Vice President of Stage Production & Operations
Confidential Via Staffing Firm
Santa Barbara, CAThis is a Full Time Job
Position Summary
The Vice President of Stage Production & Operations (VP) will serve as the senior functional leader for Stage Production, Front of House, Hospitality, and Building Operations at The Granada Theatre (Granada), ensuring performances, events, rentals, resident company engagements, and touring productions are delivered safely, efficiently, and to high standards of service, technical excellence, readiness, and financial stewardship.
Role and Responsibilities
Executive Leadership & Labor Relations
• Build a high-performing, collaborative management team through coaching, delegation, regular performance feedback, effective hiring, and leadership development; empower managers to solve problems and deliver results through their teams.
• Strengthen operational continuity through cross-training, backup coverage, and clearly defined decision authority for nights, weekends, emergencies, and other critical operating periods.
• Partner closely with the COO on event readiness, workforce planning, financial performance, safety and risk labor matters, facilities, capital needs, and emerging operational priorities.
• Provide operational, technical, financial, capital, performance, and risk information to support CEO-led fundraising, donor engagement, Board reporting, and other executive priorities.
• Oversee day-to-day administration of applicable collective bargaining agreements and labor requirements, including staffing practices, scheduling, work rules, and documentation; partner with the COO and Human
• Resources on labor strategy, significant grievances, collective bargaining negotiations, and sensitive employee relations matters.
• Foster effective coordination with Finance, Human Resources, Contracts & Administration, Marketing/Programming, Development, Technology, and other departments.
Financial Management, Systems & Continuous Improvement
• Develop operational improvement plans aligned with organizational priorities, including staffing efficiency, financial performance, systems adoption, and sustainable resource allocation; report progress and recommendations to the COO.
• Develop and manage annual and multi-year operating budgets and forecasts across Stage Production, Front of House, Hospitality, and Building Operations.
• Monitor labor costs, vendor spending, rentals, maintenance expenses, and budget variances, implementing corrective action as needed.
• Establish consistent standards for production estimating, rate structures, cost recovery, approvals, documentation, and event settlement.
• Partner with Finance and Contracts & Administration to maintain efficient workflows from booking and contract handoff through advance, execution, settlement, invoicing, and close-out.
• Lead the development and continuous improvement of Standard Operating Procedures across production, Front of House, Hospitality, building operations, safety, and related workflows.
Stage Production & Technical Operations
• Supervise the full production lifecycle, including advancing, technical review, estimating, staffing, load-in, rehearsal, performance, load-out, settlement documentation, and post-event follow-up.
• Establish clear production-management responsibilities based on each engagement's scope, technical complexity, staffing needs, and operational requirements.
• Maintain department-wide accountability for cross-functional coordination, resource-capacity decisions, issue resolution, and an integrated operational calendar.
• Ensure production schedules, technical riders, labor, equipment, accessibility, hospitality, building impacts, and safety requirements are reviewed early and aligned with venue capabilities and resources.
• Maintain high technical and operational standards across lighting, audio, rigging, stage systems, theatrical equipment, backstage operations, and production support.
• Oversee theatrical equipment maintenance, repairs, rentals, lifecycle planning, and capital replacement needs.
• Build and sustain collaborative relationships with resident companies and touring productions; anticipate production and service needs, ensure timely and responsive communication, resolve operational concerns, and strengthen the overall partner experience.
Building Operations, Safety & Capital Planning
• Oversee The Granada Theatre's building and operational spaces to ensure the venue remains safe, secure, accessible, functional, and show-ready.
• Manage preventive maintenance, repairs, building systems, custodial services, vendors, contractors, access control, security, deliveries, inspections, and emergency response.
• Ensure fire and life-safety systems, evacuation procedures, emergency protocols, incident documentation, and corrective actions are maintained and regularly reviewed.
• Partner with the COO, Human Resources, and external resources to strengthen safety policies, training, hazard identification, emergency preparedness, and risk management.
• Develop an integrated, multi-year asset and capital plan addressing theatrical equipment and building infrastructure, including priorities, costs, risks, and timing.
• Create and recommend capital project proposals for executive review and lead operational implementation following approval.
Front of House, Hospitality & Event Operations
• Provide executive oversight of Front of House and Hospitality to ensure safe, accessible, welcoming, and consistent experiences for patrons, artists, volunteers, resident companies, renters, and guests.
• Establish standards for event preparation, staffing, house management, patron flow, accessibility, concessions and bar operations, hospitality, emergency response, and service recovery.
• Ensure Front of House, Hospitality, Stage Production, Facilities, Security, and other teams operate from coordinated event information and timelines.
• Review staffing models, training, certifications, timekeeping, payroll inputs, service levels, and operational readiness to ensure appropriate coverage and compliance.
• Promote a culture of service, professionalism, responsiveness, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Qualifications
A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible experience in live performance, theatre production, venue operations, or a closely related environment is preferred, including significant leadership responsibility for multidisciplinary operational teams.
A bachelor's degree in Theatre Production, Technical Theatre, Arts Administration, Facilities Management, Hospitality, Business, Engineering, or a related field is desirable, with an advanced degree, professional training, or equivalent experience preferred.
This is a primarily in-person leadership role, requiring the ability to move throughout a multi-level historic theatre and backstage environment; sit, stand, walk, bend, twist, climb stairs, push and pull; use standard office and communication equipment; and occasionally lift up to 30 pounds.
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Salary/Benefits
Granada offers a comprehensive compensation and benefits package, including an annual salary range of $150,000 to $200,000. Benefits include a medical plan with the base plan paid by Granada, with costs varying for upgraded plan options; a 403(b) retirement plan with a 20% employer match on individual contributions; paid holidays; paid time off based on years of service; and 40 hours of sick time.
Additional Information
The Granada Theatre is a venue that hosts performances, events, rentals, resident company engagements, and touring productions.