JOB PACK INTRODUCTION

NORWICH ARTS CENTRE – DIRECTOR

Thank you for your interest in the post of Director, Norwich Arts Centre. This is a high-profile job running a venue just celebrated by NME as the best in the East of England. One of the Arts Council’s National Portfolio Organisations and supported by Norwich City and Norfolk County councils, the NAC plays a special part in the artistic fabric of the area.

While the Director will have considerable experience in running a venue, the role is much wider than that. He or she will run the region-wide talent development programme Escalator Music, collaborate with other arts organisations and stakeholders, identify and develop new strategies and funding streams – and above all empathise with the core values of the centre, its staff and users.

Information includedin this document:

1Job Description

2Person specification

3Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

4An overview of the arts and culture in Norwich and Norfolk

5Staff Structure diagram

For up to date information on NAC events please visit the website and a PDF copy of the latest brochure can be downloaded from

To apply, please send a CV and covering letter explaining why you feel you are suited to the role

The closing date is 5pm on Wednesday 5th September

Interviews will be in Norwich during the week beginning Monday 10th September

For an informal chat about the role, please call Stuart Hobday on 01603 697666.

Norwich Arts Centre Director - Job Description

Job Title: Director, Norwich Arts Centre.

Reporting to: the NAC Board, particularly the Chairman.

Norwich Arts Centre Vision Statement

Stimulating Audiences – Nurturing Creativity

Norwich Arts Centre Mission Statement

Norwich Arts Centre provides a vibrant mix of cultural experiences. We nurture creativity and emerging talent across a range of art forms. We present a stimulating, imaginative programme to a diverse audience.

Job Summary

As the Chief Executive of Norwich Arts Centre the Director has overall responsibility for the artistic and financial outputs of this busy multi arts venue. He/she will also manage the projects NAC is committed to delivering in particular the region wide talent development programme Escalator Music. The job is a hands-on post in a busy environment overseeing the whole NAC team that comprises of a core team of 12 people and a wider team of 30 – 40 people.

Main Responsibilities

  1. The Director has overall responsibility for the content of the NAC Programme including exhibitions, live music, performing arts, live art, comedy and children’s theatre.
  2. The Director has overall responsibility for ensuring that the public experience at NAC is a safe and satisfying one.
  3. The Director will ensure that all statutory requirements are met in relation to the venue including licensing, risk assessments, safety arrangements.
  4. The Director will directly liaise with the core NAC Funders,currently Arts Council England, Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council to ensure that their requirements are being met.
  5. The Director will manage outside relations with partner organisations and stakeholders such as the Historic Churches Trust, Norwich Lanes, Norfolk and Norwich Festival and Writers Centre Norwich.
  6. The Director will ensure that the Vision Statement and Mission Statement are worked towards and that the Charitable Objectives are adhered to.
  7. The Director will directly manage the Escalator Music talent development scheme, will chair the selection panel and carry out Escalator artist meetings where appropriate.
  8. The Director will oversee NAC aspects of the autumn festival Norwich Sound and Vision and continue to develop this as a music development aspect of NAC’s work.
  9. The Director will facilitate general talent development in different art forms in line with the NAC mission statement.
  10. The Director will ensure the current agreed Business Plan is adhered to and update when necessary. Also prepare a new Business Plan when the current one comes to an end.
  11. The Director will ensure all appropriate Human Resources arrangements are in place for all NAC staff.
  12. The Director will (with the NAC Finance Manager) ensure that accurate financial information is produced, that all takings are processed appropriately and that all transactions adhere to statutory requirements and audit.
  13. The Director will communicate to all staff the overall NAC Objectives but also ensure project objectives are communicated and individual objectives for staff are set.
  14. The Director will oversee all NAC marketing and work with the Marketing Coordinator to ensure as much coverage and audience development as possible is taking place all the time through different media.
  15. The Director will oversee the provision, attendance, quality and review of educational courses offered by NAC for adults and young people.
  16. The Director will work with the NAC Front of House Manager to ensure all Box Office arrangements are in place and operate as efficiently as possible.
  17. The Director will ensure that all other streams of income at NAC are maximised particularly sponsorship, the café, bar and private hire.
  18. The Director will ensure (with the Operations Manager) that all building issues as in maintenance, repair and improvement are dealt with efficiently.
  19. The Director will ensure that all I.T. Systems are appropriate for the work NAC needs to produce.
  20. The NAC Director will ensure, with the Operations Manager, that operational requirements are in place including event staffing, technical requirements, café bar arrangements, security, volunteers and anything arising on the day of events.
  21. The Director will organise and plan for a bi-monthly meeting of the NAC Board. He/she will produce and circulate a management report in advance of the meetings. He/she will attend these meetings and ensure they are minuted and the minutes are circulated as appropriate.
  22. The Director will inform the makeup of the NAC Board and with the NAC Chairman ensure that a healthy amount of renewal occurs in the Board.

