Title: Communications Manager
Job type: Exempt
Compensation: $58,000
Hours: Full time, Salaried

Key Traits:
• Strategy
• Project Management / Leadership
• Art Direction / Copywriting / Editing Skills
• Metrics and Evaluation
• Journalistic Sensibility

Position Summary:
LUX Center for the Arts brings arts activities, events, and classes to our community through a wide range of programs. As Communications Manager, you'll lead our overall communications strategy — shaping how we tell our story, grow our earned revenue and charitable giving, and deepen our reach and connection with the people we serve.

Fueling our fundraising
Working closely with the Development Manager, you'll bring several key initiatives to life: our annual report/year end giving campaign, our annual art auction, and our Give To Lincoln Day campaign. You'll also help craft the messaging and strategy that helps us engage new donors, volunteers, and visitors.

Growing our programs
Partnering with our Community Learning & Engagement team, you'll promote classes, workshops, and camps, and drive engagement around exhibitions, gallery events, and other community programming.

Championing our artists
You'll build tools and resources that support our artist partners — boosting sales of their work in the shop and online, connecting classes and events to artists, and showcasing the talents of our artists-in-residence.

Who we're looking for
We need a storyteller with a journalistic eye — someone who can find the heart of what we're building and use it to build real relationships with our audience. You'll draw on a wide range of communications tools and strategies to define who we're talking to and what we want them to hear. Above all, we're looking for a strategic thinker who loves building relationships and inviting others into our community.

What you'll own
You'll oversee content creation and collection, manage multiple project timelines, hit production schedules, and track success metrics after launch. You'll collaborate with staff, artists-in-residence, board members, and community artist partners — and you'll own our brand guidelines and content library, keeping our voice consistent across every platform.

If you're driven by strategy, relationship-building, and compelling storytelling — and want to work alongside a talented team — we'd love to hear from you.

Hours and Compensation:
This is a full-time, salaried position (40 hours/week) with a salary of $58,000.

LUX Center for the Arts offers a flexible vacation schedule and 21 paid holidays per year, which may be taken on a floating basis. We also offer a matched Simple IRA and a healthcare stipend.

LUX does not currently offer medical insurance or an HRA plan.

Description of Duties:
The sections below outline core responsibilities and skills. Specific duties will shift based on current strategy, team capacity, and organizational priorities. LUX is a dynamic, community-engaged nonprofit that's always evolving its programming — other duties may be required to support public events, organizational operations, or our broader mission.

Strategy development.
The Communications Manager will craft and design LUX's overall communications strategy — identifying key stakeholders, the channels needed to reach them, and the core messages for each event and opportunity.

Each person that we communicate with is a potential donor and member of our community. Communications at LUX is integral to our overall fundraising plans. Any strategy that we develop will need to include considerations for how we are including fundraising, donor development and creating opportunities to build our community.

LUX reaches thousands of people each year through its programs, and this role offers the chance to shape our tools and messaging. The right candidate will think holistically — from social media and advertising to website content and on-campus signage.

Leadership and Project Management.
Communication is a team effort. The Communications Manager will translate strategy into actionable projects and timelines, coordinating with staff to collect content while keeping projects on schedule and on budget. Clear, effective communication with staff, board members, artist partners, students, visitors, and others is essential.

This role also manages the Digital Content Creator, who handles social media, our monthly newsletter, website content, and photo/video collection. Several other staff members contribute written or design content in support of projects, and the Communications Manager will oversee interns or outsourced support as needed.

Design, Copywriting and Editing.
The Communications Manager is responsible for the final editorial quality of every deliverable — reviewing content throughout each project, giving feedback to creators, and ensuring only polished, on-standard work is published.

While not responsible for designing every piece of content, this person should have hands-on experience with graphic design, image editing, and typography across various media. Experience with third-party printers and preparing print-ready files is important, along with an understanding of how content translates across formats and the editorial considerations each requires.

Strong attention to detail — in both copy and visual layout — is essential.

Metrics and Evaluation.
The Communications Manager will track metrics for our communications projects, regularly compiling and reporting results to leadership, and will evaluate the effectiveness of our strategy as part of ongoing planning.

Additional skills and qualities include a journalistic Sensibility.
As a community-focused nonprofit, we value communication that builds relationships and broadens community. While grabbing attention and connecting people to what they need matters, we believe our communication should center on storytelling and narrative. If you're drawn to finding the core idea, the key character, and making sure the "lead" is up front in every message, this role could be a great fit.

Preferred skills and qualities:
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills.
• Courteous, professional demeanor with donors, board members, staff, volunteers, and the public.
• Storyteller who can translate our work into a connecting message.
• Strong attention to detail and editorial skills, including layout design and copyediting.
• Curious and solution-oriented, focused on opportunities rather than barriers.
• Collaborative team player, open to giving and receiving feedback while supporting a shared vision.
• Appreciation for the arts, arts education, and their role in building community.
• Willingness to take on other duties as needed, with a positive attitude, to meet the changing needs of a growing nonprofit.

Requirements:
• Experience developing multi-channel marketing or communication strategy.
• Experience creating and editing digital graphics and video.
• Copywriting or copyediting experience.
• Marketing analytics experience and knowledge of best practices for tracking communication impact.
• Experience with market research and targeted advertising or segmentation.
• Familiarity with project management software (Asana, Monday.com, ClickUp, or similar).
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, Teams) preferred.
• Commitment to equity, inclusion, and mutual respect for all people.

Inclusivity at the center.
LUX Center for the Arts is committed to cultivating and preserving a culture of inclusion and connectedness. We are able to grow and learn better together as a diverse team. In recruiting for our team, we embrace an equal opportunity approach and welcome the unique contributions that you can bring in terms of education, opinions, culture, ethnicity, race, sex, gender identity and expression, nation of origin, age, languages spoken, veteran’s status, color, religion, disability, sexual orientation and beliefs.

About the LUX Center for the Arts
The LUX Center for the Arts makes art happen in Lincoln. In our classrooms, youth and adults discover the joys of pottery, printmaking, painting, jewelry, drawing and more. Throughout the year our Outreach Program takes art classes to at-risk youth, low-income schools, cancer patients and others that benefit from having a first-hand art experience. The LUX galleries and shop represent the highest caliber work of local, regional, and national artists, exhibited in more than 18 shows annually.

Application and Selection Process
Applicants should email resume and cover letter to Andy Peterson, Director of Operations and Programs at andy@luxcenter.org.

Position will be open until at least 9/4/26, and applicants will be communicated with on a rolling basis.