CREATIVE DIRECTOR
THE APPLICATION PACK
Reports to: Chief Executive Officer
Role: Creative Director
Responsible for: Curatorial, Participation, Marketing and Development teams
Salary: circa £40,000 per annum
Contract: Full time, Permanent
Location: Leeds
ABOUT THE TETLEY
The Tetley is a centre for contemporary art and learning operating from a landmark heritage building.
The former Tetley headquarters, now the home to The Tetley represents an exciting mix of the old and
the new – where heritage is preserved yet reinterpreted, helping us make sense of our histories whilst
signposting potential futures for this historic site, the city of Leeds and its public.
Centred around creativity, innovation and experimentation, The Tetley is a place that develops future
artistic talent and opens the minds of young people, whilst at the same time engages families and
individuals of all ages.
The Tetley is operated by Project Space Leeds (PSL), a contemporary arts and education charity
founded in 2006. PSL was established to create a platform for emerging artists across the UK and
further afield, allowing them to make and show work on an expansive scale, pushing their practice within
a supportive environment.
The core objectives of the charity are the advancement of public education in and appreciation of the
arts by fostering and promoting an understanding and appreciation of the arts for the benefit of the
public and promoting and advancing the participation and education of the general public in the visual
arts.
The commitment to support early career and emerging artists remains a core value of The Tetley and
will continue to remain a commitment to the development of contemporary visual art. This approach
extends across the organisation and is a key focus in the establishment of a design residency working
with an early career, emerging designers to deliver an artistic interpretation of branding and visual
communication to the public.
The Tetley is a fast-growing contemporary visual art organisation. The post holder will be joining at an
exciting point in the organisation’s life and will play a major role in lead the development and delivery of
a highly ambitious creative programme that brings cutting-edge contemporary art and learning together
with innovative interpretation of Tetley’s Brewery heritage
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We believe this is an exciting and pivotal time for a dedicated, enthusiastic and ambitious person to join
our team and make their mark on this young but fast-growing organisation.
The objectives of the charity are: the advancement of public education in and appreciation of the arts,
on particular but not exclusively by:
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Fostering and promoting an understanding and appreciation of the arts for the benefit of the
public.
Promoting and advancing the participation and education of the general public in the visual arts.
Providing and maintaining an art gallery for the exhibition of visual art to the general public.
Delivering visual arts and education programme to children, young adults and adult learners
Providing artists with advice, assistance and access to non-commercial gallery space for the
public benefit.
JOB PURPOSE
As a member of the senior management team, the Creative Director will lead the development and
delivery of a highly ambitious creative programme that brings cutting-edge contemporary art and
learning together with innovative interpretation of the social and built Tetley’s Brewery heritage.
Working closely with and reporting to the CEO, The Creative Director will lead and develop an
overarching creative programme and accompanying strategy that will influence and guide delivery
through the Curatorial, Participation, Marketing, Development and Commercial teams, ensuring
consistency of the creative programme through every strand of the organization. The creative
programme should drive footfall; capture new audiences and build new strategic relationships for The
Tetley, to ensure that it attains its ambition to be a centre of excellence for contemporary art.
KEY DUTIES
Duties shall include but not be limited to the following:
Strategic Partnerships and Networking
Through a programme of consistently challenging creative collaborations and strategic partnerships, the
Creative Director will position The Tetley as a key cultural player locally within the city, across the
region, and nationally, with a growing recognition internationally.
The post holder will:
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Working with the CEO, take a lead role in initiating new and managing on-going strategic
alliances with other key cultural organisations that culminate in a range of productive
collaborations that take The Tetley into new creative and audience arenas.
Seek out and contribute to cultural/regeneration/promotional initiatives that take forward The
Tetley’s position as a leading cultural destination.
Develop new partnerships within the heritage sector that will explore new conversations
between artists, curators and academics in order to fully exploit the opportunities afforded by
the historic environment of The Tetley.
Be an ambassador for The Tetley in the city and beyond to identify key opportunities to
network, build positive creative relationships and position The Tetley across all platforms.
Maintain and develop relationships across the teams and together with the Finance and
Commercial Directors.
Creative Direction and Delivery
The Creative Director is responsible for leading the creative direction of The Tetley's curatorial and
participation programmes. Working with The Tetley's Curator and Curator of Participation, the Creative
Director will develop a well planned, rolling creative programme.
Key responsibilities include the timely and coherent delivery of plans and budgets which maximise wider
opportunities for PR, Marketing and media coverage along with both philanthropic and commercial
income generation.
The post holder will:
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Together with the CEO lead the development of existing and new strategic relationships with
other cultural bodies and organisations that will secure The Tetley’s programme ambitions,
along with the supporting budgets that will deliver The Tetley’s overarching organisational
business objectives and charitable mission.