NAC Director - Person Specification

Required Experience / Abilities / Essential / Desirable
Experience of Arts Management / Yes
Understanding of funding and fundraising / Yes
Broad interest in and understanding of a wide range of contemporary arts / Yes
Experience of Managing Complex Projects / Yes
Experience of Managing a venue or Arts Centre / Yes
Experience of music talent development / Yes
Experience of leading a team / Yes
Experience of working with Arts Council / Yes
Experience of Licensing / Yes
Experience of partnership working with a range of stakeholders / Yes
Required Skill / Qualifications / Essential / Desirable
Good People / Team skills / Yes
Excellent Financial skills / Yes
Good IT Skills / Yes
Ability to remain calm in pressurised circumstances / Yes
Educated to degree level / Yes
Undergone Management Training / Yes
Equal opportunities monitoring form
Norwich Arts Centre aims to be an Equal Opportunities employer and therefore we monitor job applications.
Please complete and forward this section of the pack with your application.
It will be separated from the rest of your application on receipt and will not be used for shortlisting or shared with the recruiting manager.
Where did you see this vacancy advertised? ______
Ethnic Origin
A -White □ British □ Irish □
any other White background, please specify ______
B -Mixed □ White & Black Caribbean □ White & Asian □ White & Black African □
any other Mixed background please specify ______
C – Asian □ Indian □ Pakistani □ Bangladeshi □
any other Asian background please specify ______
D – Black □ Caribbean □ African □
any other Black background please specify______
E – Chinese or other ethnic group □ Chinese □
any other please specify ______
Sex □Male □Female
Faith/Religion □Buddhist □Christian □Hindu □Jewish □Muslim □Sikh □none other please specify______
Age □under 20 □20-24 □25-29 □30-34 □35-39 □40-44 □45-49 □50-54 □55-59 □60-64 □65 +
Disability Do you consider yourself to be a disabled person? □Yes □No
Please specify the nature of any disability ______
For office use only: □ Shortlisted □ Appointed

Norwich and Norfolk: Arts and Culture

Norwich is considered to be the capital of East Anglia, and Norwich and Norfolk are certainly hugely active as cultural centres with a host of venues, festivals and events as well as providing a sympathetic base for many artists, musicians and arts practitioners of all descriptions. The city has more cultural activity than any other in the UK relative to population size thanks to a commitment to public funding for the arts. Add to this the plethora of arts and cultural activities that take place throughout the rest of Norfolk and it would be true to say that culture is ingrained within the DNA of the region.

Within the compact city of Norwich there are numerous venues for music, arts and performance. Norwich Arts Centre is arguably the region’s finest arts centre with a programme that complements the cultural activities elsewhere and a commitment to providing access and opportunities for the local community.

