Technician

Contact Theatre; Manchester; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 32,000; Full time

Job summary

Contact Theatre in Manchester is looking for a capable Theatre Technician to provide high-standard technical and operational support across performances and projects. You will work with full-time and casual technicians to support in-house and visiting artists, maintaining spaces under the Production Manager’s guidance.

The role requires hands-on experience with lighting, sound, AV and stage machinery, plus strong safety and teamwork.

Qualifications

• Experience as a Theatre Technician (voluntary, placement or training course included) or experience in other operational and logistical roles with a keen interest in technical theatre.
• Experience of safely rigging and operating a wide range of lighting, sound and multimedia equipment.
• Experience in providing sound for live events including installation, programming QLab and live mixing of playback, vocals and instruments, as well as maintenance.
• Experience in providing lighting for live events including rigging, focusing, programming EOS systems, operation and maintenance.
• Experience of AV systems for live events including set up of equipment, vision mixing using Black Magic devices and maintenance.
• Enthusiasm for Equal Opportunities and Diversity; safeguarding knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Provision and operation of lighting, sound, audio visual and any other technical effects for all activities at Contact (including rehearsals, performances and other events), as directed by the Production Manager, including providing stage management support where necessary.
• General maintenance & operational duties in setting up of the building
• Work alone and as part of a team to complete tasks in time available
• Ensure that all work is completed to a high standard, safe and compliant with health & safety and legal obligations.
• As Duty Technician take responsibility of rear of house safety liaising with the Production Manager and assisting with evacuation of the building under the supervision of the Duty Manager.
• Construction, rigging and de-rigging of settings, scenery, furniture and special effects when required.
• Preparation of all spaces within Contact for exhibitions, workshops, rehearsals, conferences, music events, club nights, meetings or other events as directed by the Production Manager.
• Operate lighting, sound and AV equipment for technical rehearsals, dress rehearsals, performances and other projects as required.
• Operate stage machinery and equipment as directed by the Production Manager.
• Assist other staff in maintenance of basic electrics; attend meetings; keep areas tidy.

Skills

Theatre technology

Lighting operation

Sound operation

A.V systems

Safety compliance

Teamwork

Communication

Time management

Manual dexterity

QLab

EOS control

Tools

QLab

EOS

Blackmagic Design

DANTE networking

Job description

MAIN LOCATION: Contact but may be required to work at other venues as required

RESPONSIBLE TO: Production Manager

RESPONSIBLE FOR: n/a

WORKS WITH: Artistic and Operational Teams

HOURS: 140 hours across a 4 week periodwhich will include evening and weekend work as required. We work 100:80:100 so actualhours expected to be worked across a 4 week period is: 112 hours

STATUS: Permanent

(There is also the opportunity to discuss the possibility of being added to our pool of casual technicians)

CLOSING DATE: midday Friday 23rd October

Interviews are likely to take place on 28th or 29th October

OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE
The role will provide technical and operational support of a high standard to all of Contact’s performances, participatory projects and operational activities including maintenance.

You will work with our full-time technician and other casual technicians to deliver in-house performances and support visiting artists, to a high technical standard. You will provide technical support for a wide variety of artistic activities in and around Contact, and maintain and improve our performance spaces under the direction of our Production Manager.

MAIN TASKS

• Provision and operation of lighting, sound, audio visual and any other technical effects for all activities at Contact (including rehearsals, performances and other events), as directed by the Production Manager, including providing stage management support where necessary.

• General maintenance & operational duties in setting up of the building

• Work alone and as part of a team to complete tasks in time available

• Ensure that all work is completed to a high standard, as agreed with the Production Manager, is safe for use and compliant with all health & safety and legal obligations.

• As “Duty Technician” take responsibility of rear of house safety liaising with the Production Manager and assisting with the evacuation of the building in the event of an emergency under the supervision of the Duty Manager.

• Construction, rigging and de-rigging of settings, scenery, furniture and special effects when required.

• Preparation of all spaces within Contact for exhibitions, workshops, rehearsals, conferences, music events, club nights, meetings or other events as directed by the Production Manager.

• Operate lighting, sound and AV equipment for technical rehearsals, dress rehearsals, performances and other projects as required.

• Operate stage machinery and equipment as directed by the Production Manager.

• Assist other members of staff as appropriate in the maintenance of basic electrics throughout the building.

• Attend design, production, departmental, company and other meetings as required

• Under the supervision of the Production Manager, work to maintain loose electrical equipment in a safe and proper condition, and ensure that working areas are kept tidy and clear of waste material

GENERAL

• Keep up to date with developments within the arts and youth culture.

• Undertake any other duties that may be reasonably required in connection with the position.

• Represent Contact at external events as required.

• Establish and maintain good working relationships with all Contact’s partner organisations.

• Get involved with creative work being presented by Contact by attending workshops, read-throughs, rehearsals and performances on a regular basis.

• Follow Contact’s Health & Safety policy, undertaking duties as required and ensure reasonable care is taken to maintain a healthy and safe place for public and staff.

• Actively commit to Contact’s Equal Opportunities policy and Contact’s Safeguarding of Young People policy.

• Advise and report regularly on activity as required by the wider Senior Management Team, Board and sub-boards, supplying any data required to meet funder reporting requirements.

• Provide mentoring and support to young people and on occasions deliver training/workshops in areas relevant to your job role.

• In line with Contact’s governance model, pro-actively engage young people in decision-making through consultations, young people’s panels and other mechanisms relevant to your job role.

• Manage all personal data in line with the General Data Protection Regulations, using the Spektrix database as directed.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

ESSENTIAL

• Experience as a Theatre Technician (voluntary, placement or training course included) or experience in other operational and logistical roles with a keen interest in technical theatre.

• Experience of safely, rigging and operating a wide range of light, sound and Multi Media equipment

• Experience in providing sound for live events including installation, programming QLab and live mixing of playback, vocals and instruments, as well as maintenance

• Experience in providing lighting for live events including rigging, focusing, programming EOS systems, operation and maintenance

• Experience of A.V systems for live events including set up of equipment, vision mixing using Black Magic devices and maintenance

• Enthusiasm for and commitment to Equal Opportunities and Diversity

• Knowledge and experience of Safeguarding

• Experience with the maintenance of technical equipment

• Ability to work with a wide range of people, taking a positive and flexible approach

• Ability to work on own initiative as well as part of a team and have self- motivation

• Enjoy working with young people in and arts organisation

• Ability to communicate (written and verbal)

• Good organisational skills and attention to detail

• Enthusiasm for working in a creative organisation

• Enthusiasm and commitment for working in an environment focused on young people (aged 13 – 30)

• Experience of using Office 365 and Microsoft Office applications

• Live mixing experience

• Sound installation experience

DESIRABLE

• Industry related qualification or similar.

• Experience of DANTE networking

• Experience of audio visual systems, signal processing, Black Magic devices and programming with QLab and other A.V software

• Experience in the safe use of systems for flying, scenery, setting, properties, special effects and stage machinery and equipment

• Experience of Stage Management

• Experience of Portable Appliance Testing

• Ability to Drive with current driving licence and willingness to drive a larger vehicle if required

• Knowledge of responsibilities under Health & Safety, their application and a commitment to best practice.