Artist-Facilitator (Primary & Secondary)

Part-time: 18.75 hours/2.5 days per week (0.5 FTE)

Fixed-term contract: 9 months, from November 2026 until July 2027

Salary: circa £14,000 per annum (pro-rated from £28,000 per annum)

You must have, or be willing to undergo, an Enhanced DBS check.

Two days per week in-school delivery (likely Wednesdays and Thursdays, TBC) and Friday mornings departmental planning time at Birmingham Hippodrome

A driving license and vehicle would be desirable (but not mandatory) for this role. School 1 is in West Bromwich, accessible by tram and bus. School 2 is in Sparkbrook, accessible by bus.

ABOUT US:

With a mission to enrich the cultural life of our region, Birmingham Hippodrome is one of the most popular theatre complexes in the UK. Varied productions in our 1,850-seat auditorium (dating from 1899), and in our 200-seat Patrick Studio ensure we play a key role in the region’s world-class cultural scene. With c.400 live performances annually in our main house, we present nothing but the best in touring musical theatre, ballet, dance, opera, pantomime, drama, and comedy. Our Patrick Studio welcomes a range of smaller-scale productions and is an important base for dance and for the development of new artistic work.

ABOUT THE TEAM:

The Creative Partnerships team are passionate about engaging children and young people in theatre and want to make opportunities at the Hippodrome as accessible as we can.

Our team have recently produced and directed three youth theatre productions on our Patrick Studio stage as well as several school productions and year 6 Leavers’ performances. We also partnered with the RSC to direct productions of ‘Matilda’ with schools in our Hippodrome Education Network and for primary school children to write ‘missing scenes’ from the show.

In 2026 and 2027 our team will be providing opportunities for young children from our Hippodrome Education Network schools to have early access to theatre by attending Theatre Experience Days and for young people to work with companies such as Highly Sprung and Linden Dance. Our team will be running a work experience programme, schools’ festivals and this summer our Young Advocates will be programming a stage at our city-wide Weekender Festival. There are opportunities for our artist-facilitators to connect with Participation and Community programmes and we have exciting projects planned with the National Theatre as a regional partner on National Theatre Nationwide.

Our Aims:

• By 2028, Birmingham Hippodrome will be recognised as a national benchmark for the engagement and progression of young people (including its schools work) and the most accessible venue of its scale in the UK.

• By 2028, we will have further developed our Hippodrome Education Network (HEN), the biggest bespoke theatre education programme in the region and harnessed our connections with the communities that surround our partner schools to build new audiences.

• By 2028, we will have increased engagement opportunities for young people at the Hippodrome and in our communities, contributing to Birmingham having the fastest growth in arts participation in the country.

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Plan and deliver high quality, inspiring and exciting Theatre and dance/physical theatre workshops and activities in a Primary and a Secondary school that are part of the Hippodrome Education Network. These sessions will be connected to the curriculum as well as Birmingham Hippodrome’s multi-artform programme, delivering impact, opportunity, personal and skills development for the children of our city region. In addition, work with members of the team on our Community and Young People’s projects at the Hippodrome outside of term time.

ROLE DUTIES:

Delivery

• Plan, prepare and deliver inspiring theatre workshops and projects in several designated Hippodrome Education Network (HEN) partner Primary schools, each week throughout the academic year.

• Work closely with school staff to plan and deliver a programme of activity in their school setting that meets the needs of their children in a range of year groups and with a range of abilities, in line with the school’s objectives.

• Plan, design and deliver projects in schools that align with Hippodrome shows

• Work with the wider Creative Partnerships team to plan, prepare and deliver a programme of projects in and with schools, and in community settings outside of term-time

• Support the Creative Partnerships team with delivery of Birmingham Hippodrome and partner projects such as festivals.

• Build and maintain positive relationships with staff in your designated partner schools.

• Share expertise from your specialism to support and develop the practice of colleagues across the team as well as staff in schools.

General

• Build and maintain strong relationships with internal departments.

• Maintain an up-to-date awareness of developments in arts education, community engagement, your specialism, wider industry advances, personal and professional development.

• Monitor, evaluate and record work according to relevant criteria as required by funders and Birmingham Hippodrome, including monthly reporting in line with Key Performance Indicators.

• Attend school meetings, HEN meetings, line-manager meetings, production meetings, company meetings, CPD and evaluation sessions where relevant.

• Support and promote partner schools’, community groups’ and Birmingham Hippodrome’s codes of practice regarding behaviour, professional conduct and equality of opportunity.

• Support and promote all company policies, with specific attention to safeguarding, health and safety, GDPR, dignity at work, inclusion and anti-racism.

• Report all Safeguarding concerns through the necessary Hippodrome and school channels.

• Work with the Creative Partnerships team to drive forward the vision of the department and Birmingham Hippodrome.

ABOUT YOU:

We're looking for someone who has:

• Professional experience and specialism in Drama/ Theatre/ Musical Theatre/Dance.

• Experience of working in primary and secondary school settings primarily on arts-based subjects.

• Experience of working with children with SEND; and working in a culturally and economically diverse context.

• Ability to devise, lead workshops; ability to direct and produce school performances.

• Knowledge of the challenges faced by primary and secondary schools and their students.

• Knowledge of safeguarding issues and good practice, particularly in relation to young people.

• Excellent communication skills; Excellent organisational and time management skills.

• Familiarity with a variety of behaviour management techniques.

• A friendly manner with the ability to deal with matters in a logical and common-sense way.

• High levels of enthusiasm and resilience.

• A flexible and adaptive working style and a strong team player.

• Has or is willing to acquire a clear Enhanced DBS check

Recognising under-representation in our workforce of the global majority, and people with disabilities, we particularly welcome applicants from those backgrounds.