Vacancies
Facilitator Brief for Staff Development Away Day
Can you create an environment that encourages participation, collaboration, and creativity? We are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced facilitator to help plan, deliver, and lead our next staff development away day with a focus on team building, working relationships, and effective communications.
To download a PDF version of this brief, click here. (PDF File, 334kb).
About Open Doors
Open Doors is a National Portfolio Organisation, funded by Arts Council England, based in the National Civil War Centre and the Palace Theatre, Newark. Open Doors is part of Newark and Sherwood District Council’s Heritage and Culture team.
Our theatre programme offers live entertainment including music, comedy, drama, and panto, and The National Civil War Centre offers an exploration of 17th Century life and local history. We also offer inclusive, cultural experiences that inspire people and communities with opportunities to grow, learn, and think differently. We do this in our cultural venues and across the district.
We continually provide opportunities for our staff, volunteers, and our business to grow, including regular days for training and teambuilding. We see the positive impacts of such activities on the work we’re doing today, along with our future plans.
The Role
Our next Staff Development Day will be on Monday 8 September, and we’re looking for someone to work with us in the lead up to the event. The Facilitator will work closely with our Staff Development Working Group to co-plan and organise an engaging staff development day. The event must promote positive relationships, effective communication, and be fully accessible and inclusive.
On the day of the event the facilitator will:
- Create a welcoming and engaging environment which encourages collaboration
- Be the compère for the day, facilitating the event so the day runs smoothly and effectively
- Manage the logistics of the day, including any setting up and taking down of the day’s activities, acting as the point of contact for workshop leaders, organising different groups and their movement throughout the day, time management of the day’s sessions, and dealing with any issues as they arise
- Prepare and transport materials and resources to and from the venue
- Guide and coordinate group discussions, promote participant engagement, and support team building activities
- Collect participant feedback at the end of day.
Schedule
Planning will take place from July to September 2025 and the event will take place on Monday 8 September 2025. The Facilitator would be invited to join our Staff Development Working Group meetings between July and September.
Fee and budget
A fixed fee of £1500 + VAT is available for this work. We anticipate this equating to approximately five days of work, depending on rates. This fee covers transport costs to attend meetings and the event, which will be in the East Midlands. A separate budget is available to cover all other event costs, including venue hire, catering, staff transport, etc.
Expressions of Interest
Please submit a short, written expression of interest, outlining why you are interested in this role and how your previous experience would be relevant.
Alternatively, your expression of interest can be a video file (MP4) or audio file (MP3) up to three minutes in length. If submitting a video or audio file, please send this via a file-sharing service such as WeTransfer or Dropbox.
Please email your Expression of Interest to: visitorinformationcentre@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk
Deadline: 12:00pm on Monday 21 July 2025.
Informal interviews will take place the week commencing 21 July 2025.
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Project Manager - Open Doors
We’re looking for an experienced project manager to deliver several key projects for the Open Doors programme. If you have a background in project co-ordination, management and reporting, socially engaged practice and collaborative planning, we want to hear from you!
Click here to download a PDF version of this brief: Project Manager Brief (PDF File, 449kb)
Who We Are
We are Heritage and Culture - Newark and Sherwood District Council. We believe in the transformative power of culture.
Our mission is to enable people to enhance their lives through heritage, culture and the arts.
Our core values ensure that everything we do is Relevant, Ethical, Welcoming, Inspirational and Creative. We achieve this by asking our communities what they want and need and responding creatively.
The Heritage and Culture team run the Palace Theatre Newark, the National Civil War Centre – Newark Museum and Newark Castle and Gardens. In 2023 we were awarded National Portfolio Organisation status from the Arts Council England to deliver on their ‘Let’s Create’ strategy. We are also a lead partner in Newark’s Cultural Consortium, Newark Creates which delivers events, activities and installations to animate and activate the town centre.
The Role
The Open Doors Programme delivers ten multi-stranded projects annually, targeting under-represented or culturally disengaged audiences. The projects are wide-ranging, from artist residencies to creative play sessions for under 5’s, and take place across the whole of Newark and Sherwood district. The Programme is overseen by our Programme Manager, who is responsible for the delivery of the annual activity plan, and for monitoring and reporting progress to our Board and to Arts Council England.
The Open Doors Project Manager will work with our Programme Manager to oversee specific projects across the remainder of this financial year. Key responsibilities include:
Project co-ordination - ensure activities dovetail with other planned programming by working closely with artists, delivery partners, venues and other stakeholders.
Project controls - work to agreed project controls, including performance monitoring and management.
Financial management - process and monitor expenditure for individual project budgets, adhering to all financial procedures and funder financial reporting requirements.
Stakeholder relationships - develop and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, and support the programme manager with network development.
Project monitoring - set and lead project meetings as needed to ensure development and delivery is on track, noting progress against targets and setting actions.
Marketing and communications - liaise with the marketing team to develop content that promotes activities and events and shares outcomes. Adhere to brand guidelines, using a friendly, approachable, inclusive, progressive and accessible tone of voice in all communications.
Reporting - meet monthly with the Programme Manager to report progress.
Evaluation and data collection - collect and log qualitative and quantitative data as agreed with the Programme Manager in line with reporting requirements. Produce quarterly reports to meet the requirements of the Board and Arts Council England.
Training and Development - identify training needs for staff and freelance creatives and co-ordinate delivery. Attend staff development days and training as required.
Applying Investment Principles - we are committed to delivering against the Arts Council England’s Investment Principles of Ambition & Quality, Dynamism, Environmental Responsibility and Inclusivity & Relevance. Ensure all projects embed these principles throughout development and delivery.
The ideal person for this role will have demonstrable experience of managing creative projects from inception to delivery in a co-created, participatory environment. You will have a proven track record of delivering funded projects, including comprehensive monitoring and evaluation. You will be a brilliant communicator and collaborator, experienced at working flexibly across multi-stranded projects.
Location and equipment
Our offices are based in Newark at the Palace Theatre and National Civil War Centre, where you will be based.
Fees
A fixed fee of £19,800.00 (inclusive of VAT) is available, with an additional £560 available for travel expenses.
Eligibility
Applicants must be UK residents, registered with HMRC as a freelancer or business, hold public liability insurance, and be willing to provide documents to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service check if required.
Applying
Please apply by sending your CV and a covering letter showing how you meet the criteria above to be able to deliver the brief.
Alternatively, your proposal format can be a video file (MP4) or audio file (MP3). Video or audio content should not exceed 2 minutes. If submitting a video or audio file, please send this via a file-sharing service such as WeTransfer or Dropbox.
Please send your application to opendoors@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk
The closing date for applications will be 12 noon, Thursday 31 July 2025.
Informal interviews during the first week of August 2025.
Further information
Please visit the Palace Theatre and National Civil War Centre websites for more information.