OUTLANDS Project Co-ordinator

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Job Description

Job title : OUTLANDS Project Co-ordinator

Responsible to :OUTLANDS Network, employed by the De La Warr Pavilion Charitable Trust

Salary:£30k per annum

Length of Contract:Initial six months fixed term, 40 hours per week

Description of Project

Outlands is a group of creative producers, arts organisations and venues which has come together to found a new national Network for the provision and promotion of experimental music and inter-disciplinary arts in regional areas of England.

Objectives:

Funded for two years by Arts Council England via the Strategic Touring fund, the Network will create and tour three productions a year, with an accompanying participation programme, seeking to develop audiences and permanently raise the viability of ambitious music touring projects across parts of the country where provision/engagement is low.

Summary of post:

The OUTLANDS Project Co-ordinator will be central to the Network and key to how the partners work together on the project. They will understand the ongoing vision for the Network and play a vital part in developing it. This person will carry with them a complete overview of the various activities, aims and outcomes that form the OUTLANDS project.

Main Responsibilities:

The Project Co-ordinator will be a bridge between the overarching aims of the Network, the individual partner aims and their bespoke audience development requirements. They will act as a positive and creative support to ensure that any local problem or lack of capacity is highlighted and resolved swiftly and effectively, with the aid of the larger group. The Project Co-ordinator will also act as a safety-net; managing the overall project by checking in with partners and ensuring project targets and timeframes are being met.

The Project Co-ordinator will support partners in ensuring that the audience development goals are carried out as planned. The Project Co-ordinator will ensure that, although bespoke solutions are required for each partner area, there is a cohesive national strategy in which the lessons learned and knowledge gleaned is shared across each member of the Network and their respective personnel.

Main Duties :

The Co-ordinator will organise and administrate the day to day operations of the national aspects of the Network which will include:

Managing the Network:

  • To organise Network meetings, planning days and shared research visits to events.
  • Monitor budget allocations, costs, payments, and funds raised across all partners, supported by the lead partner and external financial consultants.

Commissioning, Production, Engagement:

  • Work with commissioning and receiving partners to co-ordinate and manage the touring productions including ensuring artist and crew riders, travel, and accommodation needs are covered, technical production riders and specs are circulated and serviced, and that all logistical preparations are in place for the successful delivery of tours.
  • Support partners with resources and planning to facilitate and deliver open rehearsals / open sound-checks and other participation activities.
  • Assist the local partners in identifying, training, and managing the Associate Producers, and Venue Ambassador roles (volunteers).
  • Lead on key strategies with partners to develop outreach programmes that work within the context of each project.

Marketing, PR, Audience Development:

  • Monitor and co-ordinate national PR strategy working with freelance PR personnel.
  • Monitor and co-ordinate regional marketing, including posters/flyers and digital and social media.
  • Support all regional marketing departments and organisational staff, ensuring that all are up to date with, and understand, the concepts and format of the touring productions.
  • Support all regional marketing departments and organisational staff in understanding the target audiences and the potential for outreach and community engagement for each specific production.
  • Liaise with regional partners to ensure that any extra targeted marketing is relevant and working for the specific requirements of local audiences.
  • To maintain and update the main national audience development plan for the Network in line with the main Network decisions.
  • To assist local partners in maintaining and updating their own bespoke and responsive audience development plans
  • To maintain shared documents such as the potential new partner list, potential funders’ list and new production proposals.

Funding, Reporting and Evaluation

  • Monitor and co-ordinate network fundraising activities supported by the lead partner (De La Warr Pavilion) and external financial consultants, including co-ordinating and creating reports for funders.
  • Work with the regional partners and their personnel to design, distribute and use evaluation tools, and to support data collection across all partners.
  • Contribute to the process of discerning evaluation findings and lessons learned, and co-ordinate subsequent actions from network evaluation decisions.
  • Co-ordinate the sector-wide distribution of our evaluation findings.

General Management:

  • Development of contracts and coordination of legal requirements
  • Development of financial systems and liaison with finance team and contractors.

Personal Specifcation:

  • The Project Co-ordinator must have a driving licence, a passport, a willingness to travel long distances, often, and at short-notice.

Essential :

  • Excellent project management and administrative skills.
  • Experience in the management of multi-partner cultural networks.

Desirable :

  • Good knowledge of experimental music, performing arts and visual arts
  • Experience/working knowledge of promoting live events
  • Experience/working knowledge of technical production of live events and touring logistics
  • An understanding of audience development, including national /regional/ digital PR and marketing, including online/social media
  • Experience/working knowledge of learning and participation in the arts
  • Experience/working knowledge of fundraising
  • Experience/working knowledge of managing large budgets
  • Experience/working knowledge of project evaluation/data sharing

Preferred Attributes:

  • Highly organised
  • Attention to detail
  • Flexible
  • Passionate about the arts
  • Good with figures
  • A good mediator / diplomat
  • Calm under pressure
  • Copy writing skills

Notes:

The minimum working week for the full-time post is normally 40 hours. However, due to the nature of the work, actual working hours may exceed this total and will involve some evening and weekend work. This is considered part of the contract and reflected in the grading for the post.

This job description is current at August 2017. It outlines the main duties of the position and is designed for both the benefit of the post holder and the organisation in understanding the prime functions of the post. It should not be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive.

In particular, the responsibilities of the post holder may well change from time to time. Management has the right to vary the duties and responsibilities after consultation with you.