Towards A TakeoverProject Manager

(Temporary Freelance Contract Feb-May 2021)

Application Pack

Image description – four people seated in animated conversation in a Disconsortia artists networking meeting.

Image description – Disconsortia logo has a bright blue background rectangle and the organisation’s name spelled out in bold black lettering.

Contents

Thank you for your interest in Disconsortia and the Project Manager role we are currently advertising. We hope this pack contains all of the information you require but if you have any queries please don’t hesitate to contact us at disconsortia@gmail.com

How to apply General information about the freelance contract and fee A job summary Information about Disconsortia and background context for

Towards A Takeover Job Description Person Specification Access Definition of our use of the word disabled

How to apply

Please note that due to the specialist knowledge required for this role, we are recruiting a disabled person.

Once you have read the application pack and decided you’d like to apply please send us:

A completed application form – if you require a different format please let us know. Please note that we can accept video applications but only when it is an access requirement.

Please ensure that you use the application form to describe and demonstrate your experience, professional practice, and your suitability for the role using our person specification

An Equality Monitoring Form

DEADLINE: Strictly Midday Thursday 4 February.

Interviews take place online only on Wednesday 10 Feb from 1pm onwards. We are unable to offer other dates due to the panel members’ schedules.

We need the successful candidate to commence work in this role in February so please do not apply for this position if you are unable to start then.

Contract Duration and Fee

The contract offered is on a freelance basis lasting 30 days, February – May 2021, at a freelance fee of £5,400 inclusive (£180 per 7 hour day which can be worked flexibly, by agreement, over 210 hours). As this is a freelance position, the Project Manager is responsible for their own Tax and NI. The successful applicant must have their access to work support in place, if required. Our ideal candidate will be able to commence the role as soon as possible.

Job Summary

The Project Manager will be an experienced, proactive and organised disabled arts manager, taking on the lead role in delivering our Towards a Takeover project. You will be a dynamic, self-starter with excellent communication skills, with a minimum of three years senior project management experience. Your skills and experience will enable you to enter the role and swiftly put a multi-strand project plan in place, working closely with the board of directors and core membership of the collective. You will deliver the project to a timely schedule and on budget.

Disconsortia is a key voice in the arts in the North East, contributing to regional and national dialogue on disability arts. Towards A Takeover will be entirely online and includes: a consultation phase as we plan a regional artistic takeover with key partners; organizational and policy development; 2 networking meetings for North East disabled artists; a profile-raising postcard art project; a series of mini-micro commissions for our core membership to be shared online; report writing; and co-ordination of disability equality masterclasses and training the trainers workshops, delivered by a freelance practitioner. Support and supervision will be available from the Board of Directors, who your reporting duties will be to.

Disconsortia is a disabled-led organisation, passionate about disabled peoples’ position in society, art and culture. Experience and knowledge of this area of work is essential.

Image description - Lisette Auton is performing as Crip Mistress in full bright red ringmaster costume and hat. She is holding a red piece of paper and is in fierce spoken word flow. Disconsortia DIY Cabaret. Photo Credit Kev Howard

About Disconsortia

Disconsortia is a collective of sixteen disabled artists based in the North East of England, formed to create an artist led infrastructure of platforms, opportunities and influence where none currently exists. Disconsortia is a company limited by guarantee with a board of three directors, who were founding members of the organization and who are there to serve the members, mission and ambition of the organization. The organisaton employs freelance staff to deliver its projects and is currently a project funded organization.

Background

Towards A Takeover follows our successful At The Table programme and online exhibition, made possible by an emergency response award from Arts Council England. We consolidated and registered Disconsortia as a company limited by guarantee, with a Board of Directors and a core membership in place, comprised of members of the collective. Preceding the pandemic our aim had been to create a regional artistic takeover project with key partners and to open up the organisation with networking and professional development opportunities for disabled artists in the North East. Towards A Takeover is Arts Council England funded. www.disconsortia.co.uk

Image Description – A white tee shirt with large red lipstick lips kiss on it. In a Rocky Horror Show type font it also says ‘Criptease – we’ve got bite’. Designed by Vici Wreford-Sinnott for Pauline Heath’s Get Shirty protest art tee shirt collection.

