Festival Programme Lead — Freelance (FORMAT27)

Arts Council England; East Midlands; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 14,000; Part time

Job summary

Arts Council England is seeking a Festival Programme Co-Ordinator for FORMAT27, a fixed-term freelance role running from October 2026 to April 2027, based across Derby. The role focuses on planning and delivering the FORMAT launch weekend, plus supporting the wider festival programme with artists, venues, volunteers and partners.

The candidate will lead on coordinating exhibitions, talks, markets and portfolio reviews, while ensuring an engaging visitor experience and compliance with

Qualifications

• Experience coordinating arts or cultural festivals, events or projects.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills, able to manage multiple priorities.
• Strong communication and collaboration with partners, venues and volunteers.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate planning, logistics and delivery of FORMAT27 festival events.
• Oversee launch weekend, exhibitions, talks, markets and reviews with partners and venues.
• Manage travel, accommodation, technical requirements and on-site operations.
• Support production planning, budgeting, contracting and programme administration.
• Contribute to marketing, ticketing, KPI monitoring and reporting to Arts Council England.

Skills

Project management

Communication

Festival coordination

Budgeting

Tools

Microsoft Office

WordPress

Adobe Creative Suite

Social media

Job description

Arts Council England is seeking a Festival Programme Co-Ordinator for FORMAT27, a fixed-term freelance role running from October 2026 to April 2027, based across Derby. The role focuses on planning and delivering the FORMAT launch weekend, plus supporting the wider festival programme with artists, venues, volunteers and partners.

The candidate will lead on coordinating exhibitions, talks, markets and portfolio reviews, while ensuring an engaging visitor experience and compliance with