Southend-on-Sea
As Venue Director, you will be the driving force behind the success of your venue – shaping its vision, leading its people, and ensuring its place at the heart of both the local community and Trafalgar Theatres’ national portfolio. This is a leadership role for a dynamic, commercially minded, and creative individual with the ambition to deliver exceptional customer experiences, achieve outstanding business results, and position the venue as a cultural destination of choice for audiences, artists, and producers alike. You will balance strategic vision with operational excellence, inspiring your team to deliver first-class service and innovative approaches, while ensuring commercial growth, community engagement, and long-term sustainability. Through strong and capable leadership, the Venue Director has a direct responsibility for the ongoing success of the venue; driving a process of continuing improvement; embedding a culture that is focussed on results; and ensuring the effective management and motivation of the venue team. The Theatre Director reports to the Regional Director and has wide-ranging relationships with others across Trafalgar Entertainment. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Strategy & Commercial Leadership: • Own the venue’s strategy and business plan (short, medium, long-term) to achieve or exceed budgeted EBITDA and growth targets. Track KPIs/OKRs and course-correct decisively., • Plan and forecast budgets, maximise profitability across all revenue lines (primary and secondary), and ensure strong financial controls and timely reporting with central finance., • Allocate resources smartly and proportionately to deliver targets; monitor labour efficiency and cost as a % of profit., • Contribute actively to venue programming with the central Programming team; bring ideas, relationships and local intelligence, and take ownership for delivery and results., • Ensure timely, accurate contracting for events, performances, hires and activities in line with company policies., • With the venue marketing team, shape in-venue marketing strategies to support campaigns to deliver attendance, revenue and brand targets; share performance insights to inform future plans., • Lead, inspire and develop a capable, motivated management team and wider workforce. Set clear goals, review performance, and address issues promptly., • Embed Trafalgar values; create a positive, respectful, inclusive, collaborative culture that nurtures potential, supports wellbeing and champions innovation., • Agree and monitor personal, business and service targets with managers, • Ensure excellence in customer service across all touchpoints; achieve attendance and service KPIs., • Oversee local contracts for cleaning, maintenance and H&S; maintain security, statutory compliance and the highest standards of health & safety., • Build productive relationships with producers, promoters, local authorities, media, tourism and cultural agencies, education providers, amateur societies and community partners., • With the Creative Learning team, develop impactful community engagement programmes that position the venue as a hub for creativity and learning., • Venue Profitability and EBITDA Contribution, • Achievement of business plan objectives, KPIs, and OKRs, • Attendance, customer satisfaction, and service excellence metrics, • Growth of secondary income and new revenue streams, • Staff engagement, retention, and development, • Delivery of community engagement and partnerships