Head of Stage

RGIT Australia; Leeds; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Opera North seeks a Head of Stage to lead the Stage Department across productions, tours and events in Leeds. You will own staging, rigging and automation, turning creative ideas into safe, practical and brilliantly delivered performances, while guiding staffing and schedules.

You will ensure safety through risk assessments, implement Safe Systems of Work and support touring across venues with strong IT literacy and CAD capabilities. Regular UK travel is expected.

Qualifications

• Experience in repertoire opera, theatre, touring theatre or musical or other complex live performance environments.
• In-depth experience of stage engineering, flying, rigging and automation.
• Ability to plan complex work, manage people and resources, read stage plans and stay calm under pressure.

Responsibilities

• Lead departmental planning, prepare team schedules and advise on staging feasibility.
• Contribute to financial control of the department and ensure efficient delivery, revival, tour and rental readiness.
• Ensure safety through risk assessments and Safe Systems of Work and compliance with company policies.

Skills

Stage engineering

Flying

Rigging

Automation

IT literacy

CAD capabilities

Tools

CAD software

Job description

As Head of Stage you’ll lead the Stage Department at the heart of our creative ambitions. You will take ownership of staging, rigging and automation across all of our productions, tours and events. You will be a key team member to turn creative ideas into safe, practical and brilliantly delivered performances.

Key Accountabilities:

Reporting to the Head of Technical you will line manage the Show Managers and the Head Fly Technician. Working with colleagues across production, technical, artistic and touring and operations. You will ensure every project has the staffing, equipment and practical support it needs to succeed.

You will be instrumental in leading the departmental planning, preparing the team schedules, advising on staging feasibility and contribute to financial control of the department. Within your remit is ensuring that work can be delivered efficiently, revived, toured and rented out in the future.

The role delivers visible leadership at get-ins & outs, fit-ups, rehearsals and performances in Leeds and our touring venues. Safety will be central to your work and you will lead on relevant risk assessments and Safe Systems of Work, ensuring compliance across the department in line with company policies and procedures.

Person Specification:

We are looking for someone with experience in repertoire opera, theatre, touring theatre or musical or any other complex live performance environment. You should have in depth experience of stage engineering, flying, rigging and automation. Be confident in planning complex work, managing people and resources, interpreting stage plans and making calm and practical decisions under pressure.

You’ll bring strong communication and team working skills, a proactive approach to problem solving, health and safety awareness and good IT literacy, ideally combined with CAD capabilities. Regular travel to UK touring venues is an essential part of the job.

Terms & Conditions:

Contract type: Full-time, permanent

Holiday entitlement: 33 days inclusive of 8 statutory holidays, per annum

Pension: Opera North will automatically enroll you into the company pension scheme upon appointment and after 3 months’ service will contribute equivalent to 5.5% of your basic pay, should you meet the current legislative criteria. You will be required to make a personal contribution of 2.5% of your basic pay. We reserve the right to make future changes to our pension arrangements.

Equity, diversity and inclusion: We promote equity, diversity and inclusion in our workplace and make recruitment decisions by matching our needs with the skills and experience of the candidate. As we work to address underrepresentation in our workforce, we are particularly keen to hear from applicants from the global majority or those with other protected characteristics.

The successful candidate must have the right to work in the UK or be ready to obtain it.

General responsibilities of everyone who works for us:

• Represent the company values and purpose to create extraordinary experiences everyday
• Work collaboratively and co-operatively with all team members and take an active part in team meetings and discussions
• Be an ambassador for Opera North and follow our policies and procedures
• Play your part in ensuring that everyone who comes through our door is welcomed and treated with respect

Closing Date: 21st September - 4pm

Company Overview

Working at Opera North you will be part of a company and group of people committed to fulfilling this purpose. Whatever role you take we will provide you with an induction plan that introduces you to your job and the team you’ll be working in, as well as giving you the opportunity to meet colleagues across the company. Our success in delivering against our purpose will be built on the commitment, skills, diversity and well-being of the people who work at Opera North, and we will invest in training to develop our people both professionally and personally, because we believe this strengthens not only our company, but also the wider creative sector.