Head of Cultural Programming
Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest
Directorate: Culture and Heritage Services
Salary: PO10 (£62,595 - £65,880)
Contract Type: Fixed-term 10 months (maternity cover)
Working hours per week: full-time
Application Deadline: 17/07/2024
Proposed Interview Date(s): TBC
Reference:1275
About Us:
Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work. We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.
Waltham Forest is a borough rooted in culture with an incredible diversity of people that make up our neighbourhoods. We have a unique history of making, innovation and creativity, spanning from the arts and craft movement through to its significant contribution to grime, rave and pirate radio culture.
Over the last decade, Waltham Forest has built extensive cultural capacity and expertise, from being one of the host boroughs of the Olympics in 2012,to being awardedthe first London Borough of Culture in 2019. It is home to an abundance of culture, creativity, and enterprise - including the award-winning William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow Wetlands, and the soon-to-open Soho Theatre Walthamstow, along with a wide range of inclusive and exciting events and experiences throughout the borough.
We know that culture and creativity have a central role to play in building stronger communities, and that engagement in arts and culture is a driver of social impactand inclusive growth. In 2024, 88% of residents surveyed agreed that culture and creativity should be a priority for the Council.
The London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London's Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.
About the role:
We are currently looking for a skilled and passionate individual to join us and be an integral part of the senior management team of the Culture department. This is a fixed-term maternity cover for 10 months.
As Head of Cultural Programmes, you will lead on culture strategy and programming across the borough. This will include a range of exciting and rewarding responsibilities which span cultural policy, creative sector development, creative programming and events.
We're looking for extensive experience developing and delivering a wide range of activities and events with diverse groups, providers and partners. We would welcome a strong understanding of the cultural and creative sector and recent policy developments, and a strategic approach to devising and delivering cultural projects. An ability to work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders, including members, senior officers, residents and communities is essential, as is an entrepreneurial and innovative approach to ensure financial sustainability of our activities.
>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<
Key Responsibilities:
- Implement the first phase of an ambitious new Cultural Action Plan, with a focus on community participation, creativity health and wellbeing, cultural infrastructure and creativity economy.
- Build capacity within the borough's cultural and creative community through events, training, and responsibility for Make It Happen, our flagship funding scheme for local creative projects.
- Deliver existing cultural programmes, embedding skills and professional opportunities for residents, and ensuring quality, accessibility, equitable participation and even geographical spread.
- Develop new programmes, which deliver on the new Cultural Action Plan and corporate priorities and maximise opportunities for income generation.
- Manage 2 full-time members of staff, fostering a positive and inclusive work environment where everyone feels listened to and valued.
Qualifications and Requirements:
Educated to degree standard or equivalent
Relevant professional qualification
Terms and conditions:
The below terms and conditions apply to this role:
Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
Satisfactory declaration of interest;
As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the 'Apply' button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.
To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.
We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.
For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.
Contact Information:
If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Philippine Nguyen at philippine.nguyenngoc@walthamforest.gov.uk
If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk.
The Council's preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.
Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.