APPLICATION PACK FOR THE ROLE OF :
BOX OFFICE ASSISTANT (PART TIME)
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS:
10 am Monday 17 November
INTERVIEW DATE (in Bath):
Friday 21 November
CONTENTS:
1.
LETTER TO APPLICANT
2.
JOB DESCRIPTION & PERSON SPECIFICATION
3.
ABOUT BATH FESTIVALS
BATH FESTIVALS
BATH LITERATURE FESTIVAL
BATH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC FESTIVAL
BATH FESTIVAL OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE
LEARNING AND PARTICIPATION PROGRAMME
BATH BOX OFFICE
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October 2014
Dear applicant,
Thank you for your interest in applying for the post of Box Office Assistant (part time fixed
term) for Bath Festivals.
This is an excellent opportunity for someone with an interest in the arts and with great
customer service skills, to work in a vibrant shop environment at the centre of the Bath arts
scene.
You will find attached a job and person specification, some information about the
organisation, and an application form. First though here is an outline of what the job
involves, and what sort of person we’re looking for.
What’s the job?
 To sell tickets to Bath Festivals events and those of our 120+ ticket agency clients
 To act as the face of Bath Festivals, presenting a positive first point of contact for the
organisation
What we’re looking for
Someone:
 With excellent customer care skills
 Who’s a good communicator
 With a good standard of computer literacy
 With an enthusiasm for the arts
If you wish to apply, please complete the application form and send it to
info@bathfestivals.org.uk by 10am on Monday 17 November. Interviews will take place on
Friday 21 November in Bath.
With best wishes,
Belinda Kidd
Chief Executive
Bath Festivals
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JOB DESCRIPTION & PERSON SPECIFICATION
POST TITLE:
Box Office Assistant (Mondays and every 4th Saturday)
RESPONSIBLE TO:
Box Office Manager
DATE:
October 2014
Purpose of the Post
To sell tickets for Bath Festivals and its external clients and to be a positive first point of
contact for Bath Festivals and its external clients.
Principal Accountabilities
1. To process ticket orders received by post, fax, telephone, in person or online, both at Bath
Box Office and at designated venues as required.
2. To assist and advise customers on event content, seat selection and venue access,
displaying a high level of proactive customer care at all times.
3. To provide information to customers on behalf of Bath Festivals and its external clients
regarding their events, and to maintain accurate records of transactions and bookings.
4. To assist with the accumulation, maintenance and inputting of an accurate, relevant
customer database for Bath Festivals, its clients and contacts, and to be aware of the DataProtection Act and its implications.
5. To liaise with Bath Festivals external clients, providing them with tickets or sales reports
as required, and final sales reporting procedures.
5. To process mailshots.
6. To take responsibility as a key holder for Bath Box Office
7. To assist with updating and distributing relevant event information.
8. To assist in the maintenance of promotional in-house displays.
9. To assist with the maintenance of the Bath Box Office website and social media accounts.
10. To attend scheduled meetings as required.
11. To help implement Bath Festivals Health & Safety policy.
12. To undertake any other general administration duties reasonably related to the above.
Person Specification

At least one year’s experience in a customer sales environment.
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
The post necessitates regular contact with the public and requires excellent
communication and customer care skills

Flexibility, the ability to work as a team under pressure, energy and enthusiasm are
essential qualities for this post.

Accuracy and attention to detail.

An appreciation of the arts is essential.

Excellent and accurate keyboard and computer skills.

Extra availability during Festival periods is essential, with occasional evening work
required outside of Festival periods to cover ticket agency clients door sales.

