We are at an exciting and pivotal point. We have decided the shape of our new National Portfolio for the period 2023 – 2026 in response to our 10 year strategy Let’s Create. The North Area Director has a critical role to play in ensuring all the investments we make contribute to the effective delivery of Let’s Create. By 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish, and where every one of us has access to a remarkable range of high-quality cultural experiences.
The North, which comprises some of our most culturally and economically significant and ambitious cities together with vibrant rural landscapes and communities has a vital and exciting role to play in delivering this vision. As the Area Director for the North you will be part of the Arts Council’s national leadership team, ensuring culture thrives for the benefit of all the communities of the North and for the country as a whole. The North is the home for a broad range of diverse communities. One of our challenges is that the artists, organisations and audiences that benefit from our funds still don’t reflect this diversity. You will play an important role in helping us change this. We want people in the North, from every community, to see themselves reflected in the work that we fund. We also want to help nurture the next generation of cultural practitioners, participants and audiences so our work with children and young people is a central part of our new Strategy.
The Arts Council invests money from government and from the National Lottery in artists, arts organisations, museums and libraries across England. You will lead the North team of 78 staff who support activities across the whole of the cultural sector, from some of the largest, long established national institutions such as Opera North, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, The Glasshouse International Centre for Music and Sheffield Theatres to more recent internationally significant organisations like Factory International , Bradford Literature Festival and the Baltic to the newest entries to our National Portfolio like South Tyneside Libraries, We Are Unlimited, Gary Clarke Company and the National Football Museum.
You will be responsible for managing a substantial budget, approximately £195 million each year. You will lead our relationships with a range of stakeholders including the Combined Authorities, local and national politicians, cultural organisations and their leaders and National Lottery distributors.
You will be working at a very senior level, maintaining a high profile as the lead representative of the Arts Council in the North. You will have my support and the support of your colleagues but will also have a high degree of autonomy to ensure the successful delivery of our strategy across the North.
We are looking for candidates who know about and are passionate about culture across the North. Leadership experience in a complex organisation, at scale, is important, though you might have gained this outside of the cultural sector in a charity, local authority, creative industry or a grant-giver, for example.
This is an exciting and challenging role. Come and join us in creating a bold and inclusive future.
Laura Dyer, Deputy Chief Executive Places, Engagement & Libraries