BUILDING SUPPORT ASSISTANT Purpose of the role The Building Support Assistant is a new role, designed to offer somebody interested in event and venue management and is an entry level training position for 12 months. You will offer support to the Building Manager and events team to gain experience in venue and events management and administration, and will work closely with our reception staff. Responsible to: Building Manager About Free Word Words change lives Free Word is the only international centre for literature, literacy and freedom of expression in the world. From our London hub, Free Word Centre, we develop local, national and international collaborations that explore the transformative power of words. We provide a home for six Resident organisations and over 30 Associates, who work across literature, literacy and freedom of expression. Our current Residents are: Apples & Snakes, ARTICLE 19, Arvon, English PEN, The Literary Consultancy and The Reading Agency. All six are Founding Members of FW, along with Index on Censorship and Booktrust, who are no longer Resident. We host a year-round programme of events at the Free Word Centre. Through conferences, debates and exhibitions, book launches, films and schools programmes, we promote, protect and democratise the power of words. We are also a creative laboratory. With our Residents and Associates, we have developed a programme of cultural projects three strands of work that address key issues of our time. They are: The Power of Translation, Living Dangerously: Stories of Climate Change, and Unheard Voices. Background to Free Word The idea for Free Word emerged, when literature, literacy and free expression organisations met to discuss ways of working together. They realised the benefits of collaboration and Arts Council England (ACE) London, provided funding for a feasibility study in 2006 which explored the possibility of creating an international centre. By 2008, Fritt Ord, a Norwegian Foundation, had been persuaded by the vision created by Free Word and its partners and agreed to purchase the building in Clerkenwell. 1
Both ACE and Fritt Ord are providing core funding to enable Free Word to maintain the building, employ staff to manage the venue and present an exciting programme of events throughout the year. The eight Founding members played a major role in developing the centre. It is recognised that Free Word was created as a new organisation based on collaboration. The role of Free Word is to ensure that the whole is greater than the sum of its individual parts. Free Word s Programme As well as a presenting venue, Free Word is a dynamic international production centre that is a crucible of creativity, and a laboratory for literary culture, politics and ideas, across live and digital platforms. Through its artistic work Free Word investigates official narratives, offer surprising perspectives and give a space to often unheard or marginalized voices. With the Residents and Associates, Free Word has developed a programme of cultural projects to explore vital contemporary issues, working worldwide with writers and thinkers. These are: The Power of Translation, Living Dangerously, and Unheard Voices. The Power of Translation Free Word s translation projects celebrate today s urban language mix and explore how translation in its widest sense can be a powerful means of change, and promotes cultural understanding. By working with writers and translators locally, nationally and internationally, The Power of Translation promotes the importance of world writing and uses storytelling and imagination to build cultural understanding. Living Dangerously: Stories of Climate Change Every aspect of our climate is changing due to human activity: the air we breathe, the water that sustains us, our ice sheets and glaciers, and the planets plants and animals. Living Dangerously draws on the knowledge of scientists, philosophers, psychologists and economists, engaging writers and their stories to help us envision new ways of living. It supports our fundamental right to uncover, share and receive information about what is happening to our environment worldwide. Living Dangerously sets out to harness the transformative power of literature to explore how, as global citizens, and in the context of environmental degradation, we might live our lives differently. Unheard Voices Unheard Voices provides a stage to explore free expression and its importance to literature, literacy and civil society. This programme encourages public conversations and artistic responses, opening up questions around free expression and self-censorship, generating new perspectives and providing a space where everyone s voice can be heard. www.freewordcentre.com 2
Job Description Duties include, but are not limited to: Events and meeting room hires Check the diary for the evening and the following day and undertake any setup required Carry out research and help plan to market the events spaces to potential hirers Where appropriate assist meeting room hirers with any IT / Wi-Fi / Projection Check the diary system for upcoming event info. Check event information is complete and that we have any AV in advance and chase event organisers if necessary Join the building manager for meetings with event organisers, to gain an understanding of requirements for preparing for events. Once event space hire has been confirmed, preparing paperwork for event space bookings, including invoice and booking form to be checked by Building Manager and sent out Learn to use the box office system (Spektrix) and use event information to set up, maintain and monitor box office and registration pages for events Learn reception procedures and provide cover as required Prepare a monthly list of hall closures to be added to our monthly newsletter to keep residents and associates updated Building Maintenance With the Building Manager maintain a record of ongoing issues in the building and follow up on / arrange repair work or maintenance work where appropriate Where there is maintenance due which does not fall under maintenance contracts we have in place, get quotations and research potential contractors to undertake this work. Daily walk round to spot any small repairs (corners missing plaster, doors sticking) and preparing a list to get an appropriate contractor to come and fix. Work with the Building Manager to ensure maintenance costs stay within budget. Keep a weekly log of any cleaning issues and liaise with Building Manager / cleaning company to resolve Undertaking checks of supplies (tea/coffee/washing up liquid) around the building and ordering where necessary Check printer on each shift and ensure paper is stocked, ink is full and printer is running smoothly. Liaise with Copy logic if necessary Undertake security checks, ensuring that they are in line with the development of Free Word s security planning. Environmental Policy In conjunction with the Building Manager, ensure that the environmental policy is being adhered to Log energy usage monthly to be sent building wide and for annual ACE report 3
Arrange meetings for and attend a Green Group for resident organisations working in the building to discuss work around environmental policy and highlighting this to all building users General Schedule and minute user group meetings Attendance at company events Advocacy and enthusiasm for Free Word Upholding and implementing Free Word s Equal Opportunities and Diversity Action Policies Attending relevant training courses All other duties as required Personal Specification Personal Specification Essential Desirable Knowledge Awareness of Health and Safety rules for public spaces Experience Experience of working in a customer facing role Experience of working with a box office or database system Skills Good written English, including a good handle on grammar, style and punctuation Good IT skills including Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook Excellent communication skills Excellent organizational skills including the ability to prioritise and multitask Punctual, with good time management skills Attributes Strong attention to detail Interest in the literature/literacy or free expression sectors Interest in venue management Qualifications A Levels or equivalent qualification First Aid training Circumstances This role will be based at our office in London EC1. The post holder must: Be willing to work flexible hours Be a full time resident in the UK Terms of Employment Contract type: 12 months fix terms, part time Hours: 3 days per week usually working between 1.30pm 9.30pm Monday Friday (part time, 24 hours a week). Working days will be scheduled on a two weekly rota based around the needs of the events spaces and building. Occasional weekend work hours and additional hours may be occasionally be offered. Salary: 19,032 per annum pro rata d 4
Annual Leave: 20 days pro rata d Notice Period: 2 months, after the end of the probation period How to apply Applications should consist of: Application form Covering letter outlining why you are applying for the job and how you meet the personal specification (no more than 2 A4 pages) Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form (optional) CVs should not be submitted All applications should be sent to: jobs@freewordcentre.com Or Free Word, Free Word Centre, 60 Farringdon Road, London, EC1R 3GA Marked: Recruitment Timeline Applications should be submitted by midday on Monday 21st September 2015. First round interviews: week commencing 28 September 2015. 5