction to crisis situations.

• Publicity – Develop specific plans and execute in cooperation with the other members of the marketing department to secure positive publicity for Nashville Ballet in the community. Establish and maintain relationships with community organizations and individuals with whom Nashville Ballet shares a target audience or can collaborate on publicity opportunities. This may include events, promotions, contests, calendars, listings, etc.

• Customer Service, plus Event Management – Provide staff support at Nashville Ballet performances and events, in the form of media liaison, dancer manager, merchandise sales, customer service and patron engagement.

• Administrative Tasks – Under the oversight of the Director of Sales and Marketing, fulfill any other additional tasks as assigned.

General Responsibilities:

Coordinate with other departments to identify communication needs and provide assistance when needed.

Communicate with internal and external artists, staff, and contract employees to gather necessary publicity information and gather media statistics.

Manage relationships with members of the media.

Utilize Cision to maintain up-to-date media contact lists, deploy press releases, and track coverage.

Monitor all media coverage and save relevant clips in physical and electronic forms for archiving and future reference.

Maintain a proactive, solutions-oriented attitude.

Work autonomously to execute daily tasks, and as a member of a group to achieve strategic goals.

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are a non-exhaustive list of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to handle, feel, talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to stand, walk, and reach with hands and arms above the shoulder. The employee is frequently required to sit and occasionally stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

Work Environment: The work environment characteristics described here are representative to those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the noise level in the work environment is usually low to moderate. 

Salary Range:  $50,000 - $55,000

Work Requirements and Qualifications

Education:  Bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or similar field

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: 

• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
• Working knowledge of media industry, preferably local media outlets
• Proven ability to work autonomously
• Possess a desire and ability to actively engage with the artform of ballet
• Strong aptitude in presentation and public speaking
• Detail-oriented
• Adept at facilitating connections   
• Ability to make decisions and solve problems
• Outstanding organizational and time management skills
• Willingness to learn new systems and technologies (training will be provided on specific systems)
• Word processing/spreadsheet/database skills
• Familiarity with Cision or PR software preferred

Experience: 5+ years of experience in news, public relations, strategic communications, corporate communications or other relevant work experience.

Equipment: standard office equipment including computer and software, phone, copier, etc. Competency on both PC and MAC platform preferred.

Disclaimer Statement:

This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts or working conditions associated with the job. While this document is intended to be an accurate description of the current job, circumstances may require that other, or different tasks be performed (e.g., emergencies, changes in personnel, workload, rush jobs, or technological developments).

To Apply:

To be considered for the position, please email your resume and cover letter to careers@nashvilleballet.com. Include “Public Relations Manager” in the email’s subject line.

No calls please. Thank you!