Hours: 38 hours per week (due to the nature of the job occasional evenings and weekends will be required)
Contract period: Full time from January 2019
Salary: £25 – £28k per annum dependent upon experience
Location: Based in central Southampton at Tower House and God’s House Tower
An experienced and skilled marketing and communications professional is required to develop and deliver effective marketing and communications strategy’s for a new arts and heritage destination venue, God’s House Tower (GHT), due to open in summer 2019
This new post is a key appointment in an expanding staff team and comes at an exciting time following the award of Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation status and the imminent delivery of GHT, a new arts and heritage venue in Southampton’s old town.
The post holder will be responsible for creating and implementing high quality marketing communications plans to attract agreed audiences along with building relationship to generate new business, hires and sponsorship opportunities for GHT. The broader responsibility of the role will communicate the wider work of the organisation including our studio, professional development and exhibition projects.
Roles and Responsibilities
• To lead on developing and implementing a series of high quality, marketing and communications campaigns to promote GHT as a dynamic arts and heritage destination venue that attracts target audiences. These include local communities, specialist interest groups and tourists visiting the city, in addition to nurturing partnerships with external groups to encourage bookings, visits and tours.
• To oversee the development and delivery of a 360º digital strategy that communicates GHT and the organisation’s work. This includes creating a responsive website (see below), effective use of social media and new digital projects e.g. podcasts / you tube channel. The strategy will be developed with guidance from our Digital Advisor.
• To oversee the development and delivery of a GHT specific website, including design, build and launch stages along with supervising future updates. The role will lead on working with colleagues, and our Digital Advisor, to create a brief, full concept designs, content and the co-ordination of a freelance developer to deliver a GHT website.
• To line manage two marketing assistants who will deliver supporting roles in complementary tasks such as producing design and digital content. The manager will oversee the design and production of all promotional material for all projects, including GHT seasonal programmes, special event advertising and in house promotions, alongside the organisation’s wider activities.
• To oversee the creation all of copy for all promotional material (print and digital) to promote GHT as an arts and heritage destination venue, alongside the organisation’s wider activities.
• To utilise existing press and PR contacts along with generating and nurturing new connections to promote GHT as an arts and heritage destination venue, alongside the organisation’s wider activities.
• To lead on developing relationships with corporate partners to generate new business, hires and sponsorship opportunities for GHT. This would involve both nurturing existing organisational contacts along with developing new partnerships by attending events and meetings to represent the interests of GHT, the organisation and engender supportive relationships.
• To work closely with colleagues and ensure all GHT exhibitions, events and activities are effectively promoted and support the venues’ commercial aspirations. In particular to work with the Exhibitions Programme Manager and the GHT Operations Manager to ensure events and activities are well coordinated.
• To work closely with all colleagues and effectively communicate the wider activities of the organisation including but not limited to, Open Studios, ArtVaults, Old Northam Road and other new projects as they are conceived.
• To oversee the development of a digital archive of images and recordings, including the GHT exhibitions programme, along with the organisation’s wider activities, and to make the archive available for use online and in reports.
• To prepare regular reports for internal and external use, ensuring the Director, Trustees and stakeholders are presented with accurate information. Reports will include statistics that demonstrate the effectiveness of GHT marketing campaigns, include high quality images that convey the organisations activities and make good use of Infographics.
• To lead on the organisation’s use of Audience Finder by periodically supplying visitor demographics and analysing data to assist in generating visitor information for reports and to inform developing future marketing campaigns.
• To lead on the organisation’s compliance with data protection law and to ensure the organisation’s work is aligned with national policy. This will include ensuring all digital records held by the organisation are done so in an appropriately safe manner.
• To endorse our charitable status through all marketing campaigns and to ensure the public benefit generated through our activities is effective communicated.
• To work at all times in accordance with the aims of ‘a space’ arts and its policies, particularly those for equality, diversity, safeguarding, health and safety.
• To professionally represent the organisation at external events as required and to undertake any other reasonable duties as requested by the Director.
Person Specification
The ideal candidate will be,
• An enthusiastic, target driven self-starter with levels of motivation.
