Freelance opportunity: Coordinator Project Brief
The Young Fenland Cultural Consortium is seeking to recruit an experienced
freelance Coordinator to deliver an 18 month programme of activity. Working in
partnership with the Consortium, the Coordinator will undertake the initial advocacy
about the Consortium to schools and cultural organisations; the development of
effective communications across partners including networking; the embedding of
Arts Award as a progression and leadership tool for children and young people
participating in the arts; and an audit of current provision available for children and
young people in culture and the arts.
Background
Children and young people in the Fenland area are underserved by the current
cultural infrastructure; they deserve the opportunity to participate in and lead arts and
cultural activity both in and out of school and should have the chance to continue to
participate and achieve in arts and culture if they choose.
The newly developed Consortium has come together to drive forward a shared
approach to providing high quality arts and cultural experiences for children and
young people in Fenland.
By placing our effort on children and young people, and working closely with schools,
the Consortium believes that in 10 years time Fenland will have a generation of
home-grown cultural leaders who will provide a cultural infrastructure that will
continue to deliver to children and young people growing up in Fenland.
The Consortium includes the following organisations: Cambridgeshire County
Council, Fenland District Council, ADeC, Cambridgeshire Music, The Garage,
Twenty20 Productions, schools currently represented by Neale Wade Academy, and
Norfolk and Norwich Festival Bridge.
The Consortium’s Vision is:
Young people in Fenland aspire, achieve and take the lead, in and through arts and
culture. In 10 years, there will be an effective body of home-grown cultural leaders
living and working in Fenland.
Working together the network aims to achieve the following outcomes:





There are clear pathways for young people to engage in arts and culture
Decision makers are supported to advocate and plan for arts and culture
There is a connected arts and cultural infrastructure able to provide
sustainable access to a diverse range of activity for young people
There is a coherent programme of professional arts and cultural activity
across Fenland
Different communities work together through arts and culture to support
young people
Project details
The Coordinator will work collaboratively with young people, schools, and cultural
organisations to:
 Advocate for arts and culture in schools
The Coordinator will be responsible for advocating for and defining the key messages
about the Young Fenland Cultural Consortium to schools. The four secondary schools
in Fenland are essential partners. By providing active opportunities for these schools to
engage, the Coordinator will enable all four schools to join the Consortium
and to become advocates for arts and culture with their feeder primary schools.
Artsmark is an effective way for schools to formally recognise their commitment to arts
and culture. The Coordinator will be able to draw upon expertise to demonstrate the
benefits to schools. The Coordinator will be responsible for scheduling Artsmark
Briefings for schools and supporting them in the process of achieving Artsmark or
Artsmark Gold. Peer learning opportunities will be also be offered through partnerships
with Gold Artsmark schools from across the county.

Develop effective communication models for young people, schools,
parents and between arts and cultural organisations
The Coordinator will attend termly school leadership meetings on behalf of the
Network. S/he will also be responsible for developing a social network profile for the
Network and maximise existing online opportunities such as www.youthoria.org and
www.shapeyourplace.org/ etc.
Schools are key to reaching parents. The Coordinator will need to develop good
relationships with school to enable the Consortium to use school structures to
communicate effectively with parents.

Audit existing arts and cultural opportunities for young people
This essential area of work will actively influence the rest of the programme
developed by the Consortium. The Coordinator will develop a sustainable method for
auditing activity and ensure that it remains current throughout the programme.
The Coordinator will also note potential investment opportunities and feed them back
to the Network through quarterly reporting structures.

Develop a model of cultural leadership and progression opportunities
for young people using Arts Award
The Coordinator will support existing Arts Award advisors and also increase numbers
of trained Arts Award Advisors across the district. There will be an increase in
numbers of young people achieving all five levels of Arts Award. Young people will
be signposted to activities which enable them to progress to the next level. The
Coordinator will need to understand the geographical challenges of the district and
ensure young people are able to engage in Arts Award locally.

Develop a quarterly networking event connecting schools, arts and
cultural organisations and the voluntary and commercial sectors with
the aim of improving the offer for children and young people in Fenland
Organisations and individuals working in Fenland often feel isolated. The Coordinator
will set up and deliver quarterly networking events in partnership with Consortium
members. These could follow models like Teachmeets or Metal’s Future Networks
www.metalculture.com/peterborough/future-network.html
At the end of the contract the following will have been achieved:








Fenland’s four secondary schools are active partners within the Consortium
At least two Artsmark Briefings have been delivered resulting in at least ten
schools achieving Artsmark
The Consortium has an active online profile and regularly shares information
about the cultural offer to children and young people
The initial audit has taken place with recommendations made to the
Consortium and a sustainable approach is in place to ensure it stays up to date
There is an increase in trained Advisors actively delivering Arts Award at all
levels.
Schools deliver Arts Award with some doing year group moderations
There are opportunities for young people to progress through the Arts Award
levels locally
At least five networking events have taken place in different venues across
Fenland to include and school, a museum and a library
These milestones will be reviewed regularly throughout the contract.
Experience, skills and knowledge
We are looking for a highly motivated and enthusiastic person who has:
Experience
 At least three years of experience working with children and young people
either through schools, youth sector or arts and cultural organisations
 Demonstrable experience of project coordination and collaborative working
 A proven track record of project delivery
 Experience of identifying funding opportunities and contributing to funding
applications
Skills
 Excellent communication skills, verbal , written and through social media
 Excellent organisation skills and the ability to manage their own workload
 A creative and engaging approach to working with young people
Knowledge
 Knowledge of the current education policy and impacts on teaching and
learning
 Knowledge of the Artsmark programme for schools
 Knowledge of Arts Award – experience would be desirable
Responsibilities
The Coordinator will report to an identified member of the Consortium and will be
required to report on a quarterly basis to the Consortium’s Steering Group.
Fees
This is a contract of up to £25,000 to include all fees and an operating budget. A
schedule of payment will be agreed when the appointment is made and will be
determined by project milestones and the approach to delivery.
Other information
The appointment is subject to a DBS disclosure check.
The Coordinator will be expected to work across Fenland, with a base location for the
duration of the project at the Fenland District Council offices in March. Regular travel
is expected; due to the size of the area to be covered, the contract holder will need to
have their own transport.
The Coordinator will need to provide their own equipment to include laptop and
mobile phone. The budget will need to recognise this. A desk, PC and office phone
will be available for the Coordinator to use at Fenland District Council.
The Coordinator is responsible for their own public liability insurance of £2m.
Application
Please send your CV and a project plan outlining the following:




Examples of previous projects you have undertaken in the education, youth or
arts and cultural sector especially highlighting your experience of working with
schools and young people
How you will approach the different elements of the project brief especially
the audit and the cultural leadership strands, achieving the outcomes stated
in a timely and sustainable manner
Your approach to delivery of the project as a whole within the timescale and
on budget
A budget breakdown clearly showing how many days you would give to the
project and how you would manage the operating budget
Please email your application to stephanie@nnfestival.org.uk or send your
application by 5pm on Friday 22nd November to:
Stephanie Hogger
Norfolk and Norwich Festival Bridge
St Augustine Steward House
14 Tombland
Norwich
NR3 1HF
Your application will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Expertise and experience in coordination of arts/cultural/education projects



Proven ability of delivering projects on budget and on time with thorough,
relevant and insightful reporting
Relevance of skills and knowledge
An appropriate budget breakdown
The interviews will take place during the week of 2nd December.