VOLUNTARY ARTS Voluntary Arts England Development Officer (South West)

APPLICATION PACK

Contents

1. Letter including summary of terms and conditions2. Job description and person specification3. Application form4. Equal opportunities monitoring form5. Equal opportunities policy

Returning applications

Please return your completed application form by 5pm on 26 November 2018 at the latest.

We will be contacting successfully short-listed candidates and inviting them to interview by 28 November 2018. If you have not heard from us by this date, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful.

We prefer electronic submissions, sent to lindsey@voluntaryarts.org

Interviews will be held on 4 December 2018 in Bristol, location TBC.

1. LETTER INCLUDING SUMMARY OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Dear applicant,

Thank you for your interest in the position of Voluntary Arts England Development Officer (South West)

Please read this covering letter first, then the rest of the information in this pack, before making your application. We have provided this information electronically so that it is as accessible as possible, including to visually-impaired people. If you need this information in a different format, please let us know.

This is a very exciting time to be joining Voluntary Arts

Across the UK and the Republic of Ireland there are approximately 63,000 voluntary arts groups, regularly involving more than 10 million people participating voluntarily in creative cultural activities: this activity is, and will continue to be, a critical part of both the bedrock and the grass roots of the cultural life of our communities and nations.

Voluntary Arts was created in 1991, in response to a need identified by government and the voluntary arts sector, to provide a universal voice for the voluntary arts across the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Today Voluntary Arts has 18 staff and more than 60 volunteers working across five nations. We provide information and advice services, undertake lobbying and advocacy work and deliver, and support the delivery of, projects to develop participation in creative cultural activities. Voluntary Arts receives funding from all four UK arts councils. We have offices in Cardiff, Edinburgh and Derry, with flexible working across England.

Our support is particularly focused on those creative citizens who – beyond their own participation and beyond any remuneration – give their time to make such activity more available within their communities (of locality and interest) and to improve the quality and range of those opportunities and activities.

Voluntary Arts, having successfully secured additional Arts Council England NPO funding to support more public facing work to promote everyday creativity, is now in the position to recruit a new Development Officer post based in the South West.

Voluntary Arts has combined its annual Voluntary Arts Festival with Get Creative Weekend to create the Get Creative Festival, a large-scale national celebration of everyday creativity each year – a ‘Britain in Bloom’ for creativity. We aim to deliver a sustainable network of local support for everyday creativity across England, to build this new festival year on year to involve over 3,000 events by 2022, through capacity building support, roadshow events, micro grants, media coverage and themed campaigns.

The Job

The Voluntary Arts England Development Officer (South West) will be working to improve the sustainability and resilience of creative cultural activity and to promote the importance of local cultural infrastructure in supporting participation in creative cultural activities. Each year, in each region, we will organise:

● Two roadshow events leading up to and coming out of the Get Creative Festival.

● Monthly skill exchanges and one micro grant training event.

● Provide specialist training to local groups, e.g. risk assessments, event management, how to use your local broadcasters and photography sessions, at roadshow events or through online webinars.

● A micro grants programme of £1,000 per region for groups needing financial support to run an event, host a workshop, hold an open day or redesign marketing materials.

● Support from national voluntary arts umbrella bodies who will encourage their members to participate in the festival.

● A generic press release for groups to adapt locally and training support to help them build their media literacy skills through learning materials, resources, workshop activity and toolkits.

The Development Officer will report to the Voluntary Arts Communications & Partnerships Director.

The main conditions of employment are as follows:

Salary: £10,102 (based on £25,256 per annum pro rata)

Location: Based within a partner organisation in Bristol.

Hours: 15 hours per week. Hours can be flexible to take account of personal circumstances. There might be occasional evening and weekend work for which time off in lieu will be given.

Period: This is a fixed-term post to 31 March 2020.

Notice: 4 weeks’ notice is required and will be given, increasing to 8 weeks after two years service, and thereafter by one week per year to a maximum of 13 weeks.

Holidays: All statutory holidays applicable at the place of work plus 20 working days annual leave (pro rata) After two years continuous service, annual leave will increase to 25 days or 5 weeks. Entitlement will increase thereafter at one day per year to a maximum of 30 days or 6 weeks.

Sick leave: Statutory sickness benefits apply.

We will not discriminate in shortlisting or interviewing on the grounds of your race, colour, ethnic or national origins, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, or religious beliefs. To help us monitor our performance we ask you to fill in a confidential monitoring form which will not be seen by the panel involved in the recruitment process. The application procedure asks you to tell us only about those things that will help us decide whether you have the skills and abilities for the job.

