Technical Manager - The Ark

Our client, The Ark. is Michigan's nonprofit home for folk and roots music. Considered one of the top music clubs in the world, The Ark is renowned for the quality and breadth of its programming. The intimate 400-seat venue presents performers ranging from emerging artists to classic figures of folk and roots music.

The Ark is seeking an experienced live sound engineer to fill our Technical Manager role. This is a 30 hours/week position with benefits. In addition to serving as a professional sound engineer for The Ark, this position leads our Tech Crew in providing professional live audio, lighting, video, and livestreams to deliver a world-class concert experience.

The primary areas of focus for this position include:

• Serving as our live audio engineer for 10-15 shows per month
• Maintaining all club audio, lighting, video and broadcasting equipment
• Managing and training technical staff and volunteers

Key components for the successful candidate include:

• Understanding all aspects of the venue's production set up and equipment;
• Recruit, manage, and train highly skilled volunteer sound engineers, lighting designers, livestream technicians, videographers and loaders;
• Reflecting The Ark's world-class reputation in both public-facing interactions and behind-the-scenes work that supports the organization;
• Overseeing and hosting high profile and/or large productions, special events and occasional educational programs

This position reports to the Operations Director and works closely with the Volunteer Tech Crew, Night Managers, and scheduled Artists. This position works primarily at the venue and requires mostly afternoon to evening availability, including some weekends.

*Please submit a cover letter along with your resume when applying.

Primary Responsibilities

LIVE SOUND ENGINEER

• Sound Engineer for 10-15 shows/month.
  • Greet artists and touring crew, assist artists with load in and load out (including heavy lifting), set the stage according to artist requirements (including but not limited to cabling and patching) and operate a sound check to the artist's satisfaction, provide a professional quality live show mix while maintaining safe listening levels and/or assist a traveling sound technician, tear down the stage following the performance and restore equipment to pre-performance setting
  • A typical show day is approx. 6-8 hours. Longer shows days can run approx. 12 hours.
• Provide sound, lighting, video and/or broadcast staffing for livestreams from The Ark

TECH EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR

• Maintain all club audio, lighting, video and broadcasting equipment
• Request production supplies
• Identify and recommend production improvements and repair needs for annual budget
• Inventory equipment quarterly

TECH CREW MANAGEMENT

• Communicate with Volunteer Tech Crew via email group (show information, technical guidance, notifications, etc)
• Schedule capable sound, lighting, video and/or broadcasting staffing for each event
• Provide on-call phone/text support to Volunteer Tech Crew
• Recruit, train and continually mentor tech volunteers
• Host and participate in Volunteer Tech Crew meetings

PRE-PRODUCTION

• As needed, advance technical requirements with the artist/tour manager for shows identified by the Operations Director
• Review show advance information, add show information to the tech webpage
• Check that there are capable sound technicians, lighting techs, and/or broadcasting staff scheduled for each event.
• Supervise select artist load-ins as identified by the Operations Director

Required Qualifications

• Proven expertise in live sound reinforcement including minimum 3 years experience
• Ample and recent experience running digital pro audio consoles, such as the Yamaha CL3 used at The Ark, in live performance setting
• Stage lighting and digital light board experience, such as The Ark's RoadHog 4
• Ability to lift heavy equipment
• Flexible availability (days/nights, late hours, weekends, and holidays)
• Strong interpersonal skills, written communications, and proven ability to work well with artists, touring crews, and others
• Ability to effectively train and mentor other technicians
• Experience working with local and nationally touring artists
• Experience producing high quality performances for both simple and complicated stage arrangements
• Confidence under pressure
• Ability to test and repair broken equipment and/or coordinate repair work with qualified vendors
• Able to work independently and as part of a team
• The person in this role will need to have access to a cell phone and email for prompt communications and maintain reliable transportation

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge and experience in livestreaming, video, and digital platforms
• Experience with Google Drive a plus
• Experience working at a non-profit organization

The Ark is an Equal Opportunity Employer, offering equal opportunity for employment or advancement to all qualified applicants or employees without regard to age, religion, color, race, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, familial status, veteran status, height, weight, or non-job-related medical condition or disability, or any unlawful criterion or circumstance. The Ark is committed to fostering and maintaining a diverse and multicultural working environment. Candidates from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

Mission Statement

"The Ark is a non-profit organization dedicated to the enrichment of the human spirit through the presentation, preservation, and encouragement of folk, roots, ethnic music, and the related arts. The Ark provides a safe and welcoming atmosphere for all people to listen to, learn about, perform and share music."

Current Openings for Technical Manager The Ark Jobs at Karen Andrews Group