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General Manager: Job Description

Background & Context:

The General Manager is an executive role reporting to the Board Trustees. The General Manager is principally accountable for delivering the Blue Apple Theatre Community Project (BATCP) working closely with the Artistic Director. The BATCP is a Big Lottery funded project. It assumes that approximately 0.8 full-time equivalent will be spent by the General Manager on the project. It is envisaged that the General Manager will give a further 0.2 FTE to operational support for large-scale productions and tours.

The aim of the Blue Apple Theatre Community Project is “to use ambitious theatre and dance to develop the skills behaviours and confidence which enable people with learning disabilities to enjoy more active lives and engage more fully and positively in the community in which they live.”

The focus of the General Manager role will be on day-to-day operations, in particular establishing and maintaining the management systems, financial controls, project measurement and evaluation, marketing, fundraising and HR activities that will enable Blue Apple to meet its objectives, and comply with legal requirements and company policies and procedures. This will provide the platform from which Blue Apple will reach wider communities, generate strong evidence of the benefits and efficacy of the Blue Apple approach, and build the foundations for long-term financial and operational sustainability.

Since incorporating in 2013, the Trustees and the Artistic Director of Blue Apple Theatre have been heavily engaged in management operations. As the new General Manager establishes the appropriate management systems and procedures, it is envisaged that the Trustees and Artistic Director will step back from day-to-day operational management.

Key Responsibilities:

  1. To implement the Blue Apple Theatre Community Project
  2. To maintain effective governance and control, financial, measurement and evaluation, fundraising and marketing activities to enable Blue Apple Theatre to meet its objectives, and comply with legal requirements and company policies and procedures
  3. To support the artistic programme

Duties and tasks to fulfil the key responsibilities:

  1. To establish effective operational and financial management

1.1  To develop the existing management control system, ensuring that it is fit for purpose and can support the expansion of Blue Apple Theatre activities

·  Review the existing management systems and controls, identify areas for development and put in place plans to implement.

·  Establish a rigorous annual budgeting process and ensure that net income and cash are managed in line with the approved budget

·  Build up reserves to ensure compliance with the reserves policy

·  Take day-day-day responsibility for the stewardship of company assets including cash received

·  Oversee the day-to-day accounting tasks

·  Ensure that suppliers and contractors are managed effectively and in compliance with relevant regulations

·  Review existing company policies, be alert to changes in statutory requirements, update and make recommendations for changes as required

·  Ensure that company policies and procedures are complied with

·  Provide relevant, honest, timely, high-quality information and advice to the Board of Trustees

·  Carry out operational risk assessments and put in place cost-effective mitigation

·  Alert the Board to major risks, inform the Board of current and future key issues, including significant trends, and inform the Board about external changes which may have an impact on the charity

·  Ensure that relevant decisions taken at meetings of the Board are implemented

·  Ensure that adequate safeguarding procedures are put in place

·  Ensure that staff and volunteers are recruited fairly, properly remunerated and that they receive appropriate induction, advice, information and training (individually and collectively)

·  Put in place a performance appraisal process for everyone in the organisation and ensure that the charity invests in the development of its staff.

1.2  To implement an effective framework for monitoring, measuring and evaluating the Blue Apple Theatre Community Project in line with Big Lottery Fund commitments

·  Establish and chair a Project Steering Group to lead monitoring and evaluation

·  Review and, as appropriate, revise strategy to ensure delivery of project outcomes

·  Implement appropriate methods for tracking progress against project indicators

·  Implement self evaluation systems and work with external agencies to introduce innovative methodologies that build evidence of the impact of Blue Apple Theatre

·  Grow beneficiary involvement in all aspects of monitoring measurement, and evaluation

·  Share learning will key stakeholders and the wider community in the arts and learning disability field

·  Develop the Forum

  1. To provide leadership for staff and volunteers (other than the creative team led by the Artistic Director)

·  Ensure that all operational and administrative activities are carried out professionally, effectively, efficiently and safely

·  Ensure that operational and administrative staff are properly briefed and trained on their roles

·  Carry out staff performance reviews and ensure constructive feedback is provided

·  Provide an effective link between the Board and staff

·  Support the Trustees in representing the charity and act as spokesperson

·  Create a forum of communication between people with learning disabilities, staff and trustees that encourages sharing of information and facilitates and develops roles for people with learning disabilities in running and taking responsibility for elements of the day to day activities

  1. To establish a highly-effective fundraising programme including management of in-house or third-party fundraisers that raises substantially more than it costs through:

·  Major grant funding

·  Private donors

·  Friends and supporters

·  Sponsorship programmes

·  Crowd-funding

·  New funding opportunities and commissioning

·  Developing a Fundraising Events team

  1. To develop and implement the Blue Apple marketing and publicity plans to:

·  Increase awareness of opportunities for people with learning disabilities and recruit new participants to Blue Apple Theatre

·  Diversify participation in Blue Apple Theatre programmes in line with Big Lottery aims

·  Maximise revenue from participation, ticket sales and other business activities

·  Raise public awareness and appreciation of Blue Apple Theatre through appropriate publicity campaign

·  Initiate periodic peer reviews of Blue Apple Theatre as part of a continuous improvement process

·  Develop material – print and photo - to support the marketing and PR campaigns

·  Sell tickets for performances and workshops

·  Promote tours to theatres

PERSON SPECIFICATION

The role is likely to suit a person with previous leadership experience of managing operations including: finance, administration, measurement and evaluation, marketing, fundraising, HR either within a charity or an artistic environment. Proven leadership experience, personal integrity and a commitment to the aims and values of Blue Apple Theatre are essential. The following range of skills and experience are desirable:

Experience

Voluntary sector

Performing arts organisations

Successful delivery of a third party funded project

Managing a start-up organisation

Skills

Building effective teams

Management control including financial systems

Project measurement and evaluation

HR

Marketing – social and promotional

Fundraising

Strong communication and presentational skills

Qualities

Resilience

Eye for detail

Dealing with ambiguity

Potential to move into Chief Executive role