For an informal, confidential discussion about the post please contact Damien McGlynn, Voluntary Arts Communications & Partnerships Director via email damien@voluntaryarts.org.

You may also find it useful to visit the Voluntary Arts website at www.voluntaryarts.org.

Good luck with your application.

Robin SimpsonChief Executive OfficerVoluntary Arts

Voluntary Arts acknowledges funding from Arts Council England, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Creative Scotland and the Arts Council of Wales.

Voluntary Arts is registered in Scotland as Charity No. SC020345 and as Company No. 139147. Registered Office: Mansfield Traquair,15 Mansfield Place, Edinburgh EH3 6BB.

JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSON SPECIFICATION

Our vision– an empowered, participative, fulfilled and healthy civil society

Our mission – promoting participation in creative cultural activity

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Voluntary Arts England Development Officer (South West)

Reports to: Voluntary Arts Communications & Partnerships Director

Responsible for: To line manage part time staff and volunteers across the South West.

Principal Purpose: The Voluntary Arts England Development Officer (South West) will be working to improve the sustainability and resilience of creative cultural activity and to promote the importance of local cultural infrastructure in supporting participation in creative cultural activities.

Key tasks and responsibilities:Key tasks and responsibilities appropriate to this post are listed below:

Organisational● Establish a small team of advisors/ stakeholders to help with campaign

planning and development.

● Develop and run two roadshow events leading up to and coming out of the Get Creative Festival.

● Organise and run two monthly skill exchanges with local groups.

● Provide specialist training to local groups, e.g. risk assessments, event management, how to use your local broadcasters and photography sessions, at roadshow events or through online webinars.

● Promote and deliver one regional micro grant training event.

● To provide practical assistance to the Communications & Partnerships Director where required.

Administrative● Maintain a local database of contacts and partners.

● Produce or identify appropriate support materials for circulation during volunteer campaign promotions and in response to enquiries.

● Support the provision of suitable promotional content available for Voluntary Arts and partner websites (e.g. photos, video, audio, quotes, case studies)

● Monitor and evaluate output by capturing the impact/outcomes of campaigns, events, exhibitions, and training.

Communications/co-ordination● Work effectively with Voluntary Arts staff across the UK to ensure

knowledge of the Voluntary Arts Strategic Plan and to contribute towards its delivery.

● To contribute towards campaign briefing papers, project reports and monitoring/evaluation documents as required.

● Encourage interest/engagement in Epic Awards.

● Encourage interest and involvement in the Get Creative Festival.

● Actively promote the work of Voluntary Arts and encourage use of the Voluntary Arts online information services and newsletters.

Management● Ability to line manage part-time staff across the South West in the future.

Financial and compliance● To participate in financial reviews, including budget forecasting

● To work with colleagues to identify other sources of income to support the project both in the short and long-term.

General/other● To cover the work of other members of staff as required during their

absence.

Common requirements of all posts● To contribute to the development and maintenance of a professional

working environment within Voluntary Arts.

● To ensure adherence to Voluntary Arts policies and procedures with particular reference to equal opportunities and health and safety.

● To work in a flexible manner and be willing to take on other duties reasonably requested.

● To provide excellent customer care when dealing with external clients.

Special conditions of the post● Ability to travel and represent Voluntary Arts regionally, nationally and

internationally as required.

●Person specification

o Broad understanding of the voluntary and community arts and the role of participation.

o Background in developing and administering networks of stakeholders, preferably including voluntary organisations, public-sector bodies and/or creative practitioners.

o Experience of organising meetings, seminars and training sessions.o Experience of organising community events.o Experience of providing content for social media.o Experience of line managing staff and volunteers.o High level of computer literacy with word processing, spreadsheets

and presentation software.o Mobility to travel across the UK, and occasionally elsewhere,

including overnight stays.o Willingness to work weekends and evenings when necessary.

Desirable criteriao Voluntary arts practitioner.o Membership of a voluntary arts organisation, particularly at

board/committee level.o Experience of using the media to develop campaigns & good local

contacts.

Voluntary Arts EnglandAppointment of Development Officer (South West) November 2018

3. APPLICATION FORM

Please complete all sections of this form as fully as possible, in addition to any CV and covering letter you wish to submit. Please do not put ‘see CV’ as the only entry in any section.