This is a keyholder position – the postholder needs to be able to work unsupervised and
be self-motivated.
Summary of Terms and Conditions
This is a fixed term post to 30 June 2015 working Mondays and every 4th Saturday at Bath
Box Office.
Hours: Mondays 10.30 to 5pm, every 4th Saturday 10am to 5pm
Salary: £6.50 per hour
Annual leave: pro rata to 20 days per annum full time equivalent
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
Bath Festivals welcomes applications regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation,
marital status, religion or disability. Unfortunately however the offices of Bath Festivals are
not currently wheelchair accessible.
DISCLOSURE AND BARRING SERVICE CHECK
Please note that an enhanced DBS check will be required for this post, (previously CRB
check).
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ABOUT BATH FESTIVALS
Bath Festivals brings leading international performers, writers and thinkers to Bath every
year to inspire, entertain and challenge audiences of all ages and artistic tastes. Energy,
passion, integrity and innovation are the hallmarks of our Festivals, programmed by the
highest calibre Artistic Directors.
Our Festivals champion diversity and collaboration, celebrate the fusion of the traditional
and the contemporary; open people’s minds, and showcase the work of both established
and up-and-coming performers – all in the unique setting that is Bath, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site and home to some of the finest historical and architectural sights in Europe.
We provide year-round learning and participation opportunities for children, young people
and adults through creative workshops, gigs, master classes and competitions. We act as a
central hub for the arts in Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES), serving 120 festivals, events
and local arts organisations through the Bath Box Office.
Bath Festivals has five main areas of activity: the Bath International Music Festival, the
Independent Bath Literature Festival; the Telegraph Bath Children’s Literature Festival; an
associated year-round learning and participation programme in the Bath &North East
Somerset area; and the year-round Bath Box Office.
The company is a long-established, charitably registered independent arts organisation,
receiving support from Bath & North East Somerset Council and Arts Council England. Other
key sources of income are ticket and other sales, contributions from trust funds, private
donors and a range of commercial sponsors.
Over the next three or four years the company is seeking to increase significantly its earned
income and fundraising to balance reductions in public funding. We are also committed to
expanding our work in the smaller towns and villages of North East Somerset.
Bath Festivals has a committed and skilled permanent staff, and a team of highly talented
Artistic Directors. The Chief Executive, Belinda Kidd, joined the organization in November
2010, bringing substantial experience from a long career in the arts. Owen McNeir,
Development and Marketing Director, joined in September 2011, and has made a very
positive impact on our fundraising performance and led the rebranding and new website
design for Bath Festivals.
The Board is strong, energetic and committed. The current Chair, John Cullum, is well
connected locally and has a strong track record in both the business and charitable sectors.
The Independent Bath Literature Festival
The Independent Bath Literature Festival is at the centre of local, national and international
debate, featuring some of the most intelligent, creative, and cutting edge thinkers alive
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today. Audiences are stimulated and challenged, and can experience a vast and diverse
range of work from around the world and the UK.
The new Artistic Director from 2014 is Viv Groskop, a prolific journalist, broadcaster and
comedian. The Independent newspaper has been our title sponsor since 2012 and
contributes strongly to its ethos and content, as well as providing a high national profile for
the Festival.
In its seventeen year history the Literature Festival has hosted Nobel and Booker Prize
winners such as Doris Lessing, Margaret Atwood, Kazuo Ishiguro, Hilary Mantel and Howard
Jacobson; leading political thinkers from Tony Benn and Tariq Ali to Anna Politkovskaya and
Eric Hobsbawm, poets ranging from poets laureate Andrew Motion and Carol Ann Duffy to
Wendy Cope and Simon Armitage, and humourists from Garrison Keillor and Terry Pratchett
to Steve Bell.
The Festival is strongly connected to its city and its people. With events taking place in
historic buildings throughout the town, we have a special opportunity to match architecture
and theme.
The Festival takes place over 10 days in early March each year. Most events take place in
Bath’s historic Guildhall, which has two event spaces with capacities of 350 and 75, and
which hosts the main festival bookstall and a pop up café. We also use the Masonic Hall, the
Holburne Museum, the Mineral Hospital and the historic Georgian streets of the city. The
types of event range from best-selling authors in a large-scale venue such as the Forum – a
1930s former cinema with capacity of 1500 – to education workshops in the Holburne
Museum for about 20 participants.
The Telegraph Bath Festival of Children’s Literature
The Telegraph Bath Children’s Literature Festival was established in 2007 by Bath-based
children’s publishing professionals Gill and John McLay. In 2010 ownership of the Festival