Towards a Takeover Project Manager

Job Description Take a lead, in partnership with the Board and Disconsortia

working groups within the membership, to develop our profile our position, role and project work.

To coordinate organisation and policy development for the organisation.

To work within, and promote, Disconsortia’s ethos and working methodology, which includes the social model of disability

Forge and maintain new and existing relationships with key partners & stakeholders

Create and communicate a clear and effective Project Management Plan, with streamlined schedules and effective record keeping systems that make best use of time and resources across all aspects of Towards A Takeover

To promote ongoing active involvement of all core members and encourage use of our discussion boards on SocialArtery

Plan, manage and oversee commissions and the disabled artist and disability equality masterclass programme

Create ideas and opportunities for promoting the core messages and work of the company on our website, social media, media and blog articles

Prepare and distribute key papers, contracts, itineraries for projects

Create a database of key contacts including stakeholders / artists / venues / policy makers / press and distribute marketing and promotional materials when relevant

Project manage events/ openings/ press opportunities Develop innovative ways to evaluate and share our impact Be aware of and contribute to applications for new funding

opportunities from a diverse range of sources for project-specific grants, ongoing core costs and company growth

Person Specification A minimum of three years project / organisational management

experience at a senior level coordinating mutli-strand projects Ability to create a good working relationship with the core

members of the collective Have built lasting partnerships in the arts A knowledge of Disconsortia’s role and position in the arts sector Ability to forge strong lasting partnerships across the arts in the

North East Good working knowledge of working online, including video

conferencing, event organisation and booking, arranging access provision, ticketing eg eventbrite

Excellent project management skills including planning, communication, time keeping and scheduling (particularly in a disability context), financial record keeping, pr and social media skills, ability to mutli-task across all strands of the project,

Passionate about disabled-led arts, and more broadly diversity and social justice in the arts, with an understanding of both the challenges we are facing and our potential to change the cultural landscape

A good knowledge of disability arts history and the social model of disability

A good knowledge of the discussions about arts recovery from the pandemic, regionally and nationally

Excellent collaboration and communication skills, setting and working to agreed timelines with working groups and external partners

Have a positive, open and honest approach A commitment to creating an accessible working environment for

all involved in our work A knowledge of the current fundraising landscape Have a good knowledge of social media platforms to promote the

work of Disconsortia Rigorous organisational and multi-tasking skills with attention to

detail Working knowledge of providing information and artwork in a range

of accessible formats

AccessWe aim to ensure our work is as accessible as possible and to promote good practice to all we work with. As a freelance disabled professional with recent experience, we are assuming that you have access support in place from Access to Work if required, however if this is not the case please do get in touch to discuss this further. Email disconsortia@gmail.com

**Definition of disabled

We work to the social model of disability which says that society disables people through its poor and unequal services, through systemic barriers and prejudices, and through the attitudinal, physical, psychological, sensory and neurotypical obstacles in all areas of life.

The umbrella of disability generally includes a very wide range of conditions, sometimes referred to as impairments, as long term health problems, mental health, chronic health conditions, neurodivergence, sensory conditions including being a blind or visually impaired person or a D/deaf or hearing impaired person, and learning disabled people. Our current overview includes anyone who may be either discriminated against or excluded on the basis of such a condition.

We understand that the term disability has traditionally been regarded as a negative term because it has been medically and economically loaded with descriptions around deficit. We challenge those narratives and reclaim the term disabled as a political act to describe the inequality we experience. The deficits lie in society and the way it is organised.

We describe ourselves as a disabled-led organisation working with disabled artists. However, we completely respect however you choose to describe yourself.

Don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

We look forward to receiving your application. Thank you