PERSONAL DETAILS

First name(s):

Last name:

Address:

Postcode: Tel (day):

TeI (eve):

EDUCATION

Please give details of your education and qualifications gained. DO NOT include the name of your school, but do include Further or Higher Education names

Dates Institution Subject/qualification

Please state the earliest date you could take up post, if offered the job:

Please indicate where you saw the job advertised:

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Please give details of your employment history (there is no need to go further back than ten years unless there is employment of specific relevance that you would like us to know about).

Dates: Job title: Key responsibilities: Organisation:

OTHER INTERESTS, HOBBIES & LEISURE PURSUITS

Please give details of any other interests you wish to mention:

SUITABILITY FOR THE POST

Please indicate how your experience, qualifications or aptitude fit each criterion of the person specification for this post (please attach additional sheets if necessary).

Any other comments you wish to add

We are keen to recruit someone who has a commitment to and a respect for creative practice rooted in communities, sustained by local voluntary effort. It would be useful to know how your experience in private life or in employment supports this commitment.

REFEREES

Please give the names and addresses of two referees. References may be taken up for shortlisted candidates. If you do not wish one or both of your referees to be approached unless a job offer is made, please tick the appropriate box below.

1. [ ] Name

Address

Postcode:

Telephone day: Telephone evening:

2. [ ] Name

Address

Postcode:

Telephone day: Telephone evening:

Voluntary Arts England

Appointment of Development Officer South West, November 2018

4. EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES MONITORING FORM

We try to make our organisation welcoming and of interest to a wide range of people. To check we are managing to do this, we collect some statistics relating to equality issues. To help Voluntary Arts operate and monitor its equal opportunities policy effectively, please complete this form. The details you provide will be treated as strictly confidential and in no way will they be taken into account in shortlisting or determining your suitability for the post. The information collected here will also be only presented in collated form and not attributable to any one individual. This form will be separated from your application immediately upon receipt. It will be used for statistical purposes only and will then be destroyed. Please provide the details about yourself by filling in the form below or by completing our online form: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/VA-job-monitoring

1. What is your gender?

Female☐ Male☐ Prefer not to say☐

Other (please describe) _______________________________ 2. What age range do you find yourself in?

Under 18☐ 19-25☐ 26-35☐ 36-45☐ 46-60☐ 61-75☐ 76 or over☐ Prefer not to say☐

3. What is your ethnicity?

White (incl. English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish, British, Irish, Gypsy or☐ Traveller, Other)

Mixed (incl. White and Black Caribbean, White and Black African, White☐ and Asian, Other)

Asian / Asian British (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Other)☐ Black / African / Caribbean / Black British (incl. African, Caribbean, Other)☐ Other ethnicity (incl. Arab)☐ Prefer not to say☐

Other (please describe) _______________________________

4. What is your current occupation?

_________________________________________________

5. Where do you live? (Postcode and place name is useful)

__________________________________________________

6. What is your sexual orientation?

Bisexual☐ Heterosexual / Straight☐ Homosexual / Gay☐ Prefer not to say☐ Prefer to self-describe…☐

_________________________________________________

7. Do you consider yourself to have a disability?

Yes☐ No☐ Prefer not to say☐

8. Which part of Voluntary Arts are you applying to?

Voluntary Arts England☐ Voluntary Arts Ireland☐ Voluntary Arts Scotland☐ Voluntary Arts Wales☐ Voluntary Arts☐

9. What is the title of the job you are applying for?

________________________________________________

Thank you very much for helping us collect this information.

Voluntary Arts Equal Opportunities Policy 1 Statement of Equal Opportunities Policy

1.1 Voluntary Arts recognises the value that diversity brings to society and to the voluntary arts in particular and is keen to champion and celebrate diversity. Voluntary Arts acknowledges that discrimination exists in many areas of our society today and undertakes to play its part in reducing and eliminating such discrimination where it is within its sphere of influence to do so.1.2 Voluntary Arts will use its best endeavours not to discriminate on the grounds of race, ethnic or national origins, gender, gender identity, marital or family status, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion and belief, employment status, trade union membership, political beliefs or socio-economic status. Voluntary Arts wishes to eliminate discriminatory practices, and remove barriers to genuine equality of opportunity wherever possible.1.3 This policy applies directly to Voluntary Arts’ Board of Trustees; its paid staff whether salaried or contracted; and its volunteers.1.4 Voluntary Arts must conform to all relevant current legislative requirements in each country of operation.

