Fabric Of Bolton Programme Director

Octagon Bolton; Bolton; Hybrid; GBP 35,000 - 52,000; Full time

Job summary

Octagon Bolton leads Bolton’s Creative People and Places programme to empower communities to shape and deliver their creative ideas, celebrating the town’s culture and identity.

The Fabric of Bolton is a £1 million, three-year project connecting people, stories, landscapes and local character into a vibrant mix of creative activities. Strong community voice and democratic processes guide decision-making and delivery.

Responsibilities

• Establish The Fabric of Bolton’s vision and ways of working, empowering our communities to deliver their creative ideas and to celebrate Bolton’s unique identity and culture.
• Embed community voice and co-creation throughout the project, ensuring democratic processes are in place and all voices are heard – especially those not currently engaged with arts and culture.
• Translate community insight and understanding into a clear business plan which balances audience development and community engagement priorities alongside a commitment to artistic excellence and financial sustainability.

Job description

This exciting position will lead Bolton’s new Creative People and Places programme, empowering our diverse communities to shape and deliver their creative ideas and to celebrate the unique culture of their town.

The Fabric of Bolton is a £1 million project, which over the next three years aims to bring together the communities, stories, landscapes, and unique character of Bolton into a vibrant mix of creative activities.

By collaborating with local residents and partners, we will focus on using their strengths to unite people, show how culture can help overcome challenges & differences, and work together to unlock Bolton’s creative potential for the future.

Our ideal candidate will:

• Establish The Fabric of Bolton’s vision and ways of working, empowering our communities to deliver their creative ideas and to celebrate Bolton’s unique identity and culture.
• Embed community voice and co-creation throughout the project, ensuring democratic processes are in place and all voices are heard – especially those not currently engaged with arts and culture.
• Translate community insight and understanding into a clear business plan which balances audience development and community engagement priorities alongside a commitment to artistic excellence and financial sustainability.

We will shortlist based on how each candidate meets the person specification shown in the job description, but we believe that even if a candidate doesn’t have all the experience we ask for, they might still have the values, enthusiasm and qualities that we’re looking for, so please don’t be put off from applying because you don’t feel you have all the experience.

Our position on AI in recruitment

We believe in human creativity and take a human-centred approach to recruitment. This means applications are read and decided by people, not algorithms. Shortlisting is based on objective criteria for the job. In making your application, please write in your own words reflecting who you are, your skills and experience. You may use AI as a supportive tool and to aid accessibility. Applications that are clearly artificial, rely on generic statements, or remove your individuality will struggle to demonstrate the criteria required.

Responsible To Octagon Theatre Trust, on behalf of The Fabric of Bolton consortium