Box Office Manager

The Box Office Manager is responsible for the planning and delivery of all aspects of the festival box office, ticketing system and front of house activities. This involves working with multiple internal departments and external venues to ensure excellent communications and processes, as well as the configuration of the festival ticketing environment in readiness for the festival programme launch.

Managing the Box Office team and wider temporary festival front of house team, this role will oversee excellent and efficient services to maximise sales and provide a seamless customer journey to public and industry visitors alike, both in advance of and during the festival, making sure operations run effectively and any issues that may arise are handled in a professional and timely manner. In addition this role must monitor and report on sales and ticket allocations with a view to adjusting allocations when necessary in order to maximise ticket availability and sales.

£30,000, per annum, pro rata

Fixed-term contract:

23rd February to 18th June 2026

23rd February, 3 days per week

6th April to 18th June, Full-time, (including the weekend of 13th and 14th June)

Apply now and be part of our 33rd Edition at:

Summary of deliverables

Box office operations

• Lead on the setup and configuration of the box office system (Eventive) and be the main point of contact for the system for both external and internal stakeholders
• Make sure single tickets, multi-ticket packages and industry delegate passes are set up within the system and are configured correctly to allow for ticket purchases or ticket selections at the appropriate time
• Working with the Operations team, make sure that industry delegate pass information is syncing correctly from the festival management system (Fiona) to Eventive, and that passes are being issued correctly within the box office system
• Prepare appropriate email communications from the system to customers at all stages of the user journey
• Working with Operations and Communications teams, oversee the syncing of festival programme copy from the festival management system (Fiona), and the import of images into the box office system, checking that all copy, images and event information is correct and ready for programme launch
• Working with Operations, make sure the festival website includes embedded elements from the Eventive system and that these are operating correctly
• Set up venues, capacities, audience allocations and splits within the box office system, continuously monitoring sales and adjusting allocations as required
• If necessary, build seating plans within the box office system to enable seat selections and allocated seating
• Configure the online industry viewing platform (DocPlayer) in Eventive, making sure copy and images are present, that viewing windows and permissions are set correctly, and that the films have been uploaded by the festival print traffic management team
• Manage and configure the festival ticketing platform, in Eventive, making sure relevant information is present and correct and updated when necessary, that branding is in place (with the Communications team), and the schedule is ready with appropriate event tags and other filtering features are in place in time for programme launch
• Oversee Opening Night ticketing and front of house operations, in conjunction with the host venue box office if applicable, and work with the Events, Partnerships and Programme teams to devise and deliver an efficient RSVP process via the festival box office system and ticket collections on the day, as well as seating plans for VIPs
• Set up the Audience voting system within Eventive
• Monitor Box Office deadlines and tasks in ClickUp, making sure timelines are followed, adjusted if necessary, and that key dates are communicated cross-departmentally
• Working with the Production team, identify equipment and furniture requirements for front of house and box office operations and oversee testing, distribution, set up and return of said items

Customer Service

• Oversee all box office customer service to an excellent standard, handling queries, issues and complaints as they arise
• Maintain high standards of customer service across the box office team
• Act as an ambassador for DocFest in all dealings with public audiences and industry delegates
• Working with the Finance team, establish a process and timeline for ticket refunds
• Facilitate ticket transfers, refunds and exchanges if necessary
• Assist visitors with any access requirements and arrangements, making sure any specific needs are tracked and communicated to the relevant venues and staff

Festival

• Oversee the set-up of all festival box office locations, making sure all equipment has been configured and tested
• Oversee Opening Night front of house and VIP ticket collections and seating
• Oversee all front of house operations across all public and industry-only events, making sure events are running to time and that queuing, scanning and stand-by processes are working effectively
• Oversee and support all box office and front of house staff during the festival
• Attend all-team daily production meetings
• Make sure on-site briefings are delivered to all temporary staff and venue staff

People Management

• Identify staffing requirements, including volunteers, for all box office locations and front-of-house areas during the festival, and prepare rotas, anticipating pressure points, as well as planning appropriate cover where necessary
• Work with the Head of People & Access on budgets for festival staffing requirements
• Line manage the Box Office Coordinator and Assistant/s to ensure they remain on task, are well briefed and supported to fulfil their role, ensuring weekly 121s are maintained, and festival systems are used to the best capacity
• Prepare box office instruction manuals for training and festival records
• Oversee, plan and deliver the training of all box office and front of house staff (including venue staff who may be using the box office system or scanners) in advance of the festival
• Maintain positive and active relationships with any 3rd party box office teams and venues
• Track Venue Coordinator hours and fees, and handover to Head of HR and the Finance team for processing

Reporting & Communications

• Make sure the necessary audience data for reporting is being collected within the customer journey
• Provide regular box office sales reports for internal teams from Programme Launch through to festival end, identifying low-selling events to the Communications and Programme teams
• Prepare detailed reports and breakdown post-festival of sales across all ticket types and price points, as required by internal stakeholders
• Contribute to the festival debrief report
• Provide a handover report regarding the ongoing work to be continued at the end of the contract to the Operations team

Additional

• Answer phones and direct enquiries to the relevant team
• Respond to internal and external queries via email and on Google Chat
• Actively promote and support diversity and inclusion in all Sheffield DocFest activities
• Adhere to Sheffield DocFest health & safety policy
• Adhere to and actively participate in how Sheffield DocFest delivers on our commitment to the environmental policy
• Ensure all data stored is GDPR compliant
• Create and maintain good working relationships with all Sheffield DocFest colleagues
• Be an ambassador for Sheffield DocFest and maintain a professional approach at all times
• Any other duties that may be reasonably required to fulfil the role
• Commit to and uphold Sheffield DocFest values: creativity, empathy, freedom, inclusivity and internationalism

This is a non-exhaustive list of deliverables, and from time to time, the postholder may be required to undertake other duties that may be reasonably required.

Apply now and be part of our 33rd Edition at:

Job Type: Fixed term contract

Pay: £30,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company events
• Work from home

Work Location: Hybrid remote in Sheffield S1 2BX