Business & Sales Manager

Position Summary

Puppet Showplace Theater seeks a highly organized, proactive, and relationship-driven Business & Sales Manager to oversee core business operations, earned revenue activities, financial administration, and client services. This role combines operational management, sales coordination, financial tracking, contracting, and administrative systems oversight to support the organization’s performances, educational programming, community partnerships, and long-term sustainability.

The Business & Sales Manager serves as a central administrative lead for revenue tracking, customer and partner engagement, contracts management, payroll coordination, financial reporting, and process improvement. The ideal candidate thrives in a collaborative arts environment, balances strategic thinking with detailed execution, and enjoys creating systems that improve organizational efficiency and customer experience. The ideal candidate also brings a love of structure, timeliness, systems, and tracking big ideas against KPI & budget.

As a key contributor on a small team, you will be an integral part of a beloved 52-year-old cultural institution that facilitates joy and connection for 20,000 theatergoers each year, ranging from babies to seniors, and supporting independent artists in the creation and dissemination of their artistic work. You will report to our Executive Artistic Director (EAD) and work with a small team of 3 FT and 2-4 PT staff, with opportunities to propose your ideas, lead projects in areas of impact, and contribute to culture-building during a time of growth.

Key Responsibilities

Revenue & Financial Administration

• Maintain and update revenue spreadsheets and financial tracking systems.
• Prepare and present general financial findings during staff meetings. Support staff in understanding and tracking financial KPIs relevant to their roles.
• Analyze budget versus actual reports and assist with financial forecasting.
• Review accounts receivable and pledge reports to ensure payments are applied correctly and overdue balances are addressed.
• Count and reconcile monthly cash activity and prepare supporting documentation.
• Assist with preparation of board financial materials and monthly reporting.
• Support annual budget planning and creation of new fiscal year revenue tracking documents.
• Coordinate expense reimbursements and maintain accurate expense documentation.

Sales & Client Relations

• Lead sales strategy & back-end operations for planned B2B expansion with school clients, utilizing detailed market research, stakeholder interviews, data analysis, & recommendations developed Jan-Jun 2026 through consultant support. This initiative will be a cross-functional team effort, with strategic support from our consultants and the EAD, and sales relationship support from our Box Office team.
• Develop and manage a pipeline of prospective customers and partners for puppet shows performed at schools and other partner venues, school field trips that take place at our theater, private birthday parties, theater rentals, and community programming.
• Conduct outreach and relationship management with schools, community organizations, artists, and families, via email, phone, and video calls.
• Provide auxiliary support for direct sales, including responding to sales inquiries and conducting outreach by email and phone. Respond to sales-related messages in a timely and professional manner; recommend appropriate programming and services based on client needs. Support earned revenue growth through proactive communication and customer service.

Contracts & Program Coordination

• Prepare, process, and track contracts for artists, rentals, and program partners.
• Manage artist payment workflows, including calculation and submission support.
• Maintain organized records of contracts, completed files, and program documentation.

Operations & Administrative Systems

• Maintain and improve operational procedures, systems, and organizational workflows.
• Coordinate payroll-related updates, including communication with bookkeeper and staff regarding employee activation and status changes.
• Work collaboratively across departments to ensure accurate communication and operational consistency.
• Support board and leadership reporting needs, including preparation of board slide decks and KPI tracking.
• Organize and maintain digital files, operational records, and internal process documentation.

Qualifications

• Experience in nonprofit administration, arts management, operations, sales, or business management.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Sensitivity to time with regard to communications with clients.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines independently.
• Experience with spreadsheets, financial tracking, contracts management, and administrative systems.
• Comfort working collaboratively in a small team environment.
• Customer service and relationship-building experience strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with nonprofit financial processes, payroll coordination, or arts administration is a plus.

Preferred Characteristics

• Systems-oriented thinker who enjoys improving processes and workflows.
• Adaptable, collaborative, and solution-focused.
• Passion for one or more of organization’s areas of focus, including arts, education, theater, the needs of young children and their families, equity, and community engagement.
• Comfortable balancing strategic oversight with day-to-day administrative execution.

Hiring Approach & Equal Opportunity Employment:

Puppet Showplace Theater engages in skills-based hiring and does not have any specific requirements regarding formal degrees or educational attainment. We value durable skills such as communication, leadership, and creativity and invite applicants to express their skills in ways that go beyond degree qualifications. As a small, collaborative organization, we aim to customize roles in ways that play to team member strengths.

Excited by our mission but not sure? Your skill set doesn’t match exactly but you feel it could be a great fit? We value non-traditional professional paths and diverse lived experiences and know that many wonderful professionals experience imposter syndrome. Even if you don’t match every requirement, applying creates the opportunity to start a conversation.

Puppet Showplace Theater is deeply committed to equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. We are an equal opportunity employer, and we do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected characteristics.

Compensation & Employment Details:

• Compensation and schedule structure to be determined based on organizational needs and candidate experience.
• 20-24 hours per week
• $26-40 / hour, depending on experience

To apply for this position:

• Please email jobs@puppetshowplace.org with your resume and a brief cover letter.

Accessibility, Location, & Reasonable Accommodations:

On-site work will typically take place on-site at our theater at 32 Station Street, Brookline, MA. Our building has a wheelchair-accessible entrance and bathroom, and all areas the team member will need to access are wheelchair-accessible. This role requires the ability to work on a computer for multiple consecutive hours, and to communicate via phone, video call, and email.

Perks include free tickets and discounted workshops and classes.