Job Title

Senior Manager, Children & Young People

Department/Area

Chief Operating Officer

Location

Manchester or Leeds office

You will also have to travel beyond your office base for team meetings, outreach and event facilitation. The Arts Council also recognises the benefit of flexible and hybrid working as a valued part of the way we work. We welcome applications from colleagues who require flexibility. We typically spend 1-2 days a week in the office. Some travel will be required for this position, most likely 2-3 times per month.

Salary Grade

B

Hours

35 hours per week – fixed term 12 months from start date

Typical working hours are Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm, including lunch, with core ACE hours being 10am – 4pm. However, due to the nature of the role, you would be required to work outside of these hours to facilitate or attend events 1-2 times per month. The Arts Council also recognises the benefit of flexible and hybrid working as a valued part of the way we work. We welcome applications from colleagues who require flexibility.

Reporting to

Director, Children & Young People

Direct reports

Senior Officer CYP

Overall Purpose of the Role

You will support key strategy and policy development and stakeholder engagement in relation to the creative lives of children and young people.  This role will support the vision, outcomes and investment principles in Let’s Create, the Arts Council’s 10-year strategy. You will focus on how the Arts Council supports the creative lives of children & young people, with a focus on policy development and strategic relationships.

Main Day-to-Day Responsibilities

You will work closely with the Director of Music Education and Director of Children, Young People and Learning on policy development in relation to children & young people. 

You will draft policy papers, position papers, briefing notes, speeches and presentations, drawing on data, evidence, the views of children & young people, and the needs of the cultural sector. You will work with teams across Arts Council to ensure diversity and inclusion are centred in all policy work. 

You will act as the first point of contact for the national team on specific activity as agreed by the Directors, Music Education and Children and Young People & Learning.

You will mentor and coach Relationship Managers: helping them to develop their skills and experience in their specialism and support them in applying this specialist knowledge with their Area teams and when managing strategic funding programmes. 

You will ensure appropriate messaging, advocacy and internal and external communications for work with children and young people. Supported by expert communications support, you will draft relevant newsletters and press releases.

You will act as an advocate for the Arts Council and represent ACE in dealings with the media and at public events and launches. 

You will contribute to the organisation’s commitment to diversity and its implications for the arts and culture, promoting a diversity perspective in all aspects of the post’s objectives and activities.

You will contribute to a positive working culture in the organisation by taking a proactive approach to learning, responding to change, inclusive practice, and environmental responsibility. ·

You will reflect the Nolan Principles of Public Life and the Arts Council's values with a commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Key relationships

You will work closely with all members of the Children & Young People team, Music Education Team, the Arts and Culture directorate and with colleagues in communications, research, planning, policy, data and with Arts Council Area teams.

Organisationally, we must operate as a fully interconnected structure, and you will be expected to work effectively in an environment that relies on collaboration, flexibility and the ability to manage both formal and informal reporting relationships.

Essential (Skills, Knowledge and Behaviours)

You will be expert in developing arts education policy, with a strong strategic lens, excellent analytical skills, and the ability to write in clear language.

You will need considerable knowledge, understanding and experience of cultural and education policy in England, and of current challenges and opportunities.

You will have the ability to absorb and analyse complex information and to develop understanding across a number of policy areas in addition to your own expertise in an artform or cross cutting policy area.

You will need a well-developed professional network.

You will need highly developed leadership skills with proven experience of leading, supporting and mentoring teams and focusing them on delivering agreed objectives and outcomes. particularly when working in a collaborative, interconnected structure wherein individuals have dual roles and a range of accountabilities.

You will have the ability to prioritise work both independently and in collaboration with team members.

You will contribute to a positive working culture in the organisation by taking a proactive approach to learning, responding to change, inclusive practice, and environmental responsibility.

You will reflect the Nolan Principles of Public Life and the Arts Council's values with a commitment to equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Desirable (Skills, Knowledge and Behaviours)

Experience of delivering public presentations to influence, inform and challenge key stakeholders.

Experience of consulting directly with children & young people.

 We are a Disability Confident Employer and we participate in the ‘Offer an Interview’ scheme, which means that we offer an interview to any disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria for the role they’re applying to, subject to the volume of applications received. Disabled candidates, those living with a long-term condition and/ or neurodivergent candidates may be eligible for this scheme.

Our Code of Ethics requires that employees of the Arts Council are not able to receive an Arts Council grant, investment or loan funding - either in person, as a member of a partnership, or for any organisation they own. There are also limitations on board or CEO positions employees can hold in organisations we fund. For more information on this, please talk to the recruiting manager or contact recruitment@artscouncil.org.uk

Virtual interviews will be held on the following dates:

1st: 8 October

2nd:  21 / 22 October