The Theatre Royal plays host to big musicals, West End hits, and large-scale dance and music events whilst the nearby garage focuses on providing training and support for young people from all backgrounds. The Maddermarket Theatre is a cosy and intimate theatre producing amateur productions and also acts as a receiving venue for a wide variety of theatre and music shows. Norwich Playhouse, situated by the river and adjacent to Norwich University College of the Arts is a friendly venue that hosts community, national and international theatre, comedy, dance and music. The Playhouse Bar could be considered a venue in its own right; an essential venue for smaller more intimate music gigs on the cultural scene and its outdoor garden is wonderful on a hot summer’s night.

St Andrew’s Hall, part of the most complete medieval friary complex surviving in England, is known for hosting regular concerts by the Norwich Philharmonic, whilst the Georgian Assembly House is a multi-purpose venue for exhibitions, music, theatre and film. The Forum, a vast, contemporary glass building in the centre of Norwich, is home to the Millennium Library and the BBC. It also contains Fusion the largest digital screen gallery in Europe where visitors can enjoy contemporary, experimental and archive film by artists, filmmakers, sound designers and students. Grade 1 listed Dragon Hall, a medieval trading hall, is better known for contemporary music, spoken word and theatre by local and up-and-coming performers. TheUniversity of East Anglia students’ union building and their city centre venue TheWaterfront are the places to go to see more established pop and rock bands.

Norwich is well served for cinemas with three commercial chains and the independent Cinema City, which not only shows great films and has a fantastic restaurant and bar, but also has the most comfortable seats imaginable. The city also has the unique and internationally renowned Norwich Puppet Theatre, now over 30 years old.

Literature and the spoken word have a strong history in the region and in May 2012 Writers Centre Norwich (in collaboration with Norwich City Council, Norfolk County Council, the Arts Council, and the University of East Anglia) gained UNESCO City of Literature status making Norwich the first city in England to achieve this accolade. Ambitious plans are in place to develop a new International Centre for Writing by 2016.

The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the University of East Anglia opened in 1978 and was Sir Norman Foster’s first major public building. It is home to a world-class collection of contemporary and world art spanning 5,000 years of creativity and has a changing programme of high quality exhibitions.

Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service has partnerships with the British Museum and Tate, and cares for 12 museums across the region ranging from the showpiece Castle Museum and Art Gallery in the heart of Norwich, to the fascinating Time and Tide Museum in Great Yarmouth. There are also over 50 smaller independent museums in Norfolk, all with interesting and diverse collections worth seeing.

The Norfolk and Norwich Festival is England’s third largest city festival and also the oldest. It takes place over three weeks each May at various venues in Norwich and Norfolk. The festival also coordinates Open Studios when artists across the county open their doors to visitors.

October 2012 sees the third year of the Norwich Sound and Vision Festival at Norwich Arts Centre which for the first time will include The John Peel Festival of New Music that will see around 50 new bands from all over the UK and beyond play in 10 city venues over 3 nights.

This is just a flavour of what the region has to offer. Other arts and cultural organisations include Creative Arts East, Access to Music and Community Music East. There are poetry and spoken word groups and festivals such as Norwich Poetry Club, Café Writers and Poetry next the Sea. Holt Festival in July continues to bring national and international performers to Norfolk. COAST (the Cromer and Sheringham Arts Festival) takes place in the autumn; Kings Lynn has a lively arts centre, an annual festival and a rich heritage quarter well worth visiting. Norwich also has a host of smaller venues ranging from the medieval crypt of Jurnet’s Bar to lots of activity in café’s pubs and bars like The Bicycle Shop, The Birdcage, Olive’s, The Unthank Arms and many many more.

For anyone with a passion for the arts these are the reasons why so many creative people choose to make Norfolk their home. If you need more evidence then include over 100 miles of beautiful and varied coastline, vast expanses of countryside and waterways, lots of excellent restaurants, pubs and bars, superb shopping, heritage buildings galore, friendly people and a pretty good climate.

Staff Structure Diagram