Studio Texas
Work from home and on locations as events require
Job Type: Contract
Start Date: April 1, 2026
Application Deadline: April 1, 2026
Education: 4-Year Degree or experience in management
Experience Level: 2 years management
Salary: USD $40,000 - $60,000 / year with potential for bonus
Cause Areas: Visual Arts & Event planning

Description
Position Summary
Studio Texas, a 501(c)(3) organization, seeks an Operations Director who is the leader responsible for the artistic, financial, operational, and community impact of Studio Texas. This role will ensure Studio Texas’ financial sustainability, deepen community engagement, event planning and execution, lead fundraising and revenue generation, and nurture membership. The Operations Director will lead with a strong artistic and educational vision and be committed to supporting artists at every stage of their creative journey. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Operations Director will serve as the principal manager of event planning, including active engagement in strategic planning.

Ideal Candidate
The ideal candidate will have a passion for the visual arts, experience with event planning and have the ability to organize their time and responsibilities to accommodate our core program schedule, planning on long work weeks on and around event dates and slower weeks in between while keeping up with marketing and fiduciary deadlines. He or she must be comfortable with public speaking and intermittent high-pressure deadlines. He or she would have an understanding of the complexities of working with a non-profit board of volunteers and a basic understanding of parliamentary procedure. He she would be able to produce reports and schedules that plan for volunteer hours and necessary financial projections to complete a program.

Key Responsibilities

• Plan and market Studio Texas’ Core Programs as outlined by the published Strategic Agenda.
• Oversee all marketing, branding, and communication strategies, collaborating to define and implement a marketing and communication plan with the goal to increase exposure and engagement and achieve revenue goals, increase enrollments, grow audiences, and institutional reputation.
  o Including and especially social media.
  o Including and especially the website.
  o Including and especially newsletter and email contact with membership.
• Ensure cohesive branding and storytelling that align with Studio Texas’ mission.
• Organize and participate in Strategic Planning development.
• Forge and nurture strategic collaborations with civic leaders, cultural institutions, artists, educators, and community partners.
• Work with Board guidance to develop and execute multi-year strategic plans that ensure financial sustainability, propel artistic innovation, audience development, and community impact.
• Responsible for overseeing the assets and financial affairs of the organization to ensure Studio Texas’ financial sustainability, including developing long- and short-range financial plans, monitoring the budget and ensuring expenditures are in line with available resources, executing proper financial controls, and providing routine reports to the board and staff.
• Oversee budgeting and financial planning to ensure long-term fiscal health and sustainability.
• Fundraising & External Relations – as the position grows, so does the public relations with donors and grant applications.
• Build a strong, transparent, and productive partnership with the Board of Directors — including regular strategic updates and collaboration on governance, fundraising, and community outreach.
• Act as the public face of the organization, expanding visibility in the Newton and Greater Boston arts communities and beyond.
• Ensure cohesive branding and storytelling that align with Studio Texas’ mission.
  Qualifications
  Required:
  Must be self-motivated and experienced in time management, including deadlines and budgeting restraints.
  Experience (2+ years) in nonprofit arts or cultural management with demonstrated success in social media marketing, event planning, and organizational leadership.
  Proven ability to develop and implement strategic plans that align the organization around shared vision and mission to achieve sustainable growth.
  Experience with a nonprofit organization, cultural or educational institution, or equivalent is required.
  Exceptional interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills. Deep commitment to developing a professional arts community in Central Texas.
  Passion for Studio Texas’ programs, goals, and mission, as well as a deep interest in cultivating the donor community in the region.
  Essential skills in:
  Word
  Excel
  Constant Contact
  Power Point
  Google Workspace
  Photoshop or similar (photo editing program)
  Canva
  Quickbooks or similar (able to read and understand financial reports)
  Preferred:
  Experience leading community-focused art centers or cultural institutions.
  Established relationships with regional arts funders, civic leaders, and cultural organizations.
  Advanced degree in nonprofit management, arts administration, business, or related field.
  Physical Requirements & Work Environment
• Ability to move throughout the facility to attend meetings, classrooms, exhibitions, events, and community programs.
• Ability to lift, carry, or move materials weighing up to approximately 30 pounds on an occasional basis (e.g., event supplies, materials, signage).
• Ability to stand or walk for extended periods during events, openings, meetings, and public programs.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends as required for programs, events, and board activities.
  Compensation
  Salary Range: $40,000-$60,000, with bonus potential.
  Studio Texas offers flexible hours and paid professional development each year. The position starts as a work-from-home position until such time as Studio Texas acquires offices. Studio Texas anticipates office closure between Christmas and New Year's. Employees and their dependents have opportunities to enroll in New Art classes at no or reduced cost across the year.
  
