Application Pack s8

Application Pack

Communications Manager Sheffield Theatres 1. Background

Sheffield Theatres Trust is the largest producing theatre complex outside London, nationally recognised for its excellent production values, high calibre casting and world-class creative teams. Our mission is to transform people’s lives through the power of live art.

Our vision is to be the pre-eminent regional theatre at the heart of the country’s cultural life. By 2018, we will produce great work, nurture creative talent and develop future leaders, we will drive a model of sustainability and innovation through our robust management and we will foster deep and lasting relationships with our partners and our diverse and increasing audiences.

Our values are to be bold, passionate and enriching, and our strategy to achieve our vision is three pronged:

 to create extraordinary productions  to grow and diversify audiences and  to drive a model of sustainability.

This strategy is underpinned by a commitment to the Creative Case for Diversity, children and young people, outstanding customer care, and embracing technological innovation.

Sheffield Theatres comprises two buildings; three theatres located in the heart of Sheffield City Centre on Tudor Square. The three auditoria are:

Crucible Theatre – the main stage for our produced and co-produced work. The intimate ‘thrust’ stage symbolises our distinctive open, democratic and accessible approach to theatremaking. All 920 seats are ‘equal’ and audiences on all three sides sit within 22 metres of the stage, creating an unusually direct and powerful connection with the performance.

Studio Theatre - a flexible space seating up to 450 which hosts a mix of small-scale in-house and touring productions, including a strong strand of new work. The Studio is also home to Music in the Round.

Lyceum Theatre – presenting a variety of theatre, including touring West End productions, opera and contemporary dance, as well as locally produced shows. The 1,100 seat ornate auditorium is remarkable in offering a superb, clear view of its proscenium stage from every part of the house.

For two consecutive years – 2013 and 2014 - we were named Regional Theatre of the Year in The Stage Awards. In 2015 we won the title of Most Welcoming Theatre for Yorkshire and the Humber in the UK Theatre Awards.

Our produced work spans a range of genres: classical revivals, new work, large-scale musicals and innovative and immersive theatre experiences. We have staged a Shakespeare in the autumn of every year for the last five years: Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night and Romeo and Juliet. This year, we are staging a new adaptation of a literary classic, Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

We have a strong commitment to fostering new and emerging talent which is reflected in our staging and commissioning of new work and collaborations with early-career artists. Our new work includes Bull by Mike Bartlett (Studio, Off Broadway and Olivier Award-winning at The Young Vic); Kes, a dance theatre adaptation of the classic novel, A Kestrel for a Knave; Love Your Soldiers by Robin Hooper; This Is My Family, a new musical by Tim Firth (Studio, Lyceum and UK Tour); The Nap, a play inspired by World Snooker, by Richard Bean and Flowers for Mrs Harris, a new musical by Richard Taylor and Rachel Wagstaff. We have also presented four writers’ seasons, which have brought three full productions to our stages, alongside readings, talks and workshops to explore the range of one writer’s work. These seasons have focused on David Hare, Michael Frayn, Brian Friel and, most recently, the complete works of Sarah Kane. Finally, we have received widespread critical and audience acclaim for our large scale musicals including My Fair Lady (2012), Oliver! (2013) Anything Goes (2014) and Show Boat (2015, transferring to the West End in 2016), and this year we will stage Annie Get Your Gun.

Context

The Communications Manager reports to the Communications & Fundraising Director (CFD). The CFD also leads the Fundraising, Sales and Programming teams who all work in close collaboration with each other.

The last twelve months have been a period of change for the organisation. For this role, the most significant of these changes include the appointment of a new Artistic Director, the implementation of a new CRM system (Spektrix), the launch of a new website and a new relationship with TRG Arts who specialise in supporting arts and cultural organisations to become more sustainable.

In July 2016, Robert Hastie joined the organisation as Artistic Director. Robert was previously an Associate Director at the Donmar. In November 2016 we will announce Robert’s first full season of work and begin a new chapter in Sheffield Theatres’ history. The arrival of new Artistic leadership offers a great opportunity for us to reshape our communications and review our brand identity.

Alongside the launch of the new season, we are revising our pricing structures and our transaction charges. This work is being informed by our relationship with TRG which will continue for the next three years and will ultimately offer us the opportunity for a wholescale review of how we develop audience engagement and maximise income potential.

