Senior Manager, Learning & Community

Arts Council England; City Of London; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 50,000; Full time

Job summary

Arts Council England in London is seeking a Senior Manager, Learning & Community to lead our trainer community development and curriculum design for theatre-based business skills.

This senior, people-focused role builds relationships with regional trainers, shapes talent development, and ensures high-quality training offers across the organisation. Occasional travel to meet trainer teams is expected.

Qualifications

• Strong theatre or performance background, with experience in creative education, management or practitioner development.
• Interested in what the actor's toolkit brings to business applications.
• Self-starter who can move between individual conversations, workshops, leadership meetings and client encounters.
• Experience at a senior strategic level and managing freelance creative practitioners.
• Enjoy working collaboratively and facilitate expertise without always being the expert.
• Practical and organised, able to turn ideas into implementable systems for a small creative business.
• Willingness to travel to see work and meet regional trainer teams.

Responsibilities

• Take responsibility for DR's communication skills training curriculum, ensuring materials and records are coherent and easy to use.
• Review and evolve the training offer to stay relevant in today's business environment.
• Build trusted relationships with trainers across regional hubs and provide development counsel.
• Lead annual check-ins, capture themes and ensure agreed actions are followed through.
• Lead on EDI and accessibility strategies in consultation with an external specialist.
• Develop an annual plan for talent development, curriculum, mentoring and recruitment; manage budgets.

Skills

Theatre background

Performance practice

Creative education

Management experience

Senior leadership

Freelance practitioners

Collaboration & facilitation

Job description

Job Summary

This new role will be part of the Leadership Team, with responsibility for ensuring that our trainer community continues to develop and thrive and will help shape our curriculum of theatre based communication skills training for business.

Job Description

This is a senior, practical, people-focused role; building excellent working relationships with our trainers and driving initiatives that ensure our team continues to thrive and that our training offer remains of the highest quality.

LEARNING

Take responsibility for DR's communication skills training curriculum, ensuring that materials and records are coherent and easy to use. Review and evolve the training offer, ensuring it stays relevant in today's rapidly changing business environment. Capture innovation and support experimentation with the work, ensuring quality and consistency. Keep abreast of developments in communication theory, methodologies and technology and ensure the curriculum takes these into account.

COMMUNITY Development & Support

Build trusted relationships with trainers across our different regional hubs. Provide counsel on their development, and any issues affecting them, the work or the team. Identify development needs and devise an ongoing programme to meet them as well as practical systems for tracking development, engagement and feedback. Lead annual check-ins, capture themes and ensure agreed actions are followed through. Take a strategic view on casting and wider resourcing decisions, including reward, talent pipeline and leadership structures.

Culture & Community

Nurture a culture of curiosity, generosity, agility and continuous learning. Champion the contribution made by trainers, including in their parallel careers as creative practitioners. Lead on on-going EDI & accessibility strategies in consultation with a specialist external consultant. Take responsibility for regular trainer communications and inclusive community-building activities.

Recruitment & Onboarding

Build and maintain a strong pool of potential trainers, manage trainer recruitment, auditions and selection. Develop an annual plan for talent development, curriculum, mentoring and recruitment and manage appropriate budgets.

Job Requirements

• Have a strong understanding of theatre or performance practice, ideally with experience in creative education, management or practitioner development.
• Be genuinely interested in what the actor's toolkit can bring to people in business.
• Be a self-starter, comfortable moving between individual trainer conversations, practical workshops, senior leadership meetings and client encounters, while also attending to the details.
• Have experience working at a senior, strategic level and managing freelance creative practitioners.
• Enjoy working collaboratively and be able to facilitate expertise without needing to be the expert in the room.
• Be practical and organised, able to turn ideas into systems and actions proportionate for a small creative business.
• Be prepared to travel to see the work and to meet regional trainer teams.

Job Overview

Job Title: Senior Manager, Learning & Community

Salary: 40k-50k