• How to Apply
  Submit a cover letter outlining your artistic leadership vision, relevant experience, and interest in Studio Texas, along with a resume/CV to amandadanning@gmail.com. Please include Operations Director's interest in the subject line.
  Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
  Level of Language Proficiency
  English mastery
  Location: Round Top/Brenham area of Texas
  Send Resume: amandadannign@gmail.com with Studio Texas in the subject field.

Job Highlights
The Director of Community Impact leads Houston Grand Opera’s efforts to deepen its connection to the city it serves—expanding awareness of HGO, access to opera, cultivating meaningful partnerships, and ensuring that HGO’s programs connect to the diversity, history, and spirit of Houston. As a senior leader within the Audiences Department, this role bridges company mission and civic engagement, shaping strategies and programs that bring opera into communities and schools across Houston. This position provides vision, strategy, and operational leadership for HGO’s community engagement, education, and access initiatives, aligning them with mainstage programming, audience development goals, and philanthropic priorities.

Join Us!
We are looking for talented, passionate, 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, two 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.
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
Develop and lead a comprehensive community impact strategy that deepens audience connection to HGO’s mainstage productions and expands engagement across Greater Houston. Identify ways mainstage works, community programming, and special initiatives can resonate with diverse audiences and community partners.
Build and nurture strategic partnerships with schools, cultural organizations, social service agencies, and civic leaders to execute an outreach plan to extend HGO’s presence beyond the Wortham Theater Center. Expand free and subsidized programming for youth and families in parks, libraries, and community spaces.
Advance arts education and performing arts exposure through student matinees, in-school assemblies, classroom resources, and educator tools. Support partnerships with HISD and regional school districts to integrate classical music and opera into local education ecosystems.
Lead HGO’s participation in citywide cultural initiatives and neighborhood-based collaborations to help reach organization's audience-building and community connection objectives.
As the strategy develops and events and initiatives are created, work cross-departmentally to ensure seamless integration of community initiatives.
Collaborate closely with Marketing, Communications, and Philanthropy to ensure community narratives are authentically represented in messaging and materials.
Partner with Philanthropy to identify, cultivate, and secure contributed revenue supporting community impact initiatives.
Align community engagement efforts with audience development, ticket sales, and fundraising objectives.
Provide leadership, direction, and mentorship to the Community Impact team, ensuring clarity of purpose and alignment with strategic priorities.
Develop and manage the team’s annual budget.
Partner with Business Intelligence team to develop quantitative and qualitative metrics to assess community impact, participation, satisfaction, and contribution to revenue goals. Prepare reports, testimonials, and data visualizations for leadership, board members, coworkers, funders, and civic partners.
Ensure all community programming aligns with HGO’s artistic standards and institutional goals.
Serve as an ambassador for HGO at civic events, panels, and coalition meetings.

Qualifications
10–15 years of professional experience, with a strong emphasis on community impact, civic engagement, or education partnerships; at least 5 years in a team management role.
Proven ability to develop strategy, lead teams, and manage complex programs and budgets.
Deep knowledge of Houston’s communities, civic landscape, and cultural ecosystem.
Demonstrated success building and sustaining partnerships in the arts, education, nonprofit, or public sector.
Excellent communication, relationship-building, and collaborative skills.
Creative, inclusive thinker able to bridge artistic vision and social purpose.
Passion for the performing arts and their power to inspire connection, learning, and civic pride.

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 25 pounds), reaching for items, effective communication skills, fine motor abilities, and mobility within the office for activities such as 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. 

The orchestra is searching for a Music Director to work with the ensemble and the Associate Music Director starting in the 2027 – 2028 season. Finalist candidates will rehearse and conduct the orchestra during individual concert cycles of the 2026 – 2027 season.