Executive Director

Executive Director

AT A GLANCE

• Organization
  Friends of the Tybee Theater, Inc. (Tybee Post Theater), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
• Location
  Tybee Post Theater, 10 Van Horne Avenue, Tybee Island, Georgia — on-site; not a remote or hybrid role
• Reports To
  Board of Directors
• Employment Type
  Full-time, Exempt
• Compensation
  $80,000–$100,000, plus benefits
• Team
  Leads a three-person staff team spanning operations, advancement, and programming

THE OPPORTUNITY

Tybee Post Theater is a beloved 206-seat presenting venue in the heart of the Fort Screven Historic District on Tybee Island, Georgia. After five years of steady growth under its founding-era Executive Director, the Theater is ready for its next leader — someone who can carry forward an evolving capital campaign, bring institutional rigor to fundraising and operations, and deepen the Theater’s roots across Tybee Island and the greater Savannah region, all while protecting the warmth and unmistakably “Tybee” spirit that make this place beloved.

Learn more about Tybee Post Theater at /tybeeposttheater.org.

MISSION & HISTORY

Friends of the Tybee Theater, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation formed in 2001 and dedicated to restoring and operating the Tybee Post Theater as a performing arts and cultural center that is an integral part of the island community, enhances the cultural experience, encourages and attracts visitors, and improves the overall quality of life.

The Tybee Post Theater was built in 1930 by the U.S. Army as a movie house for soldiers stationed at Fort Screven and was among the first theaters in Georgia equipped to show “talkies.” Its historic patrons included base commander Gen. George C. Marshall, future President Dwight Eisenhower, and Savannah composer Johnny Mercer. After the base closed following World War II, the building passed through private hands, went dark, and stood vacant for decades — nearly facing demolition in 1999 before the City of Tybee Island and the Tybee Island Historical Society stepped in to save it. Friends of the Tybee Theater formed in 2001 and spent the next 15 years restoring the building, reopening it fully in 2015 with modern seating, air conditioning, and updated stage, sound, and lighting systems.

Today, the Theater presents a broad mix of live music, tribute performances, comedy, theater, and film, and hosts weddings, meetings, and private events on its historic grounds a block from the Atlantic Ocean.

Recent Momentum

• Grown total revenue from roughly $681,000 (2022) to $890,000 (2024), reflecting steadily increasing community and regional support.
• Has grown into a professionally staffed nonprofit with a three-person leadership team spanning operations, advancement, and programming.
• Built sustained partnerships with the Savannah Stage Company, Tybee Arts Association, Tybee Ballet Theater, and New Oak Theater, expanding locally driven programming
• Ended the 2025 fiscal year with positive net income and total assets exceeding $2.2 million

TYBEE ISLAND & THE SAVANNAH REGION

Tybee Island is a small barrier-island community of roughly 3,100 year-round residents, located about 18 miles (a 20-minute drive) east of downtown Savannah, Georgia. Its population swells dramatically with tourism — to as many as 30,000 people on peak summer weekends — and it is consistently ranked among the top beach destinations in the United States.

The Theater draws its audience from both this close-knit local community and the broader Savannah region, a metro area known for its historic downtown district, thriving arts scene anchored by institutions like the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and strong year-round tourism economy. This regional draw gives Tybee Post Theater access to an audience base well beyond the island’s small year-round population.

Candidates should currently or genuinely want to live in greater Savannah, GA market.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Fundraising & Capital Campaign Leadership

• Serves as the face of the Arts Annex capital campaign, personally cultivating and soliciting major gifts alongside the Board.
• Works with the Board to achieve fundraising goals and develop other resources needed to support the Theater’s mission.
• Builds the institutional fundraising infrastructure the Theater currently lacks, including a donor CRM, moves-management process, and diversified revenue streams beyond ticket sales and ad hoc donations.
• Manages and grows the Theater’s donor base and stewards long-standing patron families and founding-era supporters central to the Theater’s community standing.

Business & Financial Management

• Brings an entrepreneurial mindset to identifying and building new earned-revenue streams — rentals, workshops, sponsorships, and the daytime programming the Arts Annex will make possible — rather than relying solely on ticket sales and donations.
• Evaluates the financial risk and return of new ideas before committing organizational resources, pairing creative ambition with sound business judgment and a bias toward testing before scaling.
• Works with the Board to determine the annual budget and coordinates with staff and CPA to provide monthly financial statements.
• Manages fiscal operations to stay within the approved budget, make the best use of resources, and maintain a positive financial position, including addressing existing budget-to-actual variances.
• Applies a data-driven approach to pricing, cost management, and vendor negotiations, treating the Theater’s long-term financial sustainability as a core leadership responsibility, not just a compliance function.
• Negotiates contracts for performances, theater rentals, and outside vendor services.

