Production & Artistic Finance Manager - Cincinnati Opera

Description

Founded in 1920, Cincinnati Opera is one of the oldest and most highly regarded opera companies in the United States. Known for its longstanding partnership with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, a roster of world-class singers, and its spectacular performance venue, Cincinnati Music Hall, Cincinnati Opera has received numerous accolades and awards, including a recent nomination for the prestigious International Opera Award.

Cincinnati Opera offers a primary season of performances from June through August (paid attendance 17,), plus a host of events through the year, including educational programming, small-scale public performances, recitals, and fundraisers.

The Finance Manager serves as the primary financial administrator for Cincinnati Opera's Production and Artistic departments. This position coordinates the financial, contractual, payroll, and administrative processes that support each production from planning through final reconciliation while serving as the key liaison between Production, Artistic, Human Resources, Finance, and the organization's shared-services accounting partner.

The role combines production finance, contract administration, payroll coordination, budget support, and operational planning to ensure the organization's artistic and production activities are executed efficiently, accurately, and in accordance with organizational policies, union agreements, and contractual obligations.

This person keeps both teams on budget, has real-time numbers ready at any moment, maintains a clear historical record of departmental spending, and produces the reports that leadership relies on to make decisions. The role sits within the artistic and production functions and works in close partnership with the organization's CFAO and with CSO, our outsourced shared services partner for accounting, audit, and payroll.

This is a hands-on, detail-driven role for someone who genuinely enjoys tracking the numbers, catching issues before they become problems, and continually finding ways to strengthen the organization's economic position. The ideal candidate is proactive, organized, and allergic to surprises.

• Serve as the primary financial administrator for the Production and Artistic departments.
• Process, track, code, and coordinate all incoming and outgoing production invoices, including labor invoices, ensuring timely approvals and payment.
• Serve as the departmental administrator for our Accounts Payable program (currently Beanworks), coordinating invoice workflow, approvals, coding, payment requests, and supporting documentation.
• Prepare and submit all check requests and ACH payment requests, including artist fees, giglets, staff and artist reimbursements, per diem, mileage, and other production-related expenses.
• Reconcile departmental credit card activity, ensuring transactions are properly coded, documented, supported by receipts, and submitted in accordance with organizational policies.
• Work with cardholders and vendors to resolve missing documentation, coding discrepancies, invoice questions, and payment issues.
• Maintain complete and organized financial records supporting all departmental expenditures.
• Administer petty cash, including distribution, reconciliation, replenishment, and recordkeeping.

• Produce, maintain, and distribute the weekly Production Worksheet Pay Schedule [AC1] for all seasonal production employees and AGMA production personnel.
• Review, verify, and code stagehand and wardrobe payroll prior to processing.
• Coordinate weekly payroll for hourly AGMA artists, including chorus and dancers. Update weekly hours based on costume fittings, absences, lateness, and other fees/deductions.
• Generate Artistic Payroll Matrix for Artistic Administrator’s review based on seasonal contracts and schedule C documents.
• Coordinate payroll documentation and communicate with department managers to ensure timely and accurate payroll submissions.
• Update Artistic Payroll Matrix based on artist overtime, AGMA delegate pay, and other seasonal updates.
• Facilitate contract preparation, routing, signatures, payment schedules, and submission of required documentation to applicable union offices for seasonal staff, AGMA artists, USA designers, and other production personnel.
• Maintain personnel and payroll documentation in accordance with organizational policies.

• In partnership with the Director of Production, administer co-production agreements and scenic and costume rental contracts.
• Coordinate contract execution, deposits, rental fees, insurance certificates, payment schedules, renewals, and key contractual deadlines for both Production and Artistic Departments.
• Monitor contract compliance and maintain accurate records for all agreements.
• Serve as the primary administrative liaison with vendors regarding payments, contract documentation, and financial requirements.