Finally, since the implementation of Spektrix in 2016 we have undertaken two major on-sales (the 2017 World Snooker Championship and the season on-sale which included No Man’s Land) which smashed our previous Box Office and website traffic records; we have seen increases in point of sale donations and (alongside the launch of the new website), our online sales have rocketed. Spektrix offers us huge scope to develop our audience engagement, increase our fundraising income, up-sell and cross-sell more efficiently and drive online sales.

We are a bold and ambitious organisation with big plans for the future and the Communications Manager will be integral to how these plans develop.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Communications Manager Department: Communications Responsible To: Communications and Fundraising Director Responsible For: Deputy Communications Manager Communications Officers (2), Press Officer Main Purpose: To lead and manage the Communications team in delivering creative communications to promote the brand and the work; develop audiences and maximise income.

Key responsibilities:  Work with the Communications & Fundraising Director to develop and deliver the Communications Strategy in line with the Business Plan and Audience Development Strategy.  Lead and motivate the communications team to deliver creative campaigns and activity which are consistent with the brand and support the achievement of audience development, capacity and financial targets.  Manage communications with external contacts e.g. producers and promoters and collaborate with fellow managers to foster positive working relationships and networks.

Key Tasks:  Collaborate with the Communications & Fundraising Director to shape the Communications Strategy and develop campaigns and activity to meet the agreed objectives.  Manage and lead the Communications team to ensure they are well informed, customer focused and motivated to deliver excellent campaigns and activity across in-house and guest productions as well as our off-stage work.  Embed a creative and equally data-driven approach to communications, delivering timely and engaging activity within agreed budget parameters.  Work in close collaboration with colleagues within the management team, specifically the Sales & Customer Care Manager, Fundraising Manager, Programmer and Creative Projects Manager in the delivery of communications.  Manage the Communications budget, allocate funds to campaigns, negotiate spend and offers with producers and promoters and ensure delivery activity in line with budgetary constraints and financial targets.  Proactively pursue innovative approaches to communications and audience development, with particular emphasis on shifting the focus to maximise the potential of digital media as a communications and engagement tool.  Work with the Communications and Fundraising Director and the Artistic Director on the creation of images and collateral which reflects the Sheffield Theatres brand.  Oversee campaign planning for all our work, supporting the team to direct energy into the most appropriate channels for the relevant audiences.  Oversee the production of all materials and media (including brochures) and ensure that they are accurate and delivered to the highest possible standard within agreed timescales.  Develop an excellent, shared understanding of audience behaviour and make-up by embedding a research and evaluation process drawing on data from sources including Spektrix and Audience Finder.  Contribute to the Programming team through attendance at regular meetings.  Act as an advocate for Sheffield Theatres’ work and support the Communications and Fundraising Director in the development of the brand.

General  As a term of your employment you may also be asked to undertake other such appropriate duties as and when required of you, as well as being asked to work flexible hours to suit the operation of the organisation.  Participate in all training and development initiatives as required.  Comply with the organisation’s policies and legal obligation regarding health and safety, environmental health and employment practices.

PERSON SPECIFICATION/ COMPETENCIES

Essential:  Significant experience of working within the arts.  Proven experience of managing and monitoring budgets.  Experience of managing people and successfully leading a team to deliver engaging and robust sales and marketing campaigns.  Knowledge and experience of marketing and press management including a demonstrable understanding of processes including print production, advertising and web development.  A passion for the arts, for developing audiences and for exploring new and innovative approaches to communications.  Excellent communication skills and well developed negotiation abilities  Proactive and personable with an excellent eye for detail  Highly self motivated and organised with proven track record of delivering to sales targets within agreed budgets.  A demonstrable understanding of customer relationship management Desirable:  Experience of working with a Customer Relationship Management system  Knowledge and experience of working with local, regional and national media  Experience of providing communications support for fundraising, catering or learning activities  Event management experience  Experience of pricing and revenue management initiatives.

MAIN TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Salary: £32,252 per year

Probation: Appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of 6 months’ probation.

Hours: Nominal weekly hours are 40 excluding meal breaks. In addition you will be required to work such hours and/or days, including weekends and public holidays, as are needed to fulfil the requirements of the position.

Holidays: Holiday entitlement is 5 weeks 4 days per year increasing by a day each year up to a maximum of 6 weeks 4 days after five years’ service. This holiday entitlement includes Public Holidays.

Pension: On successful completion of the probationary period you are eligible to join a defined benefits pension scheme (The People’s Pension) with an employer contribution of 3.5% of basic pay and a minimum matching employee contribution. During your probation you will be auto enrolled into The People’s Pension in accordance with statutory deadlines and contributions.