Location: Gloucester/hybrid with some travel across the UK
Hours: 21-37.5 hrs per week
Salary: £60k – £65k pa
Report to: CEO
Join The Music Works: drive creative vision, empower young talent, expand our impact
The Music Works is seeking an experienced, visionary Artistic Director to take on this pivotal leadership role within our organisation. This critical position will be instrumental in shaping our artistic strategy and driving our mission forward. As we expand our national footprint and industry influence, this is your opportunity to play a crucial role in building upon our strong foundation and making a lasting impact on the lives of young people and the future of the music industry.
About the role
As our Artistic Director, you will be at the very heart of The Music Works, serving as the driving force behind our creative vision and the key bridge between our organisation and the music industry. This pivotal position is central to our success and future growth. We’re looking for a dynamic leader who can bring fresh perspectives and innovative ideas to complement and enhance our existing work, while playing a crucial role in shaping our strategic direction.
Reporting to the CEO and working as a key member of the Senior Executive Team, you will:
- Develop and implement an ambitious artistic strategy that aligns with our values and mission, and positions us as a national leader
- Shape and oversee our creative programmes, ensuring they remain innovative, inclusive, and impactful on a national scale
- Build and nurture relationships with key industry partners, such as our partnership with Warner Chappell Music, creating opportunities for our young people
- Drive and shape the strategic vision of our creative careers programme, developing pathways for young people from first access to the industry through to sustainable careers, leveraging our national networks
- Link to Onatura, our commercial record label, management and publishing arm, providing creative direction and industry expertise
- Provide creative leadership to our team of Senior Leadership/Management Teams, music leaders, studio engineers, and young creatives
- Lead the strategic review of our events programme, assessing its alignment with our artistic vision and mission, and determining the future direction
- Implement the agreed events strategy, whether that involves refining, expanding, or pivoting our approach
- Work closely with our Associate Artistic Directors to keep our work relevant, authentic, and youth-led
- Represent The Music Works in industry forums, events, and networks, building our profile and influence
This is a strategic leadership role with significant scope for national impact. You’ll have the opportunity to shape the future direction of our creative work, build game-changing industry partnerships, and make a real difference to the lives and careers of young creatives.
Person specification
We are looking for a dynamic individual who can demonstrate the following competencies:
Essential:
- Leadership and vision:
- Proven ability to develop and articulate a compelling creative vision
- Experience in leading and inspiring diverse teams towards a common goal
- Track record of nurturing and developing talent in others
- Music industry expertise:
- Extensive knowledge of the national music industry landscape
- Established network and credibility within the music industry
- Understanding of current trends, challenges, and opportunities in the sector
- Community and youth engagement:
- Significant experience in community/arts development, youth work, or place-based development
- Demonstrated ability to design and implement programmes that engage and empower young people or communities through the arts
- Understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities in community-based creative work
- Collaborative leadership:
- Demonstrated ability to unite stakeholders around a shared vision
- Experience in building and maintaining strategic partnerships
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work effectively across all levels of an organisation
- Commitment to inclusion and diversity:
- Passionate advocate for youth voice, inclusion, and diversity in the music industry
- Experience in implementing inclusive practices in creative programmes
- Proven track record of championing underrepresented voices in the sector
- Strategic thinking:
- Ability to develop and implement long-term strategies aligned with organisational goals
- Experience in assessing program effectiveness and making data-driven decisions
- Capacity to balance artistic vision with practical considerations and resource constraints
Desirable:
- Event Production: Experience in developing and producing music events or festivals
- Project Management: Strong project management skills, including budget management and timeline adherence
- Fundraising: Experience in securing funding or grants for community-based arts initiatives
How to apply
At The Music Works, we are deeply committed to diversifying the music sector and creating a more inclusive industry. We strongly believe that diversity in leadership is crucial to achieving this goal and driving meaningful change. As such, we actively encourage and warmly welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, particularly those from the global majority communities.
In line with The Music Works safeguarding policy, this job is subject to enhanced DBS checks and satisfactory references.
To apply, send your CV to recruitment@themusicworks.org.uk.
We also ask that you complete an equality form, Click here to access. (this is anonymous and is only to help us make sure we are reaching a broad range of people).
Closing date is 30th September but we reserve the right to close early if the right candidate is found.
If you would like to discuss the role beforehand then please email dpotts@themusicworks.org.uk or mpatterson@themusicworks.org.uk to arrange a time to talk.
If you have a disability and need reasonable adjustments made so that you are able to fully participate in the interview process, we will ask for further information about this if you are successful in being called to interview. We use positive action under section 159 of the Equality Act in relation to disability or race. This means that if we have two candidates of equal merit in our process, we may seek to take forward people from global majority or protected characteristics to help us build an inclusive and diverse environment.
Benefits of working with us include:
- Pension is 3% of basic salary
- Flexible working
- Lots of staff training and development opportunities
- Cycle to work scheme
- Enhanced maternity policy
- Wellbeing and social programme for staff
- Annual leave entitlement: 22 days plus bank holidays plus all the days between Christmas and New Year
- Staff can request additional unpaid leave throughout the year
- An amazing staff team and culture
