London, UK
Festival partnerships manager
at Open City London
Open City London is looking for a festival partnerships manager to join its team in London.
Open City is seeking a new open house festival partnerships manager to be the lead stakeholder manager for the festival’s headline partner and other festival partnerships who support Open City charity’s work making London more open, accessible and equitable.
Salary: £28,000 to £32,000 pro rata depending on experience
Contract type: permanent
Hours: four days per week. Open City principally operates a four day week. We think this role is a four day position but are open to other proposals including job shares for the right candidates
Start date: March 2022/ASAP
Abstract
Open City makes London and its urban landscape more open, accessible and equitable. We help citizens of all backgrounds to understand and engage with how the city is designed and made, and have a role in shaping its future.
Open City creates a significant positive social impact through its diverse range of programmes from staging the annual Open House Festivals, to creating year-round educational initiatives and fostering critical dialogue and organising cultural events. As a result of Open City’s work, millions of people have learned about their city and explored boroughs and neighbourhoods they had never previously visited. Through our programmes, thousands of children and young people, in particular from under-represented communities, have been supported to learn about, and pursue careers in, architecture and city-making professions.
Open City is now in a period of exciting change and growth having appointed a number of new trustees and staff since the start of the pandemic including a new chief executive, a new head of education and empowerment and a new chief curator of the Open House Festival. The charity is embarking on an adventurous new year which will see it apply for the first time to join the Arts Council National Portfolio, deliver the most ambitious Open House Festival yet and significantly expand its young-people’s and volunteering programmes. We are looking for a careful and creative stakeholder manager to be the lead contact for the festival’s headline sponsors, supporting the charity’s partners and coordinating sponsored festival programmes to maximise social impact.
Job description:
- the main focus for the festival partnerships manager is to be the first point of contact for the festival’s headline sponsor. You will be a confident stakeholder manager who can oversee and support high-level relationships, and feel comfortable being the main point of contact within the charity. This will include coordinating meetings, communications and projects as well as giving presentations and sharing updates as needed
- as part of the management of partners, you will take a lead on coordinating marketing coverage on behalf of the partnership, producing content for the Open City website, social media and newsletters. You will work closely with colleagues in Open City to gather and frame information on relevant projects, attend stakeholder meetings and relay updates to internal and external stakeholders
- as well as working with the headline partner, you will support in developing the relationship with other existing festival partners and new potential partners. You may be expected to write and present partnership proposals based on preliminary meetings and research
- this role comes during an exciting time at Open City with a new chief executive, new trustees and restructured staff team. The successful candidate will have great autonomy to think creatively and help shape the work of the organisation as it seeks to become more socially engaged across its programmes.
Key roles and responsibilities:
- act as the Open City’s first point of contact for headline partner activities leading the communication and management of these important relationships
- identify new external potential partners and create effective relationships that align with Open City’s work and strategy
- organise and run public and private events as part of Open City’s partnership agreements
- initiate, research and prepare appropriate briefing information for senior management in advance of stakeholder meetings, conferences and presentations
- develop and lead online programmes, and create written and visual content in line with the charity’s overall festival marketing strategy
- actively engage with and demonstrate an interest in the work and mission of Open City
- support and collaborate with the Open City team across various programmes and events where necessary
- contribute to the overall curation of Open City and it’s programmes, proposing ideas, speaking on behalf of the charity and actively contributing to the development of the charity’s operations
- take an active role in improving Open City on behalf of the staff who work there and the audience it serves
Personal specification:
- proven experience working with a range of clients and stakeholders in an account executive or equivalent relationship management role
- experience of creating and producing communications for web, print and social media
- exceptional collaboration and relationship-building skills with the ability to develop strong working relationships with both internal and external stakeholders
- ability to organise and run small events for public and private audiences
- outstanding written and visual communication skills
- knowledge of and interest in London’s architecture and urbanism
- interest in the work and projects run by Open City
- excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to form good working relationships with internal and external stakeholders
- strong verbal communication skills
- good IT skills including Google Suites
- strong attention to detail
- ability to use initiative and work independently
- experience of working in a charity environment
Desirable:
- experience writing and managing basic annual budgets
- proficient in the use of Adobe InDesign
- own laptop from which to work remotely or in the office
Applications
Please send a CV and covering letter explaining your background and interest in the position and send your application addressed to Siân Milliner using the ‘apply’ link below with the subject line ‘festival partnerships manager job description’.
The deadline is midnight on Sunday the 20 February with interviews taking place on Friday 25 February 2022 at the Design District in North Greenwich.
If you have any questions about this role, these should be directed to Siân Milliner.