transferred to Bath Festivals. The McLays have taken a two year break as Artistic Directors
for 2013 and 2014, but will be returning for 2015. In the meantime, David Almond, the wellknown children’s author has been the Guest Artistic Director, alongside his role as Visiting
Professor at Bath Spa University.
Staged in association with headline media partner, the Daily Telegraph, and retail partner
Waterstones Booksellers, the largest dedicated Children’s Books Festival in the UK stages
over 100 public, ticketed events and a healthy roster of events in schools throughout the
South West. Like the Bath Literature Festival, several historic and modern city centre venues
in Bath are used including the Guildhall, the Mission Theatre, Bath Central Library and the
Forum.
The Festival regularly attracts some of the biggest children’s authors and illustrators from
the UK and internationally. Past contributors have included: Jacqueline Wilson, Michael
Morpurgo, Anthony Horowitz, Lauren Child, Shirley Hughes, Julia Donaldson, Michael Rosen,
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Terry Deary, Cornelia Funke, Eoin Colfer, Darren Shan, Neil Gaiman, Anthony Browne,
Francesca Simon and Malorie Blackman.
We strive to create a friendly, family atmosphere in which young book fans can come along
to Festival events and meet their favourite authors and book characters. Events regularly
feature much humour and interactivity, with book readings as well as craft activities, quizzes
and games. Our learning and participation work is closely integrated with the Festival, so
that we can reach a wider audience of children and young people who might not otherwise
benefit from our programme.
Bath International Music Festival
The Bath International Music Festival has an illustrious artistic history and has long been an
event of national significance and international reputation, presenting a dynamic mix of
world-class performers. The Festival takes place annually over 12 days in late May/early
June, and showcases a rich range of high quality events featuring orchestral and classical
virtuosos, jazz giants, folk, roots and world musicians, innovative collaborations and unique
commissions. Almost 2000 local performers take part in the Party in the City on the opening
Friday evening. The whole city hosts events and many thousands attend.
Bath International Music Festival was established in 1948, and at different times has been
led by Yehudi Menuhin, Michael Tippett, William Glock, Joanna MacGregor and Alasdair
Nicolson. As a one year interim arrangement artistic planning for the 2015 Bath
International Music Festival is being supported by James Waters from Festivals and Events
International in association with Serious, working closely with Bath Festivals Chief Executive,
Belinda Kidd.
The Bath International Music Festival stands out for the diversity of its programming and the
thoughtfulness with which collaborations are created.
Audiences are stretched and stimulated, given the opportunity to make new discoveries, and
to learn. Artists extend their creative practice by working in new ways, collaborating with
musicians from other genres and other parts of the world, and playing in unusual and
historic settings.
The musicians featured range from well-established international musicians to emerging
younger talent, to students from a wide range of conservatoires, universities and colleges, to
local musicians, both professional and amateur.
Learning and Participation Programme
Learning and participation are at the core of Bath Festivals programme, in the belief that
participation in the creative arts makes a unique and vital contribution to personal growth,
and the wellbeing of individuals and whole communities. Bath Festivals therefore has a
significant programme of learning and participation activity, not only delivered through the
three festivals, but also through major year round projects.
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Through our learning and participation programme we aim to:
 Help children, young people and adults to develop their creativity, and their
enjoyment and knowledge of the arts
 Support children and young people who are not achieving their full potential to
improve their communication and literacy skills
 Increase local people’s pride in their area, and help build stronger community
relationships
The current year round projects include Building Bridges, which delivers creative music
making workshops in areas of low provision in Bath and North East Somerset, and Home
Grown, a spoken word project developing local artists’ experience of working in schools to
support students to develop confidence and engagement in literacy. Our group of Young
Curators from Wellsway School work closely with us to develop our festival programmes and
our Writing Labs are year-round writing workshops for young writers in Bath.
The Bath Box Office
www.bathboxoffice.org.uk
The Bath Box Office began as an operation to sell tickets for the company’s own festivals but
has developed into the Bath area’s focus for live event ticket sales. It now serves more than
120 client organisations (including WOMAD, Reading Festival, Sunrise and most of the area’s
other festivals and promoters) and has an annual turnover on behalf of all its clients of
almost £1m. Every penny spent on ticket purchases through Bath Box Office supports arts
activity, venues and theatre companies in the local area.
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