Job info |
Job info details |
Job title |
Strategic Lead: Culture & Heritage |
Strategic team/Directorate |
Place |
Service |
Economy, Environment & Infrastructure |
Business unit |
Culture & Events |
Responsible to (day to day issues) |
Service Manager, Culture & Events |
Accountable to (line manager) |
Service Manager, Culture & Events |
Salary grade |
L |
JE ref |
PLA028 |
1. Key purpose of job
- To provide executive leadership and direction for the implementation of Torbay’s Cultural and Heritage Strategies, including programmes and projects funded through external investment to ensures social and economic benefits for people who live, work, and learn in, and visit the Bay.
2. Anticipated outcomes of post
- Continued implementation of relevant strategies and programmes – in line with agreed aims and objectives, measures of success, forward planning mechanisms and reporting protocols.
- A strategically effective, respected, and well-supported Torbay Culture Board (based on agreed measures of success) providing: a strong evidence base of evaluation of programmes to enable the Council and partners to have a stronger case for future investment.
- Increased resourcing for cultural development and delivery of partnership work beyond the current funding implementation of Torbay’s Cultural & Heritage Strategies.
- Ensure that the UNESCO Geopark designation provides a wide benefit in support of the place objectives of the Council and its partners.
3. List key duties and accountabilities of the post
- Drive and coordinate the successful delivery of ‘Enjoy, talk, do, be’ - a cultural Strategy for Torbay and its communities 2014-2024, the Cultural Development Fund 2022-25 and similar programmes.
- Advocating our culture place ambition, specifically to develop and maintain effective relationships with key strategic bodies with an interest in cultural development across Torbay (e.g., Arts Council England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England and others) providing support, expertise and advice, as required.
- Provide executive support for Torbay Culture Board in consultation with the Chair, to include preparing agendas, reports and appropriate materials at the Board’s request.
- Manage the work of any support staff (not currently in post) and oversee the work of any freelance contractors engaged in support of strategy delivery
- Engage with the Destination Management Plan and support the local cultural economy by maximising strategic opportunities for the cultural sector play its full part in Torbay’s sustainable future.
- Promote and enable networks and innovative joint working across the cultural sector, and with other sectors across the Bay, identifying opportunities for collaboration and sharing of good practice.
- Represent the views and priorities of Torbay Culture with the media and general public.
- Take a lead in developing and securing better alignment of resources for, and further public and private inward investment in, Torbay’s cultural sector, the better to ensure the sustainability of Cultural Strategy delivery.
- Oversee, in consultation with Torbay Culture, effective quarterly monitoring and reports and payment requests to funders.
- Draft and deliver, with Torbay Culture approval, reports on Cultural Strategy delivery to appropriate fora (e.g Place Board, Overview & Scrutiny, Destination Management Group)
- Provide line management for the Geopark Manager role.
- As an Employee of Torbay Council all roles are expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures. The Designated Senior Lead for Safeguarding is the Chief Executive and Director of Children’s Services.
4. Budgetary/Financial Responsibilities of the post
- To observe good practice procedures for budget-setting and financial control as stipulated by financial regulations and standing orders.
- To monitor and report on the external investment from arms-length culture bodies such as Arts Council England.
- To authorise expenditure and the issuing of invoices up to an agreed maximum amount.
- Formal responsibility for accounting, contractual matters and funding bids rests with Council.
- Budgets will be in line with funding grants and may be significant (hundreds of thousands or more).
5. Supervision/Line Management Responsibilities of the post
- Provide line management for the Geopark Manager role.
- The post holder is employed by and answerable to Torbay Council; provides an executive lead and support for Torbay Culture (working in close cooperation with the Chair), and reports regularly on Cultural and Heritage Strategy implementation to external funders, arms-length bodies and other stakeholders. The post holder will therefore need to negotiate multiples lines of accountability.
- The post holder reports to the Service Manager, Culture & Events, for operational issues and the Torbay Culture Board Chair on issues relating to the work and remit of the Board.
- The post holder has delegated authority for informed, timely and appropriate decisions affecting delivery of significant specific funded programmes and for acting as lead officer for the cultural and heritage strategies.
- The post holder’s work is not uniformly covered by defined procedures and must use his/her initiative where problem solving is required.
- The post holder will line manage support staff (not currently in post).
- The post holder is responsible for overseeing the work of any freelance contractors engaged in relation to delivery of the Cultural Strategy and Heritage Strategy.
6. Working environment and conditions of the post
- Office based with a requirement to travel to a variety of locations for business within and outside the Bay.
- Involves managing a significant workload, often with multiple deadlines.
- Carries high profile, often involving negotiating with very diverse stakeholders, delivery partners and communities of interest.
- Prioritising between competing needs and demands.
- Handling confidential and sensitive information and data.
- Operating at a strategic and operational level.
- Concentrated period of work for the production of plans, report and funding bids.
7. Physical demands of the post
8. Specific resources used by the post
9. Key contacts and relationships
External
- Arts Council England
- Historic England
- National Lottery Heritage Fund
- Department for Digital
- Culture
- Media & Sport (DCMS)
- English Riviera Geopark Organisation
- English Riviera Business Improvement District Company (ERBIDCo)
- Torbay Business Forum
- Torbay Community Development Trust
- Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust
- Torbay Events Advisory Panel
- Cultural sector organisations in and around Torbay.