• Experienced in managing effective marketing campaigns for an arts and heritage destination venue, or an arts organisation delivering a range of activities.
• An excellent communicator with the ability to think creatively and strategically.
• Able to demonstrate an understanding of effective design and visual communications.
• A good team worker, with excellent organisational skills, time management and the ability to get maximum impact from available resources.
• We welcome candidates from BAME and diverse community backgrounds.
Experience, skills and abilities – Essential (E) / Desirable (D)
• Relevant degree level qualification or equivalent relevant professional experience (E)
• 3-years practical experience of devising and managing effective marketing campaigns for an arts and heritage destination venue, or arts organisation (E)
• Experience of effective social media and online marketing campaigns (E)
• Ability to deliver agreed work plans to deadlines and budget (E)
• Good time management and organisational skills, including the ability to prioritise workloads and manage directed work plans (E)
• Flexible, adaptable and methodical in equal measure (E)
• Excellent IT and communication skills (E)
• Experience of line managing colleagues in support roles (D)
• Experience of working with designers to inform and guide the creation of promotional material (design and print) (D)
• Knowledge of Mac based operating systems (D)
• Knowledge of Adobe creative design packages, in particular illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign (D)
• Experience of working with Word Press websites (D)
• Experience of working as part of a small professional team (D)
• Experience of working in the charitable not-for-profit sector (D)
• An interest in the arts, local heritage and historic buildings (D)
Reporting
The post holder will report directly to the Director of ‘a space’ and through this line management be accountable to the Board of Trustees. The post holder will be required to pass a 3-month probation period, attend a regular 1-to-1 session with the Director, attend bi-monthly Trustee meetings (upon request) and pass an annual review.
Flexible working
A weekly working pattern of 38 hours per week (over 7 days when required) will be mutually agreed around the needs of the business; some evenings and weekends will occasionally be required to attend events on behalf of the organistaion. The post holder will be based at the ‘a space’ office in Tower House adjacent to GHT.
Background – the vision for GHT
Our vision for GHT is to reopen and culturally reanimate this important scheduled ancient monument and to provide new learning and participation opportunities through the exhibitions programme and linked events. GHT will host an inclusive and progressive cultural programme, allowing heritage to inspire the arts and the arts to interpret the spaces in new and interesting ways.
We want to offer all visitors the chance to better understand this important part of our local and national heritage by engaging our local communities and city visitors along with creating opportunities for volunteering and inspire lifelong learning.
We believe the restoration of GHT will be a catalyst in the cultural future of the Old Town and will become a visitor attraction for those approaching Southampton from the cruise terminal.
About ‘a space’ arts
The organisation strives to provide opportunities to develop the careers of emerging artists and for audiences in Southampton and the surrounding regions to engage with high quality arts and heritage experiences. Since 2000 we have developed and managed a project portfolio to achieve our aims, including the Northam Road Gallery, the Bargate Monument Galley, ArtVaults, the Arches Studios, Tower House and the Sorting Office.
In 2018 we became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and will be delivering a range of new projects across the next four years to complement GHT and the project portfolio. For further information please see – www.aspacearts.org.uk
Recruitment timetable
• Advertised from – 02/11/18
• Closing date – 09:00am 30/11/18
• Shortlisting – 30/11/18
• Invitations to interviews – 03/12/18
• Interviews – 10/12/18 (non-negotiable – see below)
• Decision – 12/12/18
• References – 14/12/18
• Offer of appointment – 17/12/18
• Acceptance of appointment – ASAP
• Start date – January 2019 – dependent upon the successful candidates notice period
Application / Interview process
Applicants should apply via email to dan@aspacearts.org.uk by sending; an up to date CV and a covering letter outlining their suitability for the role and how they meet the criteria listed in the job description.
Please be aware that if offered an interview the time and date is non-negotiable and the interviews will be held on the morning of Monday 10th December 2018 in central Southampton. The interview will include a presentation by the candidate that details a previous effective marketing campaign they have managed and how they would approach the marketing requirements of GHT.
Contact
For further information please contact dan@aspacearts.org.uk or call 023 80 338 778
This post is generously supported by: The Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England