Venue Operations and Events Managers x 2
- Temporary Performance Space (city centre) - Fixed term until January 2026
- Beacon (travelling venue space) - Fixed term until October 2025
Closing date: 1st October 2024
Interviews held on: Friday 18th October 2024
The Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture programme will run from January 2025 to December 2025 and is a celebration of Bradford city and district, taking place across its city, towns, villages and greenspaces.It will showcase the rich history of the district and spotlight its dynamic contemporary culture in all forms; dance and theatre, music and film, visual arts and crafts, food and faith.
As part of our plans to realise this, we are creating two new temporary venues for the District:
1. Meanwhile Performance and Exhibition Space
A disused building in the City Centre which we are adapting to include: a flexible underground events space, 200-seat black box theatre and an inspiring gallery/installation space.
Think festival fringe style venue – a place to be part of the action with a rough-and-ready aesthetic and a warm, welcoming and accessible atmosphere. The venue will host a curated programme of comedy, visual art, theatre, music, immersive installations, creative parties and dance.
The Meanwhile Space will be in use from February 2025 and will run through to the end of the year.
2. Beacon
Designed in partnership with Carter, Gregson, Gray – a timber and fabric temporary venue that will tour 4 parks across the District and reside in each park for a month.
Beacon is a flexible venue that can present end-on, in the round, thrust and standing performances with a range of capacities up to 350.
In each location we’ll be presenting the best of live performance artforms from national and international artists. At the same time working closely with communities to put on classes, clubs, concerts, get togethers and family activities. Everyone is welcome – and (almost!) anything goes.
We’re looking for a VENUE OPERATIONS AND EVENTS MANAGER for each space. If you have experience successfully managing a venue, supporting a team to deliver brilliant events, and understand how to create a vibrant, inspiring welcome, then we would love to hear from you.
At Bradford 2025 we work collaboratively as a team – so you’ll be fully supported by Box Office, Volunteering, Production (including a dedicated Technical Manager for each venue), Programme and Finance teams. But at the same time you’ll be at the front ofdesigning the audience experience, how the venue runs and what is needed to make it a success.
You’ll be managing the staff and volunteer teams to create a friendly and inclusive space for everyone. You will oversee the effective delivery of events, including acting as Duty Manager for some of them, and be central to making sure the venue worksbrilliantly.
This is your chance to bring your passion for people, knowledge of customer service and eye for operational detail to open and realise a new venue. One that’s delivered in the way that you know will work best – and with joy, excellence and real care for artists, audiences, yourself and your team at the heart.
If this sounds like you, we would love to hear from you and which Venue you think would be the best fit for you.If you would like an informal discussion about the role or the venues before applying, drop us a line to linda.dawson@bradford2025.co.uk to arrange a chat.
Key responsibilities:
- Lead on operational planning ensuring the smooth and safe delivery of all events happening in your venue.
- Work closely with the other Venue Manager and the Venue Technical Managers, sharing resources and experience, to coordinate the smooth running of the space.
- Manage a team of staff and volunteers, coordinating schedules and providing support and guidance.
- Act as the main point of contact for customers and audiences - this role will also involve duty management during performance times.
- Maintain strong relationships with a variety of stakeholders including: suppliers, F&B providers, maintenance teams, sponsors, venue neighbours and local community groups.
- Manage day-to-day access and logistics around contractors, transportation and suppliers during building works and fit-up times as well as performing artists and the wider Bradford 2025 team.
- Track and manage the financial aspects of all venue operations, keeping accurate records and providing regular updates
- Collaborate with the Audiences team to explore opportunities for crosspromotion of events, incentives and signposting into other areas of the programme
- Working with our sustainability partners to implement and manage sustainability initiatives within the venues, such as waste reduction, energy efficiency, and sustainable sourcing practices. Helping make sure that all events adhere to environmental policies and contribute to the overall sustainability goals of Bradford 2025.
- Working with BD25 access consultant to ensure that access is at the heart of all events and meet the access & inclusion policies of Bradford 2025.
To be successful in this role you’ll have:
- Experience of successfully managing a live events venue or performance space
- Experience in making events happen on time and on budget
- Experience supporting and managing a team of staff and/or volunteers
- A creative approach to problem-solving skills and able to work calmly in busy environments
- A passion for customer service and the essential planning and management that goes into creating magical and memorable experiences for visitors
- Working knowledge of Health & Safety management within a performance venue.
- Strong communication skills & a good team player.
- Experience working on a variety of creative events of different sizes
- A people person with experience in dealing with a wide range of people from contractors to the public to performers.
- Knowledge of theatre or performance venue technical systems would be an advantage.
- Preferably local to Bradford/West Yorkshire or willing to relocate.
Benefits include:
- £35k per annum salary.
- 37 hours per week worked flexibly
- 25 days holiday plus bank holidays.
- Contributory pension scheme with 5% employer contribution.
- High street discounts through Charity Worker Discounts.
- 2x Death in Service cover.
- Confidential Employee Assistant Helpline.
We expect everyone in our team to:
- Develop an understanding of Bradford City of Culture 2025, its values, the benefits it brings to the Bradford District and to funders and sponsors.
- Create a positive working environment, underpinned by our values.
- Act as an ambassador for Bradford City of Culture 2025.
- Drive change in our industry through actions and words that advocate inclusion and equality, creating a culture that recognises and celebrates diversity and sustainability.
- Be accountable for the safety of themselves and others by working safely and in accordance with our Health & Safety and Safeguarding Policies.
- Ensure we are collecting and using data from all activities to inform decisions, demonstrate our impact and fulfil our funding conditions in line with GDPR.
- Undertake relevant training and development as required.
- Be open to the opportunities to mentor, train and develop colleagues and participants in Bradford 2025.
- Carry out any other tasks that will be required on an ad hoc or continuing basis, commensurate with the general level of responsibility of your position.
We’re committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and can be their true selves at Bradford 2025, and we want our team to reflect our district. We believe that diversity in our team is crucial to our success, so we welcome applications from all races, genders, religions, ages, and sexual orientation as well as from people living with disabilities.
We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace and our ambition is to recruit and retain the best people regardless of background.
If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you. If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best. This might be as simple as wanting sight of the interview questions ahead of time – whatever
it is, just ask and we’ll see what we can do.
To apply for the role please send a copy of your CV and a cover letter (no more than 2 sides of A4) to recruitment@bradford2025.co.uk. We cannot accept applications without the required cover letter unless for accessibility reasons (please let us know if
this applies to you).