Post: Creative Producer Right Up Our Street Doncaster Creative People & Places Job Description Job title: Creative Producer: N Strand - Right Up Our Street Responsible for: Commissioned artists and community groups delivering the N strand; freelancers, volunteers, interns as sourced Responsible to: Co- Director, Delivery, darts; RUOS Consortium Main purpose of job To produce and support the development of high quality home-grown ideas to maximise their creative potential and increase participation, access and engagement in Doncaster The Creative Producer will lead the vision for, and create, develop, deliver and evaluate the N strand of RUOS. The role will require working closely with Consortium members, organisations, voluntary groups, artists and other stakeholders and partners to fulfil the aims and objectives of the RUOS programme. Key responsibilities To lead on the process of developing an N strand commissioning framework to enable artists and local communities to create work across a range of art-forms within the overall artistic vision for RUOS To maintain and refine the vision for the N strand To take a leadership role in devising creative processes via which ideas for projects can be exchanged between the five communities and artists To work closely with artists, partner organisations and community groups to implement the artistic programme To manage freelancers, apprentices and volunteers as necessary to ensure successful outcomes. To work alongside key partners, namely darts, Cast and DVAN to maximise the opportunities created through all 3 strands of work, building long term capacity and sustainability To contribute to research and evaluation programmes Main Duties Manage a portfolio of projects within the N strand, ensuring delivery connections are made with Consortium members and other key partners as necessary Support the development of community commissioning across the programme Oversee the selection process for the commissioned projects working closely with the lead organisations, Arts Supporters and Community Champions Develop clear delivery plans and budgets for each project and take the lead in monitoring and supporting progress, sourcing any additional support that may be required Operate within agreed budgets and provide financial reporting as required by partners and funders Provide project support and liaison for artists and other freelancers, groups and venues across the programme to ensure high quality delivery Work closely with the Marketing team at Cast on communications about the N strand and ensure accuracy of communications around specific projects within the strand Provide regular progress reports - in a variety of formats - to the Steering Group, Consortium, ACE and Action Research lead Respond to enquiries and ideas from individuals, groups and organisations who want to connect to the programme
Work with the RUOS partners to build progression routes between strands of the programme in order to maximise impact Build connections with the work of partner organisations in order to support long term capacity Advocate and act as a spokesperson for the project, attending external and awareness raising meetings as required Ensure all artist and freelance contracts are in place Ensure that all participant/event data is collected in a timely and appropriate manner and monitored across the programme Contribute detailed project knowledge to the overall programme evaluation Key competencies Essential Desirable How evidenced Knowledge Considerable knowledge of and a Knowledge of passion for the arts and creative community development Interview sector Knowledge of participatory arts practices structures and practices Knowledge of established regional and Skills and Experience Personal qualities Significant experience of commissioning, producing and managing projects within the cultural sector Significant producing experience across art-forms Significant experience of community engagement and participatory approaches Project planning skills Experience of managing freelance contractors and volunteers Experience of working alongside communities in the commissioning, planning and management of projects Experience of project/programme evaluation with a wide range of stakeholders Ability to filter ideas and back the good ones Ability to assess the needs of an idea and support its development appropriately Proven budget management skills Excellent communication skills including public presentation skills Strong and demonstrable leadership skills Ability to establish strong working relationships with a wide variety of people and groups Ability to work collaboratively and national networks Working with academics and learning institutions Working within a multipartnership Working with the voluntary arts sector Fundraising experience Experience of working with marketing teams Interview Interview
Training and qualifications bring the right people together Passion for producing high quality arts projects Creative, positive approach to planning and problem solving Excellent decision making skills Ability to be self-directed and a team player Attention to detail and capacity to check one s own work Completely trustworthy in handling confidential data and personal information Flexibility to adapt to the needs of the programme as they develop over time Willing to work evenings, weekends, public holidays as needed to get the job done. Good level of education Full driving licence and own vehicle To have or be prepared to apply for a DBS enhanced disclosure The Creative Producer will lead on the N strand of Right Up Our Street to ensure the successful development and delivery of the N series of commissions resulting from locally grown ideas by community groups and artists and from artists from further afield. The Creative Producer will work out of The Point and Cast. This post will initially be for one year but may be extended subject to the nature of N strand development. Salary: 27,052-28,636 pro rata. 4 days a week. Process Please complete the application form and submit with your CV to elaine@thepoint.org.uk Elaine Hirst, Co-Director, darts, The Point, 16 South Parade, Doncaster DN1 2DR NB No covering letter or extra information required (and will not be considered) Closing date for application is 5.00pm Monday 22 nd July Successful candidates will be notified by Friday 26 th July Interviews will be held Friday 2 nd August
Overview How can more people in Doncaster experience and be inspired by the arts? 2013 will be a significant year for the arts in Doncaster. After ten years of waiting, the final finishes on a brand new building are nearing completion. Cast - a new performance venue for our town - which many thought we d never see, is only weeks away from its launch. When the doors open in September, people in Doncaster will own a home for theatre, music and dance that is of far greater ambition than we ve known before. It is common, when people talk of the arts in Doncaster, to hear about a place where the arts have no value; no place in people s lives. Hearing of this Doncaster you might wonder why a venue like Cast is being built at all, particularly at a time when investment is scarce and funds are precious. For those who ve lived or worked here for decades, this is not a place we recognise. The Doncaster we know is full of artists, musicians, writers and performers; full of people who think creatively and value imagination; full of choirs, bands, theatre companies and galleries. Time after time, we have seen that when local people have the chance to engage with great art they respond with enthusiasm, imagination and pleasure. What we do recognise is that those opportunities are scarcer than they should be and that a host of reasons make them so. For some people the difficulty is with the content of what s available, how it s presented or where it is. Others may not know what s on offer or be unwilling to take the risk of trying something unfamiliar. Often the label art is enough to persuade people that this is not something for them. All of which goes a long way to explain why, when measuring engagement in the arts, Doncaster lies 274 th out of 282 local authorities. Which is where this plan introduces a second moment of significance for the arts in Doncaster this year: the start of Right Up Our Street (RUOS). Over the next three years our programme of imaginative, inspiring art coupled with focused community engagement will begin increasing the number of local people watching, reading, listening to and taking part in the arts. With 2.5m of investment from Arts Council England and guided by the voices of artists and local people, we have developed a series of approaches designed to address the priorities we know about and uncover more that we don t yet understand. These include: Three outstanding, original and spectacular performance pieces with community participation at their heart (D strand) An ambitious programme of fifty high-quality original commissions for artists and companies both local and new to the town (N strand) Five long term programmes of arts based community engagement creating a network of volunteers and professional artists (A strand) An imaginative marketing and audience development approach raising the profile of local activity and making connections between what people want and the opportunities on offer Strengthening the capacity of voluntary and professional arts groups, companies and organisations in order to increase their quality, reach and sustainability At the core of Right Up Our Street is a commitment to action research so that we learn more about what holds back participation, test the effectiveness of what we try, demonstrate the impact we achieve and share what we learn. Our ambition is that as a result of Right Up Our Street more people regularly engage in the arts, bringing us closer to levels enjoyed elsewhere in the country. Along the way we aim to improve the value placed on the arts in Doncaster, raise the aspirations for what can be created here and give voice to our
communities so that they are at the heart of programming and decision making for all the organisations that have come together to be part of Right Up Our Street. Extract from RUOS Business Plan A copy of the full Business Plan is available on the darts website