TRAINEE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR

Trainee Festival Director 

Job Description

Project: Beverley Puppet Festival 2024 

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Freelance employment period: March 2024 - August 2024 (25 days within this period) 

 

Public festival dates: 12th - 14th July 2024 in Beverley, East Yorkshire, UK

 

Location: Most of the preparation work can be done remotely but proximity to East Yorkshire will be given preference.  

 

Fee: £3,750 (25 days @ £150 per day)

 

Dates:

• 1 day per week from w/c 18th March 2024 - w/c 1st July 2024. (17 days)

• 9th - 14th July 2022 for immediate pre-festival preparation and event delivery. This period is not flexible and will need to take place in Beverley, East Yorkshire. (6 days)

• Post-festival evaluation assistance in July/August 2024. (2 days)

 

Puppets in Beverley Ltd. is looking for a TRAINEE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR to develop career progression skills and help us deliver the 11th edition of Beverley Puppet Festival between March - August 2024. Beverley Puppet Festival has become a firm fixture in the East Yorkshire events calendar and is a key event for puppeteers nationally and internationally. The public event will span 12th - 14th July 2024 and will include a programme of indoor and outdoor theatre performances for adults, children and families, workshops, networking events and community engagement sessions. The festival is made possible through funders such as Arts Council England and is run by not for profit organisation Puppets in Beverley Ltd. 

 

Key job role and traineeship areas 

 

The Trainee Festival Director will be supported by the Co-Artistic Directors and Festival General Manager to fulfil their role and participate in training. Our small team requires everyone to use initiative and take ownership of their responsibilities for the festival to be a success.

 

ARTIST LIAISON

Supported by the Co-Artistic Directors, the Trainee Festival Director (TFD) will be inducted into the project and given insight into our artist programming methods and what has been achieved to date. The TFD will become knowledgeable about the 2024 festival programme of events, schedule, venues and requirements of artists. This will include knowledge about accommodation, catering, accessibility and performance needs. 

 

Supported by the Co-Artistic Directors, The TFD will then be responsible for communications with artists and will lead on the collation and filing of required artist documents (such as risk assessments and public liability insurance certificates). The TFD will support the Brochure Print Coordinator to ensure pictures and copy text is collated ready for the brochure. 

 

During the festival itself, the TFD will act as the Artist Liaison and, supported by the Co-Artistic Directors, be responsible for keeping track of artist requirements and greeting artists as they arrive in Beverley. 

SHADOWING AND TRAINING

The TFD will shadow the Co-Artistic Directors and General Manager, and other members of the festival team if appropriate, on various tasks required for producing a successful arts festival. In the beginning of the process, the TFD will highlight which areas of festival production they are most interested in and Puppets in Beverley will adhere wherever possible to provide training and tasks in those desired areas. Please note that this position is not intended for those interested in Technical Theatre, but instead is intended for developing arts professionals interested in building on skills in arts administration, event coordination, event delivery and project management. 

 

EVALUATION AND REPORTING TO FUNDERS

The TFD will shadow and assist the Co-Artistic Directors and General Manager to compile the project evaluation through analysing audience feedback and statistics, before reporting to project funders.  

 

Please note: This position does not guarantee future freelance employment with Puppets in Beverley Ltd. following the 2024 festival. It is hoped that the TFD will be a good fit for our team, however given the very specific nature of this role this will be evaluated post-contract. The position however will for certain give a developing arts professional skills in producing festivals, which can be applied to many other projects locally, nationally and internationally.

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DESIRABLE SKILLS 

• Experience working within the arts / events / charity sector

• Experience working in a team to deliver a shared aim

• Excellent organisational skills and experience of working independently as well as with others

• Excellent computer skills with a good knowledge of at least Word and Excel (or equivalent programmes) and navigation of using the internet, such as email correspondence and filing documents of sites like Dropbox. 

• A desire to produce festivals and/or large-scale events. Some experience in festival production would be useful, but not essential, as we recognise many pre-existing roles may have transferable skills.

• An interest in theatre, puppetry, and delivering unique, high-quality and accessible arts experiences to audiences

• A ‘can do’ attitude with a passion for delivering successful creative projects

• A knowledge of the East Yorkshire region

• A knowledge of working with volunteers and booking traders (not essential)

• A First Aid certificate, driving licence and safeguarding training (not essential)   
   

EQUIPMENT

Given the seasonal nature of our work, small reserves and lack of permanent office facilities, the candidate would need to have access to their own computer or device that they can complete tasks on. 

 

HOW TO APPLY 

Please send to Kerrin Tatman at beverleypuppetfestival@gmail.com before Thursday 29th February 2024:

• A single-side A4 cover letter explaining your experience and suitability for the role

• An up to date CV  

 

Interviews for shortlisted candidates will take place via Zoom in the w/c 11th March 2024.

 

Puppets in Beverley Ltd. is especially keen to hear from those who consider themselves from underrepresented groups within the creative industries workforce, including Disabled people, and people from the Global Majority.