Head of Partnerships, Northern Ireland (NI)

Contract: Permanent

Band C

Salary: £36,000 (pro rata)

Hours per week: 22.5  (FTE 37.5)

Location: Virtual office/Home based, NI

Responsible to: CEO

Direct reports: None

Works with: All teams

Creative & Cultural Skills

Creative & Cultural Skills works to create a fair and skilled cultural sector by shaping skills, education and employment best practice. We provoke action and enable learning opportunities that drive change and help to build an inclusive skilled sector by: informing and helping the sector respond to changes in the technical education system; helping employers see the benefits of an inclusive workforce; improving understanding and awareness of the career options across the cultural sector, in turn feeding new talent into the workforce and supporting the sector to continue on a course of economic growth and meet diversity ambitions. For further information, please visit www.ccskills.org.uk

Our current work in Northern Ireland

Through our partnership with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, we're currently delivering our full Fair Access Sector Support Programme for creative and cultural businesses based in NI, free of charge. Designed to empower employers to adopt inclusive and lawful recruitment practices which support sector growth and develop a more diverse range of talent, the programme covers a range of topics across digital training sessions and is supplemented by bespoke 1:1 advice sessions. The Fair Access Sector Support programme seeks to sustain and develop the inclusive workforce development practices established through our recent NI Creative Employment Programme, which worked directly with employers and young people to create new paid internship job opportunities for young people aged 16-24.

The holder of this post will help us to build on these successes to achieve even greater impact for our beneficiaries in Northern Ireland.

Role overview

As a UK-wide Charity, this role enables Creative & Cultural Skills to deliver a programme of work in NI. The role includes developing and investing in relationships with sector employers, key funders, industry stakeholders and the education sector. The post holder will help us to develop future opportunities through those relationships with a view to increasing sector engagement in the Charity’s core mission and related income streams. They will hold responsibility for leading on NI specific projects.

Key Responsibilities:

• Engage effectively with employers, education sector, funders and stakeholders

• Manage NI specific contracts and resources

• Identify and develop opportunities for projects and new income streams

• Ensure effective communications and collaboration 

Engage effectively with employers, FE sector, funders and stakeholders

• Develop networks and ensure consistent relationship management with employers, the education sector, funders and stakeholders to promote our work and develop new partnerships and income opportunities

• Represent Creative & Cultural Skills at key strategic meetings as required

• Engage with our NI-based Board Members, providing appropriate support, where required 

Manage NI specific contracts and resources

• Ensure consistent contract management, achieving targets and deadlines across all projects

• Manage budgets including agreeing annual budgets, monthly reporting and cashflow

• Ensure nation-based work remains connected to UK operations and informs decision-making

Identify and develop opportunities for projects and new income streams

• Through networking and horizon scanning, identify potential and emerging opportunities for new income streams that align with our vision, mission and values

• Develop project opportunities in NI, to ensure a growing and sustainable approach to future business activities

• Work with colleagues from across the organisation to develop and secure bids, and deliver against those opportunities 

Ensure effective communications and collaboration

• Develop new partnerships with employers, Local Government, Education providers and cultural agencies to promote Creative & Cultural Skills

• Work with the communications team to increase Creative & Cultural Skills’ profile in NI and promote NI activity across all platforms – web, social media, newsletters

• Ensure NI activity and successes are well documented and shared internally and externally

• Work collaboratively with colleagues as a member of our ‘one team working across the UK’ to continually build the impact of CCSkills for our beneficiaries 

Other Requirements:

• Regular travel and occasional unsocial hours

This job profile provides a general description and is not intended to be comprehensive.  It may be altered from time to time as required for business reasons, to meet the changing needs of Creative & Cultural Skills.

Person profile

Experience 

• Experience of working with a wide range of stakeholders (essential)

• Experience of managing networks and partnerships (essential)

• Experience of collaborative working (essential)

• Experience of working in the creative and cultural sectors (desirable)

• Experience of working with education providers (desirable)

• Experience of online and face-to-face event delivery (desirable) 

Attainments

• Previous experience of stakeholder relationship management (essential)

• Understanding of diverse vocational routes into work, including apprenticeships (essential)

• Ability to use MS Office particularly Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Teams (essential)

•  Online research (desirable)

• Ability to work with online platforms, Zoom, Google hangout etc. (desirable) 

Special Aptitudes

• Excellent communication skills and ability to present to large groups (essential)

• Good written English (essential)

• Able to understand and use basic business finance systems (essential) 

• Ability to use social media (desirable)

• Understanding of research funding and/or qualifications development (desirable) 

Disposition

• Collaborative, tactful, diplomatic and a persuasive negotiator and advocate

• A self-reliant team player – ability to work on own initiative to a high-level brief

• A ‘can do’ approach with an ability to be flexible

• Ability to manage and work with high level stakeholders and partners

• Committed to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion

• Confident working remotely from colleagues as part of a virtual team 

Thinking Style

• Ability to be analytical

• Calm and logical approach to problem solving

• Ability to think strategically, keeping the overview to the forefront

• Commercially minded 

Circumstances

• NI based, but travel within the UK as required

• Ability to work extended hours on occasion

• Clean driving licence

 Dates for your diary:

• Closing date: 9am, Monday 28th February

• Shortlisting: W/c 28th February

• Interviews: Thursday 10th March (via Zoom)