Staff & Board Leadership

• Leads and facilitates strategic planning to ensure the Theater can successfully fulfill its mission into the future.
• Communicates effectively with the Board, providing timely, accurate information for sound decision-making, and partners closely and transparently — following through on commitments and bringing forward plans rather than open-ended questions.
• Leads staff in a manner that supports and guides the organization’s mission as defined by the Board.
• Manages the hiring, development, evaluation, and retention of qualified staff, and directly manages the Theater’s team, including establishing the formal performance-management practices the organization has not yet needed at its current scale.

Community & Public Presence

• Serves as the Theater’s primary public face and spokesperson — visible, approachable, and personally known within the Tybee community.
• Enhances the Theater’s public image by being active and visible in the community and by building relationships with other professional, civic, and private organizations.
• Maintain and grow partnerships with arts organizations throughout the area.

Marketing & Communications

• Oversees the Theater’s overall marketing strategy and brand presence, including its website and online ticketing system.
• Keeps members and the community informed and engaged through timely, consistent communication across email, social media, and other channels.

Programming Partnership & Oversight

• Oversees the planning, selection, presentation, and promotion of programming for a diverse community and its visitors, in alignment with the Theater’s mission.
• Maintains a clear point of view on programming direction, financial risk tolerance, and audience strategy, retaining final authority on budget and overall direction in partnership with programming staff.
• Oversees vendor, rental, and contract negotiations, including artist and agent agreements, in partnership with programming staff.

Theater Operations

• Oversees all aspects of the Theater’s day-to-day operations, including facility management, production, ticketing, concessions, and front-of-house.
• Oversees the Theater’s volunteer program, ensuring volunteers are well-trained, recognized, and retained as essential partners in day-to-day operations.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Key Qualifications

• 7–10+ years of professional nonprofit or business leadership experience, with a clear record of achievement; prior Executive Director experience is valued but not required for an otherwise exceptional candidate.
• Direct experience with hands-on major-gift or capital campaigns.
• Strong financial management skills, including budget preparation, analysis, decision-making, and reporting.
• A track record managing staff and partnering effectively with an engaged, working governing board.
• Comfort and skill as a public-facing ambassador, including experience or aptitude for engaging municipal government and civic stakeholders.
• High degree of energy, integrity, transparency, and personal warmth, someone who wants to be known personally by patrons, volunteers, and staff, not simply an administrator.
• Decisive and plan-driven, while genuinely willing to listen and observe before proposing change

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior fundraising leadership experience is a plus.
• Direct arts, theater, or live-entertainment programming experience is a meaningful asset but not a prerequisite
• Familiarity with the Savannah/coastal Georgia region or comparable small coastal or tourist communities.
• Prior experience with a capital campaign or building project of comparable scale.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The annual compensation range for this role is $80,000–$100,000, commensurate with experience and capital-campaign fundraising track record, with a benefits package that includes:

• Employer-sponsored health insurance, with eligibility beginning after 30 days of employment
• Two weeks of paid vacation annually, plus separate paid time off (PTO) that accrues at four hours per month after 90 days of employment, for illness or other personal needs
• 11 paid holidays annually — New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day — plus a paid day off for the employee’s birthday after the first year of employment
• Complimentary admission to Theater events and a 50% discount on Theater merchandise

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Tybee Post Theater (Friends of the Tybee Theater, Inc.) shall follow the spirit and intent of all federal, state, and local employment law and is committed to equal employment opportunity. The Board of Directors and Executive Director will not discriminate against any employee or applicant in a manner that violates the law. Tybee Post Theater is committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, political affiliation, or any other characteristic protected under federal, state, or local law. Each person is evaluated on the basis of personal skill and merit.

Tybee Post Theater is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities throughout the application and employment process. Candidates who require an accommodation should contact info@tybeeposttheater.org.

HOW TO APPLY

Interested candidates should complete the confidential candidate form at:

https://www.jotform.com/form/26218351965…↗↗

All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential. Please do not contact the staff or board members of the Tybee Post Theater.

Employment with Tybee Post Theater is contingent upon successful completion of a background check.