Sparkle and Dark | Audience Development Officer

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER OPPORTUNITY

Jan – May 2017 part-time PAID

About Us:

Sparkle and Dark are an established theatre company who specialise in puppetry and new writing. The company has continually received funding from a variety of sources for all projects since 2009 and I AM BEAST is its fourth nationally touring production. The show features life-size puppetry, live electronic music and focuses on themes on teenage mental health.

The Position:

We now seek an engaging, organised and self motivated individual for the role of Audience Development Officer on our upcoming 2017 tour of I AM BEAST, with specific emphasis on developing teenage audiences between 13-18 years at four key venues. Our aim is to attract this demographic outside of the confines of organised school trips, so we will be looking for an innovative individual to find alternative sources and methods for attracting young adults into the theatre.

This is a project-specific freelance position which is currently dependant on an Arts Council funding decision. The decision will be made in late December and if successful, the Audience Development Officer will begin in early January.

We are keen to develop a long term relationship with the right candidate with the potential to involve them in future Sparkle and Dark projects.

Place of work:

You will have your own place of work but will be asked to attend meetings at the company's London base. Unfortunately, we cannot supply travel expenses within London, however you may be expected to travel to venues outside of London and these will be covered once confirmed with the Finance Manager in advance. Please include your general availability in your application between December 2016 – May 2017.

How to apply:

Please send a cover letter describing your previous experience and interest in the company to shelley@sparkleanddark.com. Experience with developing teenage and young adult audiences would be a highly desirable asset. Interviews will be taking place on the 9th and 12th of December in Euston, London, so please include you availability for those days.

We look forward to hearing from you!!

Sparkle and Dark x

AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION

Responsible to:

The Audience Development Officer will work as part of the team of Sparkle and Dark Theatre Company and will be responsible to the Artistic Directors and Finance Director.

Fee:

£4000 pending Arts Council funding. This will be discussed in the interview. Payment will be in two instalments on receipt of invoice.

Dates and hours of work:

This is a part-time position requiring 2-3 days a week between 16th January 2017 and 31st May 2017 inclusive. Hours are flexible but are to be discussed with the company on commencement of contract. These hours may include evenings and weekends when required.

Principal responsibilities:

To work with the core theatre company members to identify the key four venues, upon which to focus audience development strategies.
Create, manage and action a comprehensive and realistic audience development plan for the four selected venues.
Act as ongoing point of contact for all audience development enquiries.
To maintain clear and constant communication with the core company members by attending regular meetings and sending regular notifications of developments.
Propose creative yet realistic strategies and to constantly seek new opportunities for attracting the target audience of 13-18 year olds.
Encourage the target age group to also participate ancillary events held after specific performances such as themed Q&As,
Manage and work with the Marketing Producer to action additional promotional materials in a variety of formats if required (budget will be provided).
Maintain fluid engagement with venue audience development and marketing teams, providing face-to-face meetings when required.
Seek and create new connections with target groups such as youth groups, drama groups and mental health related youth groups, providing face-to-face meetings with group leaders when required.
Research and liaise with potential new local connections, such as adolescent mental health organisations or other local arts schemes.
Work with venues to ensure that our work is affordable for our audiences.
Design, create and collate feedback systems from venue management teams to measure the impact of audience development at each of the 4 key venues.
Collect and organise box office audience data.
Maintain the security and confidentiality of information of a sensitive nature.
Design, create and collate accurate records for measuring impacts of performances on the target audience for evaluation.
Create an evaluative audience development report that can inform the future creation of a long term audience development plan.

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION

Essential Criteria

Be enthusiastic and committed with a genuine passion for developing young and hard to reach audiences.
Have experience in managing the delivery of audience development, ideally for young adult audiences or another hard to reach audience demographic.
A motivated, self-aware and observant team player with a flexible approach to work.
Excellent interpersonal skills whilst confidentially working with a variety of partners, artists, theatres and audiences.
Have knowledge of using social media and producing marketing materials.
Have knowledge of associated administration requirements and processes in delivering safe and successful arts events and projects.
Experience in managing and maximising limited resource budgets.
Superb organisational skills with the ability to liaise with company members whilst prioritising and meeting deadlines effectively.
Outstanding punctuality, time keeping and time management.
An individual that is able to command attention when working independently or without support and can equally respond positively to critique and instruction.
Excellent communication skills both written and verbal.
The ability to act on initiative and accept responsibility for actions.

Desirable Criteria

Experience of working with puppetry, new writing or shows that explore mental health issues.
Experience of working with or in partnership with educational institutions.
Knowledge of young adult organisations or associations