Northern Heartlands Great Place Scheme

Job Description

Job title: / Director
Reports to: / Managing Director, Visit County Durham

Purpose of Job

The five outcomes Northern Heartlands will be seeking to achieve are;

  • Everyone has the opportunity to experience and to be inspired by arts, culture and heritage
  • Our local area will be a better place to live, work or visit
  • Our local economy will be boosted
  • Arts, culture, heritage and other local organisations will be more resilient
  • Arts, culture and heritage organisations will have built sustainable partnerships with other sectors, agencies and organisations in the local area, and culture will be reflected in local plans and strategies

The postholder will be responsible for the overall management and successful delivery of the Northern Heartlands project and will need to drive the partnership forward. There will be a requirement to maintain good relations with partners and Board members, work with the staff to plan the work in order to achieve the objectives and manage the staff team to deliver the programme.

The Director will be the key link with Visit County Durham (VCD, the body responsible for the grant) and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF, the grant administrator) and the Chair of the Northern Heartlands Advisory Board.

The Director will work closely with the Head of Learning and Influence to ensure that learning is incorporated into activities and is shared with the broader Great Place Scheme and policy makers and strategic partners.

These two key posts will also lead in the debate about the role of culture.

Principal Responsibilities

  1. Managing all aspects of the Northern Heartlands Partnership (NHP) and reporting to the Advisory Board.
  2. Liaising with Visit County Durham as the lead Partner, recipient of the Great Place Scheme grant and employer of the NHP staff.
  3. To set and agree budgets, targets and work plans with the Board and ensure that budgets and targets are met in accordance with the requirements of the grant funding.
  4. Ensuring the financial probity of the project and accurate and timely accounting in liaison with the Administrator/bookkeeper and the Finance Manager of VCD
  5. Managing the staff of NHP and overseeing outside service provider agreements.
  6. Ensuring that the staff receive training and evaluation.
  7. Ensuring the policies and procurement procedures of VCD are understood and followed.
  8. Representing NHP, its approach and learning to outside bodies.
  9. Working with the Head of Learning and Influence to lead in the debate about the role of heritage, culture, landscape and art in place making and its potential for social and economic development.

General (These responsibilities are applicable to all posts)

  1. To undertake other duties and responsibilities, as specified by the line manager, that are commensurate with the level of the post.
  2. This job description contains the main responsibilities of the post and does not describe in detail all the duties required.
  3. The post holder will be expected to work/be available outside normal office hours

Person Specification

Criteria
Education and Qualifications /
  • Educated to University degree

Experience /
  • Three years people management experience
  • Three years project management experience
  • Experience in at least one of the fields of the arts, culture or heritage.
  • Experience in the cultural landscape field.
  • Demonstrable experience of crossing the boundaries between the above fields.
  • Experience of work with local communities

Skills/Abilities /
  • Organisational skills, including the ability to work to deadlines.
  • Ability to work with a range of individuals and organisations including at senior levels.
  • Ability to listen.
  • Ability to inspire.

Other Requirements /
  • A self starter, able to act on own initiative and remain self- motivated to achieve high standards.
  • Reliable and able to deliver as agreed.
  • Good team player able to support colleagues and contribute to common goals and flex as needed.
  • Access to a car or means of mobility support (if driving then must have a current valid driving licence and appropriate insurance).

Terms

This is a full-time post working 37.5 hours per week.

The salary is £45,000 per annum,a pension contribution will be paid by the employer.

This is a fixed term contract ending on the 31st March 2020.

There is a requirement for the post holder to give three months notice of termination.

This post will be line managed by the Managing Director of Visit County Durham as the accountable body of the grant funding, and the Chair of the Northern Heartlands . There will also be a line of reporting and accountability for the programme activities to theAdvisory Board of Northern Heartlands.

The Team

The full Northern Heartlands staff team will consist of;

  • Director
  • Head of Learning and Influence (part-time)
  • 2 x Community Facilitators
  • Administrator and bookkeeper
  • Communications Facilitator (freelance)

The Boundaries

A map of the Northern Heartlands operating area in West County Durham is attached. The office base will be in Barnard Castle or environs.

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