Box Office Associate (Part-Time)

Job Title: Box Office Associate
Job Status: Non-exempt part-time position 
Rate: $16/hour 
Reports to: Audience Services Manager

About TimeLine

TimeLine Theatre Company, recipient of the 2016 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, is a Chicago not-for-profit theatre company with an annual budget of more than $2 million. Since its inception in 1997, the company has garnered more than 50 awards for artistic excellence and business management. TimeLine is now also preparing for its next chapter with the establishment of a new home in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.

Through 25 seasons dedicated to presenting stories that explore today’s social and political issues through the lens of the past, TimeLine’s rich production history highlights a mix of perspectives. From LGBTQIA+ experiences (The Normal Heart, Boy) to Jewish experiences (A Shayna Maidel, My Name is Asher Lev) to issues of cultures intersecting and intertwining (A Walk in the Woods, Chimerica, Oslo) to Black life in America (Raisin in the Sun, Kill Move Paradise, Relentless), TimeLine’s collaborative approach to dramaturgy highlights many unique and powerful stories. At TimeLine, we believe that we must expand the lens through which history is viewed and fully engage with a multitude of perspectives to better serve and reflect our community and our collective histories. 

While our programming seeks to reflect and support our community, we acknowledge that TimeLine has more work to do to transform into a fully antiracist, multicultural organization. Our staff, Board, and Company are committed to instituting antiracist policies and practices, championing diversity and inclusion on our stages, and fighting back against the years of oppression that our BIPOC colleagues have experienced in the theatre and performing arts industry. You can read more about our ongoing work here: timelinetheatre.com/2020/11/everyones-history.

About the Position

If you are hired as a Box Office Associate at TimeLine Theatre, you will enjoy a part-time (10-20 hours/week), non-exempt, hourly schedule. You will be responsible for providing excellent customer service to our patrons in-person at performances and readings, as well as over email and over the phone. You must have evening and weekend availability. You will report to the Audience Services Manager and collaborate with many other departments (both production and administration).

For the 22-23 Season, all TimeLine productions will be presented at TimeLine’s home at 615 W. Wellington Avenue. 

Responsibilities/Duties

Box Office and Customer Service

  • Maintain regular box office hours at our theatre to process phone, mail, internet, and walk-up ticket orders, including single ticket sales, subscription sales, reservations, and exchanges
  • Act as the primary communicator between the organization and patrons by responding to incoming calls, voicemails, and emails
  • Maintain a working knowledge of our ticketing system, single ticket and subscription pricing structures, and discounts
  • Listen actively to patron issues and/or concerns and resolve them in a friendly and efficient manner

Will Call Management and Front of House

  • Engage with patrons as they check in for the show, creating a friendly and professional process that welcomes every patron 
  • Answer any patron questions about tickets/subscriptions during pre-show and intermissions
  • Prepare appropriate box office reports at conclusion of each performance, reconciling any open issues and communicating any specific challenges
  • Collaborate with Front of House team as appropriate to maintain building and patron safety

Company Culture

  • Be knowledgeable about the company, our mission, values, current productions, current season, and upcoming events 
  • Advance the strategic marketing goals of the theatre through thoughtful collaboration with the Audience Services and Marketing teams 
  • Establish a strong working knowledge of ADA guidelines in support of TimeLine’s Accessibility goal to include everyone
  • Create a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere through honest, clear communication with patrons, staff, and teammates 

Compensation

  • Seasonal, part-time hourly position (with the potential for off-season project hours)
  • Starts at $16 per hour
  • 10-20 hours/week during our performance schedule (August 2022—June 2023) 

Qualifications/Skills

  • Must be available to work evenings and weekends, in particular Wednesdays – Sundays, with occasional Tuesday performances 
  • Some prior experience performing high volume customer service-related work
  • Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills
  • Experience with cash management
  • Must be computer proficient, especially with a PC, Microsoft Office, and Google Drive
  • Experience with a ticketing system or customer relations management database (specifically PatronManager) is a plus

Personal Characteristics

  • You have demonstrated the ability to thrive and multi-task in a fast-paced, high energy, multicultural environment
  • You enjoy working independently, assume responsibility, and take initiative using good judgment and strong attention to detail
  • You feel responsible for the environment around you and seek to improve it with every action 
  • You get energy from new perspectives
  • You maintain a calm, professional demeanor in all public-facing situations
  • You can effectively identify and communicate issues or problems to your team
  • You are punctual and have a strong track record of showing up

Employment Policy 

We would like you to commit to the 2022-2023 Season, which is planned to run from August 2022 through June 2023. Apply for this position if you are interested in obtaining a foundation in arts management at an award-winning theatre while supporting the theatre’s goal of being one of the best customer experiences in Chicago theatre.

TimeLine is committed to monitoring public health recommendations, as well as the best practices for wellness and safety of all of those we serve. If you have any questions regarding COVID safety plans or compliance, please do not hesitate to reach out. For more information on our public COVID safety protocols, you can visit timelinetheatre.com/health-and-safety

It is an essential practice of TimeLine Theatre Company to recruit, hire, train and promote individuals, based upon personal capabilities and qualifications and without regard to race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, religion, national origin or ancestry, marital status, citizenship, disability, military status, creed, or any other trait or characteristic protected by law. TimeLine Theatre Company is dedicated to the goal of building a diverse staff and an inclusive work environment. This policy of Equal Employment Opportunity applies to policies and procedures relating to all terms and conditions of employment at TimeLine Theatre.

To Apply 

  1. Please email, in one clearly-labeled document (PDF preferred), a resume and your answers to the short answer questions below. Your email should be to the attention of Kellyn Henthorn (she/her), Audience Services Manager, at HR@timelinetheatre.com with the subject line of your email, “Box Office Associate Position” 
  2. We will reach out to you whether or not you are called in for interviews. Please no phone calls. If you do have questions about your application, please email us at the above address. 
  3. Applications will be accepted through June 30, 2022. 

Short Answer Questions – REQUIRED 

In addition to submitting your resume, please take the time to answer the following questions. You do not have to write a cover letter for this application, so we ask that you put your efforts into answering these questions in complete, thoughtful sentences (no need to write more than 3-4 sentences per question). Thanks!

1. What is your customer service philosophy? How do you see yourself practicing it at TimeLine Theatre? (Please be specific and use examples if you can!)

Staff members at TimeLine Theatre Company share the core values of the organization:

  • ANTIRACIST Centering racial equity as we build a just future
  • COLLABORATIVE Valuing teamwork as a creative force
  • EXCEPTIONAL Exemplifying excellence and innovation in everything we do 
  • FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE Managing resources effectively and appropriately 
  • INCLUSIVE Prioritizing access in all its forms
  • INTIMATE Creating a close connection between art and audience 
  • RESPECTFUL Listening and being open to everyone’s perspective

 

2. Please choose one value from the list above, and tell us how you have used that value in a professional setting in the past? (If you do not have professional experience, feel free to tell us how you have used that value when you have worked with others on a large project.) 

3. How can this position and the skills you’ll learn at TimeLine contribute to your personal or professional goals? 

4. How did you find out about this position?