Marketing & Content Manager

Marketing & Content Manager (Part-Time)

Mockingbird Gallery & Peterson Contemporary Art | Bend, Oregon

20 hours per week | W-2 | Regular in-gallery presence

Love art, and love making the content that gets people through the door? This might be your role.

This is a hands-on role for a marketer who makes things — photos, videos, emails, posts, stories — and makes them well. You'll be the creative engine behind two of Bend's most respected galleries: turning strategy into a steady stream of work that brings people in, keeps collectors close, and helps both galleries reach beyond Central Oregon.

Based in Bend, the role includes regular in-gallery presence and close collaboration with the owner and a Fractional Marketing Director who helps set direction and has your back.

Mockingbird Gallery and Peterson Contemporary Art are two galleries a few blocks apart in downtown Bend. Mockingbird has a long-standing reputation for traditional work and deep collector relationships. Peterson Contemporary Art is the newer sibling: sharper, more contemporary, and attracting a different kind of buyer.

We are moving toward one shared gallery group with two expressions: same team, same standards, different voices. Bend has become a real destination for collectors, and First Fridays downtown are a big part of that. We are ready to expand beyond Central Oregon, bring in more out-of-state collectors, and build a marketing rhythm that matches the caliber of the work we show. Your job is to help both expressions show up clearly, consistently, and beautifully.

The Opportunity

You will own the weekly marketing engine: creating content, publishing across channels, keeping the websites fresh, supporting events, organizing assets, and helping both galleries show up with consistency and care.

Strategy — who we are targeting, which channels matter, what we are testing, and how we measure success — will come from gallery owner Jim Peterson and the Fractional Marketing Director. Your job is to bring that strategy to life with strong writing, polished visuals, reliable execution, and good judgment.

This starts at 20 hours a week. As the marketing function matures, there is a real opportunity to expand hours, scope, and compensation for the right person.

To be clear about the boundaries: you are not expected to set overall strategy, own the budget, or define gallery positioning — those sit with Jim and the Director. You are expected to execute well, notice what is working, bring ideas, and improve the system over time.

What You’ll Own

You won’t do all of this at once. The first 90 days focus on content and a steady publishing rhythm. CRM, dashboard, and partnership work ramp in later, as the foundation gets built.

Content creation — the heart of the job:

• Shoot and edit photo and video of artwork, artists at work, gallery moments, events, and new arrivals
• Write the majority of day-to-day marketing content: captions, emails, artist features, event blurbs, and website updates
• Build and maintain a lightweight content library — reusable copy, image folders, artist notes, story ideas— so marketing is not recreated from scratch every week
• Help each gallery sound like itself: warm, credible, artful, and appropriate to the work being shown

Channels and campaigns:

• Run Instagram for both galleries — posts, Stories, Reels, and basic engagement
• Build and send email campaigns using the gallery email platform
• Keep both gallery websites current and accurate
• Support promotion for shows, First Friday openings, and guest artist events, plus selected local media and art-publication placements when directed

CRM and measurement support:

• Keep the CRM cleaner and easier to segment over time, and support email list growth
• Maintain a simple weekly marketing dashboard once the measurement structure is in place
• Bring honest observations about what is working across channels, and use the numbers to improve execution

Events, gallery presence, and community:

• Attend monthly First Friday openings. This is central to the role, not optional
• Spend time in-gallery weekly or every other week to understand the work, capture content, and get the pulse of visitors and collectors
• Support promotion for gallery events, guest artist shows, and private viewings
• Help build relationships with Visit Bend, local hotels, restaurants, and the broader Bend arts ecosystem

How Direction Works

Jim is the formal manager and business owner; the Fractional Marketing Director sets priorities, standards, and quality expectations, and coaches your work. For the first 60–90 days we use a lightweight review rhythm so your taste, writing, and judgment get calibrated — then you move to publishing independently. The goal is independence, not marketing by committee.

What Success Looks Like

First 90 Days:

• Consistent weekly publishing cadence across both galleries
• Email rhythm established; website updates handled reliably
• First Friday promotion process running
• Content library created and in use
• Clean, warm, art-appropriate writing with distinct voices for Mockingbird and PCA
• Fewer edits required over time as judgment is calibrated

First Year:

• Self-sustaining content rhythm that does not depend on heroics
• CRM hygiene and a weekly dashboard up and running
• Growing, better-segmented email list
• Stronger event promotion and fresher, more consistent storytelling
• Clearer view of which activities connect to gallery visits and collector inquiries

Who You Are

You are a maker. You like turning ideas into posts, emails, pages, photos, videos, event promotion, and useful systems. You take direction well, but you do not need to be chased. You care about art, details, language, and how things feel.

• 3+ years of hands-on marketing, content, communications, social, email, or related experience
• You write clearly and warmly: a caption people want to read, an email that sounds human, and a short artist feature that does not feel generic
• You can shoot and edit basic photo and video yourself — this part matters
• You have run Instagram and/or email at a real cadence, and can use a CMS, email platform, CRM, and basic reporting tools (or learn them quickly)
• You are comfortable in the gallery: talking with visitors, asking good questions, representing the galleries well, and listening for useful stories
• You are organized enough to manage a content calendar, deadlines, and recurring weekly work
• You genuinely love art. Prior gallery experience is not required, but curiosity and care are
• A real plus : Experience in galleries, the art world, luxury brands, high-end hospitality, design, architecture, travel, or another field where taste, atmosphere, and customer experience matter

Details

• Compensation : $32–$35/hour, depending on experience. Part-time W-2, with a real path to grow hours, scope, and pay as the function matures.
• Schedule : 20 hours/week. Flexible, with regular in-gallery presence and First Friday attendance.
• Reports to: Jim Peterson, Owner.
• Perks : Gallery event access, artwork discount, and partnership with an owner who values marketing.
• Ideal start date : Early July.

How to Apply

Email ***email_hidden*** with the subject line “Marketing & Content Manager Application — [Your Name]”. Include your resume and a short note that answers:

• What drew you to this role specifically?
• What is your relationship with art — as a maker, buyer, fan, student, collector, or something else?
• Tell us about one piece of marketing you made that you are proud of. What did you make, why, and what happened?
• Show us a piece of marketing — yours or someone else’s — that you think is genuinely great, and tell us why.

Optional but encouraged : links to work you have made — an Instagram account you ran, a Reel, an email campaign, website copy, photography, or anything that shows how you think and make.

Closing Thought

This is an opportunity to build something meaningful—not just run campaigns.

If there is mutual interest, we will schedule a conversation. Finalists complete a short, paid exercise so we can see writing, taste, judgment, and follow-through before deciding.