Director, Marketing & Communications

Deep End Talent Strategies•Indianapolis, IN

20h

About The Position

The Director of Marketing & Communications is a strategic, creative, and values-driven leader charged with shaping and advancing The Cabaret’s brand narrative, marketing strategy, and organizational communications. This role blends high-level strategic planning with hands-on execution to ensure all messaging, visuals, and audience-facing content reflect the organization’s mission, values, and commitment to excellence and Radical Hospitality. Overseeing brand identity, marketing campaigns, media relations, digital strategy, and cross-departmental storytelling, the Manager develops the annual marketing plan, sets the narrative direction, and ensures consistent, compelling communication across all platforms. The position works closely with Advancement, Artistic, and Production teams to grow audiences, deepen engagement, and strengthen relationships. This role also supervises the Brand & Digital Marketing Designer, providing creative direction, mentorship, and clear alignment with brand standards and strategic priorities. All employees are expected to embody The Cabaret’s values: We Deliver the WOW, We Practice Radical Hospitality, We Welcome Everyone, We Lift Each Other Up, and We Do the Right Thing. The ideal candidate pairs strategic creative vision with technical skill and implementation expertise. They possess a deep curiosity and commitment to uncover and elevate the extraordinary human stories that define The Cabaret—drawing inspiration from a rich archive and an ever-evolving palette of artists, students, patrons, donors, and community partners. A flexible schedule is essential, including the ability to work evenings and weekends during performances and events. The Cabaret presents 40–50 performance nights annually in its award-winning theatre, with show weekends typically occurring twice per month.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, design, arts administration, or related field.
7+ years of progressively responsible experience in marketing, communications, brand management, or related fields.
Demonstrated experience leading marketing strategy and managing multi-channel campaigns.
Excellent writing, editing, and storytelling skills.
Experience supervising staff, interns, or contractors
Strong understanding of brand identity, visual systems, and user experience.
Expertise and experience with CRM and digital platforms.
Expertise and experience in public relations and media engagement.
Commitment to inclusive and values-driven communication.

Nice To Haves

Experience in performing arts, nonprofit marketing, or related creative industries.

Responsibilities

Lead Next Level Storytelling initiatives to move beyond “hidden gem” positioning while protecting the organization’s magic and intimacy, ensuring brand visibility, clarity, and impact.
Build and strengthen brand partnerships across the city, region, and national arts landscape to amplify visibility and institutional influence.
Oversee development of an institutional storytelling framework that integrates artistic programming, student impact stories, and donor/community partnerships into a cohesive narrative system.
Lead the development, refinement, and stewardship of The Cabaret’s brand identity, messaging, tone, and visual standards.
Craft narrative frameworks that unify communications across marketing, development, education, and programming.
Serve as the organization’s lead writer and editor for external communications, ensuring clarity, warmth, inclusivity, and alignment with mission and values.
Provide counsel and strategic direction to internal teams to ensure consistency and accuracy across platforms.
Drive forward-looking storytelling that elevates The Cabaret’s national profile and showcases its artistic vision and commitment to world-class artistry and Radical Hospitality.
Create and execute the annual marketing and communications plan, including promotional calendars, audience-development strategies, and campaign goals.
Develop marketing strategies to support revenue goals—including ticket sales, fundraising initiatives, and institutional visibility.
Develop annual storytelling assets (impact videos, artist features, season trailers, donor stories, slide decks, digital reports) that support programming, development, and institutional messaging.
Collaborate with the Audience & Donor Experience Manager on integrated patron/donor communications and audience journey mapping.
Oversee strategy and content for print materials, including season programs, brochures, donor/sponsor recognition, and promotional assets.
Serve as the creative director for campaigns, providing direction on messaging, look, tone, and positioning.
Lead cross-departmental collaboration to significantly enhance exterior visibility, including signage upgrades, wayfinding improvements, district-level partnerships, and exploration of marquee or façade-based visibility opportunities.
Partner with the Building Committee on exploratory work regarding a potential cabaret museum/gallery concept, including benchmarking, concept evaluation, vision development, and storytelling opportunities.
Lead the redesign and modernization of The Cabaret’s website, including UX improvements, SEO, analytics, information architecture, and storytelling integration.
Develop a multi-channel content strategy optimized for platform-specific reach, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, email, and emerging formats such as podcasts.
Expand the organization’s behind-the-scenes and experiential storytelling formats to strengthen audience connection, recognition, and repeat engagement.
Integrate paid digital campaigns and targeted advertising strategies into the broader marketing plan.
Lead digital communications strategy across web, email, mobile, and social media channels.
Set social media voice, content pillars, posting strategy, and metrics in partnership with the Designer.
Own website strategy and content, working with the Designer on implementation.
Shape email marketing strategy and content for newsletters, announcements, and donor communications; partner with the Designer to design, build, and deploy email campaigns.
Analyze digital performance, engagement insights, and audience behavior to continually refine strategy.
Lead all earned media strategy, press outreach, media relationships, and public relations initiatives.
Write and distribute press releases, pitch stories, maintain media lists, and track media coverage.
Identify opportunities to grow visibility locally and nationally, including artist features, organizational impact stories, and community partnerships.
Cultivate strategic partnerships with media outlets, influencers, civic organizations, and arts collaborators to amplify reach and visibility.
Expand artist-generated content initiatives and press-ready storytelling to spotlight artist journeys, creative processes, and community impact.
Reimagine and expand the young audience program into a signature, year-round pipeline that builds early engagement and cultivates the next generation of cabaret patrons.
Rebrand and elevate the program with dedicated leadership and a cohesive identity that resonates with teens and young adults.
Expand year-round engagement and connection opportunities, including a structured calendar of touchpoints and unique experiences, including an annual signature event tied to a performance.
Establish a youth advisory council to co-design experiences and strengthen relevance and ownership, including Board representation.
Lead development of a unified suite of brand templates and toolkits for internal use across marketing, development, education, outreach, and events to ensure consistency and efficiency.
Oversee continual improvement of the internal digital asset library (photos, b-roll, testimonials, historical materials) to support organizational storytelling capacity.
Utilize Monday.com and related tools to maintain transparent workflows, timelines, and accountability.
Partner with the Artistic team and CAO on marketing for educational and outreach programs.
Collaborate with Development to support donor and sponsor recognition, campaign materials, and advancement communications.
Serve as staff liaison to the Marketing & Audience Development Board Subcommittee.
Represent The Cabaret in community and industry settings.
Provide leadership, project assignments, creative direction, and professional development to the Brand Design & Digital Marketing Associate.
Establish priorities, workflows, and quality standards for design, digital asset management, and content production.
Ensure deadlines are met and materials reflect The Cabaret’s brand and values.