Internal
- Torbay Council
- Torbay Culture Board
10. Other duties
- To undertake additional duties as required, commensurate with the level of the job.
Other Information
- All staff must commit to Equal Opportunities and Anti-Discriminatory Practice.
- The Council operates a Smoke-Free Policy and the post-holder is prohibited from smoking in any of the Council's buildings (including Council owned and Council leased buildings, but excluding designated areas in residential schemes), enclosed spaces within the curtilage of buildings, and Council vehicles. The Council does not permit smoking breaks within work time, however, in services where the flexi-scheme is in operation, employees may take reasonable break times outside of core hours, in accordance with flexi-time arrangements. Employees should follow the flexi-scheme procedure for agreeing time away from their duties in the normal manner with their immediate colleagues and line manager, with break start and finish times being recorded, as with any other break-time arrangement.
- The post-holder is expected to familiarise themselves with and adhere to all relevant Council Policies and Procedures.
- The post-holder must comply with the Council’s Health and Safety requirements as outlined in the H&S policy appropriate to the role.
- The post is eligible for both hybrid and permanent home working.
- The post-holder must be committed to the Council’s Core Values for employees – “Torbay Council employees are committed to being forward thinking, people orientated and adaptable - always with integrity”. Evidence will be sought during the probation and appraisal processes.
- If you are required to use your own vehicle on Council business or drive a council vehicle you will be asked to provide information on any driving endorsements by accessing gov.uk/view-driving-licence and providing a code to your Line Manager in order to share your driving licence information with the Council.
- You will be asked to complete a Criminal Records Self Declaration Form. Criminal convictions will only be taken into account when they are relevant to the post. You will only be asked to disclose ‘unspent’ convictions.
- Torbay Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo the checks appropriate to the post applied for.
- The post holder is expected to work in a way that ensures vulnerable children and adults are safeguarded and report any safeguarding concerns in accordance with established policies and procedures.
- As this post meets the requirements of the Immigration Act 2017 (part 7) the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.
Person Specification
Note for Candidate
All Candidates
The supporting statement on your application form will be used to assess ability to meet the essential requirements of the role, so you should explain how you meet each of the numbered essential requirements within your supporting statement.
In a competitive situation, the desirable criteria may be taken into consideration, so you are encouraged to show how you also meet each of the desirable criteria.
Candidates who consider that they have a disability
Reasonable adjustments will be made to the job, job requirements or recruitment process for candidates with a disability.
If you consider yourself to have a disability you should indicate this on your application form, providing any information you would like us to take into account with regard to your disability in order to offer a fair selection interview.
Where ever possible and reasonable we will make adjustments and offer alternatives to help you through the application and selection process.
If you have indicated that you have a disability on your application form you will be guaranteed an interview if you clearly demonstrate in your supporting evidence how you broadly meet the essential requirements of the role.
Job info |
Job info details |
Job Title |
Strategic Lead: Culture & Heritage |
Strategic team/Directorate |
Place |
Service |
Economy, Environment & Infrastructure |
Business unit |
Culture & Events |
Skills and effectiveness
Essential skills and effectiveness
- Ability to provide visionary, creative and adaptive leadership.
- Ability to inspire trust amongst diverse stakeholders and communities of interest.
- Ability to fundraise from a variety of public and private sources.
- Ability to work independently with a high level of self-motivation.
- Effective interpersonal and team working skills and proven ability to form partnerships and motivate and enthuse others.
- Effective communication and presentation skills and the ability to convey complex ideas and issues to a variety of audiences/readerships.
- Effective negotiating skills and the ability to influence decision-makers.
- Ability to manage multiple and competing proprieties, within limited time and resources.
- Ability to manage budgets and to adhere to the highest standards of public accountability.
- Effective IT skills, including MS excel and word, PowerPoint and graphics software.
- As this post meets the requirements of the Immigration Act 2016 (part 7), the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.
Desirable skills and effectiveness
- Ability to operate in an innovative manner, thinking beyond boundaries and traditional ways of doing things.
- Ability to work across the public, private and voluntary and community sectors.
- Ability to operate across the different domains of the cultural sector.
Knowledge
Essential knowledge
- Knowledge and understanding of contemporary cultural policy issues and the inter-relationship between culture, health and wellbeing, economic development, place-making, sustainability, education and lifelong learning, diversity, community engagement, and the visitor economy.
Desirable knowledge
- Knowledge and understanding of the issues facing Torbay, other coastal towns and the South West region.
Experience and achievements
Essential experience and achievements
- Senior level experience in cultural strategy making and implementation.
- Extensive senior level experience in at least one domain of the cultural sector (the arts; film, TV and digital media; museums, libraries and archives; natural, built and historic environment; play, sport and physical activity; tourism and the visitor economy).
- Experience of working with voluntary boards.
- Funding bid, proposal, and report writing experience.
- Experience in brokering and delivering diverse and complex partnership initiatives and events.
- Experience of public and private sector fundraising.
- Experience as a cultural sector advocate/ambassador.
Desirable experience and achievements
- Work in PR, media management or place-making.
Qualifications/professional memberships
Essential qualifications/professional memberships
- Educated at least to first degree level or equivalent, preferably in a relevant field.
Desirable qualifications/professional memberships
- Training or professional development in relevant areas.
Other requirements
Other requirements of the job role
- Ability to travel efficiently around the South West in order to carry out duties.
- Ability to accommodate unsociable hours.
- Ability to accommodate occasional / permanent home-working.