- Hours: 2 days per week average for 10 weeks – split across weekday evenings & some weekends (for events) & standard daytime working hours (for communications and back office work). Working hours are flexible.
- Pay: £13.50 per hour (£26,325 pro rata, fixed-term contract). You will be paid for all hours worked and will need to complete a monthly timesheet.
- Start: w/c 25th March 2024
- End date: w/e 27th May 2024
- Location: Combination of work from home or office (S2 postcode) & venues across Sheffield. (Please note, our office is accessed by a narrow staircase and does not have an accessible toilet.)
- Closing date for applications: Friday 26th January 2024
- Interviews: w/c Monday 12th February 2024
Founded in 2015 by Opus Independents, Festival of Debate creates opportunities to bring people together to share new ideas and lived experience that can help shape our understanding of the world.
Each year the festival hosts more than 50 events in April and May, delivered with a range of partners including grassroots campaign groups, voluntary and community groups, universities and think tanks. The annual programme includes discussions, Q&As, artistic responses, keynote speeches, performances and plays that explore politics, economics and society. Events are hosted across a range of venues and events spaces in Sheffield.
Key Roles
- To coordinate production and delivery of the 2024 festival programme in collaboration with the Festival of Debate team, creating the conditions for a series of high-quality, well-run public events.
- To ensure the requirements of each event – including staffing and equipment – are met in full, with any gaps in provision recognised and addressed ahead of time.
- To work closely with colleagues on any last-minute issues and changes to the programme.
- To recognise and address areas for improvement – for this year’s programme or for future years.
Key Responsibilities
- To ensure the smooth and efficient running of the festival through production meetings, planning and timelines.
- To work closely with colleagues including the Festival Director and Festival Administrator.
- To be a point of contact for partner organisations, speakers and panellists to ensure effective collaboration on their events, including understanding production and technical requirements.
- To work closely with staff and volunteers to ensure all events are adequately staffed, that back-up staffing is in place as required, and that roles and responsibilities are understood by all.
Essential Skills & Experience
- Previous project management experience.
- Good written and verbal communication skills.
- Good interpersonal skills, ability to work as part of a team and with multiple external stakeholders and partners.
- Good knowledge of standard software and IT functions, such as email and Google Docs/Sheets.
- Ability to speak in front of an audience e.g. introducing the festival before events begin.
- Understanding of making events accessible.
Desirable Skills & Experience
- Basic knowledge of event tech – e.g. how to set up microphones and a PA system.
- Some familiarity with the city of Sheffield – e.g. knowledge of venues, key organisations, community groups and causes.
- Access to a car and a full driver’s licence.
- Interest and awareness of social, economic and political issues, in particular as they relate to grassroots activism and social/systems change.
Other Information
- Working hours will be split between daytime (communications) and weekday and weekend evenings (event delivery).
- For evening work, reasonable transport and subsistence expenses will be paid, subject to company policy.
- The role is being offered on a fixed term contract of 10 weeks – with the possibility of extension and/or recurrence in future years.
To Apply
Please send a copy of your CV and a statement or short video outlining why you are well suited to this role to hello@festivalofdebate.com by 9am on Friday 26th January 2024. Maximum 400 words written or 2 minutes of recorded audio or video.
Interviews will take place towards the middle or end of the week commencing Monday 12th February 2024.
In recognition of the inaccessibility of a lot of jobs and education, we will guarantee an interview to any disabled candidate who meets the essential skills and experience for this role. Please mention this directly in your application if it applies to you, because any other equal opportunities information you provide to us is kept separately to your application.
About Opus
Opus is a not-for-profit social enterprise based in Sheffield, established in 2008. Our projects include Now Then Magazine, Festival of Debate, Opus Distribution and UBI Lab Network.
Opus works to contribute upstream solutions to complex system problems. We do this through strategic partnerships, engaging arts and culture, research, identifying leverage points, and co-creation. We incubate and deploy services, projects, platforms, decentralised networks and movements proportionate to the challenges ahead.
Opus is multidisciplinary, cross-sector and adaptive, working across hyper-local, regional, national and international contexts. We work with citizens, communities, neighbourhoods, business, voluntary groups, cities, campaigns, research institutions, infrastructure organisations and governments to address the entangled ecological, social, economic, political and cultural crisis we collectively face.
We recognise that this is a long-term and systemic approach to social change. There are no easy fixes and few quick wins, so we spend our time and energy creating the space – whether that’s a platform, a network or something else – for new ideas to emerge and develop.
Opus reaches more than 150,000 people a year through live events, broadcasting and publishing in Sheffield and beyond.
Pay Rates
The rate of pay at Opus is currently £13.50 per hour. This equates to a pro rata salary of £26,325. This is what all Opus employees are currently paid, including the company’s Directors.
As a worker-controlled company, everyone gets a say on when and by how much we increase our hourly rate. Whenever we increase wages, we do so for everyone who works at the company.
Diversity & Equal Opportunities
Diversity in our workforce is a priority for Opus. As well as the clear moral imperative of properly reflecting our city’s make-up, diversity in our team improves how we work, how we ‘frame’ problems and their possible solutions, and how we interact with stakeholders and audiences.
We particularly encourage applications from a group that is under-represented. This includes, but is not limited to, Black, Asian and racialised candidates, disabled people, those who identify as LGBTQI+ and individuals from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds.
Please complete our Equality & Diversity Monitoring Form.