2 Scope and review

2.1 The following areas fall within the scope of this policy and will be discussed in greater detail below:

● employment and recruitment of staff and volunteers● training of staff and volunteers● events and activities● publications

2.2 Implementation of the Policy is the direct responsibility of the Chief Executive and cannot be delegated. All aspects of this policy and indeed of the complete set of Voluntary Arts activities are monitored regularly by the Diversity Panel which is chaired by the Chief Executive and which has in its membership at least one Trustee, staff and at least one external representative.2.3 The Policy will be reviewed and revised as required at least every 3 years.2.4 Voluntary Arts is committed to ensuring that its clients, volunteers and staff in Wales have equal right to services through the medium of Welsh in Wales as through the medium of English. This specific commitment is detailed in the Voluntary Arts Welsh Language Policy.2.5 Voluntary Arts is committed to working to improve equality throughout its activities. Specific commitments will be detailed in a series of action plans (e.g. Voluntary Arts Race Equality Action Plan, Voluntary Arts Disability Action Plan).

3 Employment and recruitment of staff and volunteers

3.1 Voluntary Arts is committed to ensuring that no applicant, employee or volunteer receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of race, ethnic or national origins, gender, gender identity, marital or family status,

sexual orientation, age, disability, religion and belief, employment status, trade union membership, political beliefs or socio-economic status.3.2 To this end Voluntary Arts will take every reasonable, practical step to ensure that:

● when personnel decisions are made, the only personal characteristics taken into account are those which are necessary for the requirements and proper performance of the work involved, as well as being consistent with relevant legislation.

● when a personnel decision is made about an individual, the decision is based solely on an assessment of the capability and suitability of that individual and not on any stereotype.

Further details are outlined in the Voluntary Arts Recruitment and Selection Procedure.3.3 Voluntary Arts is committed to moving all its offices to fully accessible premises as soon as possible.

4 Training of staff and volunteers

4.1 An Equal Opportunities Policy will not operate itself. It requires commitment, understanding and training.4.2 Voluntary Arts is committed to ensuring that its staff, Board and other volunteers are trained and regularly updated to enable the Equal Opportunities Policy to be implemented.

5 Events and activities

5.1 Voluntary Arts feels that good equal opportunities practice is essential for the success of its activities, particularly events to which the general public are invited. It is especially important to guard against the possibility that the choice of venue or the cost of attending might prevent people taking part in Voluntary Arts events.

5.2 Voluntary Arts will seek to achieve this in the following ways:● For public events, only venues that conform to good practice in

relation to access as described by the Equality Act will be used● For such events only neutral venues will be used● For such events, if prices are charged, concessionary rates will

be made available for all those who would genuinely have difficulty in attending because of cost

● For such events, all reasonable steps will be taken to address barriers which may prevent disabled people from attending. These may include but are not limited to signage, translation, PA/carers costs, specialised transport or accommodation.

● Accessibility features and the availability of assistance made per above, will be mentioned in all publicity

6 Publications and communications

6.1 Voluntary Arts wants to ensure that its publications are as accessible as possible, whether in printed or electronic format.

6.2 Voluntary Arts will make all its written material available as plain text as a matter of course and wherever possible will provide it in other formats as requested to meet individuals’ particular access needs.

6.3 The availability of other formats will be clearly highlighted on all Voluntary Arts publications

6.4 Voluntary Arts will follow best accessibility practice in the use of size, font, colour and layout

6.6 Voluntary Arts recognises the need to produce materials in languages other than English where this is a legal requirement and in cases where not doing so would prohibit access to its services. In responding to this need Voluntary Arts will actively seek out partner organisations.

6.7 Voluntary Arts aims to use Plain English in all its publications. This approach keeps jargon to a minimum and uses simple, friendly language, spelling out acronyms and changing arts and policy terminology into simple terms where possible.

6.8 Voluntary Arts will ensure the maintenance of a website that meets current best practice in relation to accessibility eg. w3c

6.9 Voluntary Arts will be sensitive to local political and cultural issues in its use of images, colours and symbols.

7 Monitoring Equal Opportunities practice

7.1 In addition to evaluating conformance to this policy Voluntary Arts believes that it is important to monitor equal opportunities practice within its activities.7.2 The Diversity Panel has responsibility for devising benchmarks and evaluating progress against them. It will report its findings to the Board on an annual basis.7.3 To monitor progress on improving the openness of events and recruitment, participants and applicants will be asked to provide information relating to equality issues. The information collected will be only presented in collated form and not attributable to any one individual.

Approved by the Voluntary Arts Network Board of Directors, 25 October 2012Review by October 2018