Freelance Lead Facilitator

The Old Vic; London; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 100,000; Part time

Job summary

The Old Vic Theatre seeks 5 freelance facilitators to support education and community projects. This role involves leading workshops, engaging diverse participants, and promoting inclusivity. Ideal candidates have experience in theatre and community engagement.

Benefits

Paid yearly training session

Opportunities to attend performances for free

Mental health support

Free therapy

Qualifications

• Considerable experience of leading participatory theatre workshops.
• Understanding of promoting equality, diversity and inclusion.
• Experience working with diverse backgrounds.

Responsibilities

• Attend all paid training days and be familiar with the workshop plan.
• Support participants learning and ensure the workshop is inclusive.
• Act as the lead point of contact for the school or community group.

Skills

Communication

Teamwork

Problem Solving

Job description

Department/Team: Education and Community

Contract:Freelance

Location:The Old Vic, 103 The Cut, London, SE1 8NB and external schools, community spaces and venues across London.

Hours: Dependent on role and project.

Fee:Fixed fee dependent on project, typically £140 per session.

Benefits:

• Invitation to attend a paid yearly training session
• Opportunities to attend performances for free, when relevant to project
• Mental health support via our in house Mental Health Champions
• Free therapy from our therapy partner SelfSpace

Role Summary

Our renowned education and community projects inspire learning and connection. Each year we work with over 6,000 people of all ages, from five to 100+, in London and beyond, as well as a further 25,000 through our online learning platform, The Hub. We reach people at all stages of life to support skills development, employment prospects and wellbeing.

Our programmes build community cohesion, open up access to the arts and develop the emerging theatre professionals of tomorrow. We do this through a range of initiatives, including free theatre tickets, workshops delivered at The Old Vic, in schools, in the community and online, and through innovative employability and training programmes.

Our programmes are free to access and focus on engaging with communities who are underrepresented in the theatre industry, or who have limited access to it. In 2025 we will open the Backstage building, a hub for creativity, education and community.

We are looking for 5 lead facilitators to join our pool of freelance facilitators to support across our programmes. A place in the pool does not guarantee work but we aim to offer work to everyone in the pool across the academic year (Sept – July). We are particularly interested in hearing from people who have experience in some of the following areas:

• Creative and technical theatre roles
• Experience working on employability programmes
• Working on primary programmes
• SEN Schools (Special Educational Needs)

Our full range of programmes can be found here but we are currently looking for facilitators to work across the following projects:

Primary Take the Lead: uses theatre techniques and drama practices to enable students to take ownership of their next steps and support them in the move from primary to secondary education.

Schools Club: works with 40 state secondary schools offering free tickets to four Old Vic shows and four in-schools workshops covering non-performing theatre disciplines such as lighting, sound, set design, costume, directing and playwriting.

• Take the Lead: is a free employability programme for students in years 11–13 that uses theatre techniques and creative workshops to build on five core skills: communication, self-management, self-belief, teamwork and problem-solving.

The Team

The Education & Community department is led by the Education & Community Director and also includes the Head of Education and Community, the Education Manager (Schools Club), the Education Manager (Take the Lead), the Education Manager (Primary), the Community Manager, the Participation Manager, the Participation Coordinator and the Education & Community Coordinator. This team is supported by a network of Education Associates, freelance facilitators and artists.

Areas of responsibility

• Attend all paid training days and be familiar with the workshop plan
• Support the Assistant Facilitator when they are delivering their sections of the workshop and support their learning when required
• Support participants learning and ensure the workshop is inclusive
• Act as the lead point of contact for the school or community group on the day of the workshop
• Use feedback from the project manager to improve delivery of the workshop
• Attend all scheduled workshops, arriving at least 30 minutes prior to the start time
• Be fully prepared for each workshop including having relevant resources
• Ensure that safeguarding procedures are adhered to
• Ensure any evaluation information is gathered/documents are given to schools
• Feedback on each session by completing an online evaluation form and relaying any necessary information back to the relevant project manager
• Represent The Old Vic and ensure its reputation is maintained
• Attend debrief sessions to provide detailed feedback regarding the process and delivery

This is not an exhaustive list of duties, and we may, at any time, allocate other tasks which are of a similar nature or level.

Person Specification

Essential

• Considerable experience of leading participatory theatre workshops
• A demonstrable understanding of and interest in promoting equality, diversity and inclusion across participation projects
• Experience of working with and supporting Assistant Facilitators
• Experience of working with adults and young people from diverse backgrounds
• Experience of working with adults and young people with additional needs
• An ability to engage and work with people of all ages
• Excellent verbal communication skills
• Demonstratable teamworking skills
• Ability to problem solve and adapt to changing environments
• A robust understanding of best practice and developments within a theatre participation context

The successful candidate will be required to undergo a DBS check as the role may interact with vulnerable adults and/or children.

How to Apply

We understand that everyone is different and we want you to apply in whichever way you feel best shows your skills and experience. There are a range of ways that you can apply with us:

• 1. Sending a short video file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you (have a look at the person specification in the job description).
• 2. Sending a short audio file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you.
• 3. Completing our application form.
• 4. Uploading your CV and covering letter, explaining why you are interested in the role and working at the Old Vic.

As a Disability Confident employer,The Old Vic has made a commitment that all applicants with disabilities who meet the essential criteria for this job will be invited to interview.However in the event that we have a high volume of applications all of whom meet the criteria and identify as disabled, meaning it is not practicable to interview everyone, we may apply a weighting to the shortlisting criteria, or add an additional shortlisting stage before any interviews take place. In all cases we will take care to ensure that any criteria or weightings do not disadvantage disabled applicants.

All appointments are made subject to satisfactory references and proof of eligibility to work in the UK.

The Process

The recruitment process for this role will be one stage;

• 1st stage in person conversation and recruitment workshop on 24 June 2025

The closing date for this role is 28 May 2025 at 10am.

Equal Opportunities

We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people of the global majority, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse and disabled candidates.

We may take positive action, in cases where candidates are equally qualified, to increase the employment of under-represented groups at The Old Vic.

In the event that we ask you to attend the theatre for a conversation and you are struggling financially, we may be able to reimburse you for any reasonable travel costs.

We partner with a range of inclusive organisations, to find out more please read our FAQs.

FAQs

Read our recruitment and selection and equal opportunities FAQs here.