ASSISTANT TO THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
JOB DESCRIPTION
About the Festival
Cowbridge Music Festival was launched in 2010 and has already gained a place among the most exciting music festivals in South Wales, offering classical music, jazz and folk music of an international level for the community of Cowbridge and beyond. Run by a board of six committed and passionate trustees, the festival is a registered charity, recognised and funded by the Arts Council of Wales for its musical excellence. Since 2014 it is proud to have the endorsement of violinist Nicola Benedetti CBE who is the festival’s Patron, and in 2017 the renowned Welsh pianist Llŷr Williams became the festival’s first Associate Artist.
Mission
- Bringing international artistic excellence to the community of Cowbridge
- Inspiring, educating and challenging the next generation of musicians and music-lovers
- Creating opportunities for young talented musicians
- Making classical music accessible to all and demolishing its perceived elitist image
- Benefitting the community and putting Cowbridge on the cultural map of Great Britain
The 2020 festival will run from 2nd -17th October with a dozen main evening concerts, eight Fringe events and an outreach programme made up of ten concerts and workshops taking place throughout Cowbridge and in surrounding areas.
As the festival moves into its second decade, the trustees wish to complement the management team with an assistant who will report to the board and work alongside the Artistic Director.
Type of contract: fixed term part time
Duration of contract: 1st February – 20th October 2020
Salary: £5000 gross
Hours:
February – May: 6 hours per week
June – September: 8 hours per week
Duration of festival (2nd – 17th October): 45 hours per week
From February until September the work hours will be relatively flexible and the employee will, for the most part, work from home. For the duration of the festival the employee will be required to work on-site at the various venues in Cowbridge.
Responsibilities of the Assistant
Marketing and publicity
General
-Manage the marketing budget (amount agreed by trustees)
-Plan publicity schedule
-Prepare and update press releases
-Prepare all printed publicity, working with designers (flyers, programmes, posters, banners)
-Manage all the festival imagery
-Liaise with PA company, designers, translators and printers
-Book advert space in printed media and organise design
Website
-Manage all pages on the website, working with designers and translators
-Prepare copy for events pages
Social Media
-Post on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (once per week Feb – April, three times per week May – August, daily from September until the end of the festival)
-Develop and maintain social media relationships with other Welsh cultural organisations (WNO, RWCMD, Welsh Proms, etc)
Distribution
-Plan printed publicity distribution schedule
-Liaise with poster and flyer distribution teams
-Organise concert flyering at local events running up to the festival
-Manage all printed material for duration of festival (roll-up banners, programmes, feedback forms, friends’ forms, etc)
Front of House
-Organise the friends reception together with Friends’ secretary
-Organise the sponsors’ reception
-Organise the friends’ reserved seating plan together with the Friends’ secretary
Box Office
-Organise the Cowbridge box-office volunteer schedule together with the Administrator
-Set up online sales through TicketSource
-Monitor all sales and respond to queries
Festival Fringe
-Book and liaise with venues
-Liaise with artists chosen by AD
-Book sound engineers
-Liaise with festival partners such as Music in the Vale and RWCMD
-Manage front of house
Outreach Programme
-Liaise with outreach partners about programming
-Organise concerts in schools and care homes
-Organise transport for musicians
Profile of the employee
The trustees are looking for someone who…
- has a background in music or is highly knowledgeable about the classical, jazz or folk genres
- has experience in arts administration and/or arts marketing
- has ample experience using social media
- is at ease with Microsoft Word and Excel
- is ideally bilingual English-Welsh with excellent writing skills in English and Welsh
- is ideally based within a commutable distance of Cowbridge
- holds a full driving licence and has own means of transport
- is friendly, enthusiastic, innovative, self-motivated, industrious and resourceful
Equality and Diversity
Cowbridge Music Festival strongly believes in equality and diversity. The trustees therefore welcome and actively encourage job applications from people of all backgrounds. Disabled, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) people are currently under-represented at the festival so, while all appointments are made on merit alone, we particularly encourage applications from disabled and BAME candidates.
Application Process
Please send a CV and covering letter to info@cowbridgemusicfestival.co.uk by 29th November 2019. Those selected for interview will be invited to meet once with members of the board in Cowbridge and once with the Artistic Director via FaceTime/Skype in December.