Develop a coherent, challenging, but accessible three year creative programme that continues
to evolve and develop in line with The Tetley’s vision, goals and commitment to world-class
contemporary art, including maximising digital opportunities across the creative programme
Through collaborations with other creative organisations and academic institutions, facilitate
research opportunities and explore ways to engage new and emerging artists ensuring The
Tetley remains committed to supporting the growth of new talent.
Manage the delivery of programme milestones and deadlines in line with internal timescales and
manage the delivery of the wider creative programme delivery through direct reports.
Support the Curatorial, Participation, Marketing and Development teams in drawing up
integrated plans and securing funding and commercial packages to meet programme needs and
organisational targets.
Work with the Communications team to evaluate and measure the success of the creative
programme through analysis and benchmarking of audience data to inform and develop the
creative programme.
Ensure an integrated participatory offer is intrinsic in the development of a holistic creative plan.
Corporate Advocacy & Governance
The Creative Director shall establish and develop plans and processes and build a team capable of
defining and delivering The Tetley programme to meet the objectives of the wider vision and values of
the organisation.
The Creative Director shall report to and ensure that the CEO receives regular reports on the current
state of the programme and development of the plan.
The post holder will:
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Adhere to the organisations procurement procedures for all creative and complimentary
products and services.
Ensure all legal and contractual responsibilities associated with the creative programme are met
and good practice followed.
Ensure that good governance is ensured and that policies and procedures are properly adhered
to by staff.
Attend and report to the programme sub groups and/or committees as necessary both
internally and externally as required.
Provide regular reports to the board of Trustees that measure programme outcomes and
outputs, including budgetary targets that indicate the return on investment of public funds and
attend all Trustee Board meetings as required.
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As The Tetley’s Creative Director and key advocate; seek out opportunities to contribute to
national and international creative debate in order to increase specialist sector profile.
Leadership and Coaching
The Creative Director will provide exemplary leadership inside the Tetley; ensuring quality, diversity,
accessibility and an on-going commitment to the development of the curatorial and learning teams.
The post holder will:
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Lead, inspire, motivate and line manage the curatorial, participation, marketing and development
teams in the effective articulation and delivery of the programme.
Share the creative vision with the full organisation to inspire and engage all departments.
Support opportunities for professional and career development.
Undertake regular and effective performance appraisal cycles and set clear key performance
indicators as part of annual reviews.
Person Specification
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It would be an advantage for the postholder to have a first degree and post graduate in a
relevant discipline.
Extensive knowledge of current practice and developments in contemporary visual arts, in the
UK and internationally.
A clear and demonstrable understanding of strategic business planning.
An understanding of mixed model funding and zero budget planning.
Significant, senior management level experience in a high profile cultural organisation.
Significant experience of delivering high quality arts/cultural programmes that have met business
objectives and contributed to the success of the organisation.
Line management and workload planning experience with multiple employees.
A demonstrable track record of achieving high level, goal driven, strategic partnerships
Experience working with a gallery or museum with learning and outreach programmes.
A demonstrable track record of productive involvement at a senior strategic level in
cultural/regeneration initiatives.
Participation in research and/or other scholarly activity that has contributed to the professional
credibility of an organisation
Good knowledge of the digital arts sector.
An open, passionate and entrepreneurial approach to visual arts programming and engagement
A demonstrable commitment to widening public engagement and developing new audiences.
Strong interpersonal and communication skills and experience of working as part of a team.
Excellent written communication skills.
The ability to speak effectively in public and to engage a range of audiences.
The ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with a range of stakeholders.
A good network of arts and fundraising organisations.
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for this role, send a CV and a letter outlining your interest in this position and what skills and
experience you can bring to the role to kirsty.bullen@thetetley.org or by post to: Kirsty Bullen, Finance
Director, The Tetley, Hunslet Road, Leeds, LS10 1JQ, UK by Wednesday 21 October 2015. No
application received after this deadline will be considered.
Successful applicants will be contacted by Wednesday 28 October 2015.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
MONITORING FORM
We would be grateful if you could complete and return this form. Once received, it will be separated
from your application and the information you give will be kept confidential from the selection panel. It
will not be taken into account in any way
1.
What gender are you?
2.
What is your ethnic group?
Female
Male
NB these categories are recommended by the Commission for Racial Equality.
Choose ONE section from A to E, then tick the appropriate box to indicate
your background.
A
WHITE
British
English
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Any other White background, please state ____________
B
MIXED
White and Black Caribbean
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White and Asian
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C
ASIAN, ASIAN BRITISH, ASIAN ENGLISH, ASIAN SCOTTISH or ASIAN WELSH
Indian
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Any other Asian background, please state ____________
D
BLACK, BLACK BRITISH, BLACK ENGLISH, BLACK SCOTTISH or BLACK WELSH
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E
CHINESE, CHINESE BRITISH, CHINESE ENGLISH, CHINESE WELSH or any other ethnic
group
Chinese
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3.
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