The Place, the UK’s premiercentre for contemporary

dance, is where dance is going next

For over forty years The Place has been a driving force for contemporary dance in England and Europe, and it remains one of the world's key resources for dance development. We are a home for dancers and dance-makers, nurturing artists from the earliest stage to mature world-class talent.

The Place’s work is divided into five strands of activity:

  • Creative Teaching and Learning: researching and delivering dance education and outreach projects, and developing and sharing expertise
  • London Contemporary Dance School: a world-leading dance conservatoire training around 180 students at undergraduate and postgraduate levels
  • Richard Alston Dance Company: an internationally renowned touring company led by Richard Aston
  • Recreational and Prevocational Dance: providing opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to participate in dance, and progression opportunities to realise talent
  • Theatre and Artist Development: presenting 150 performances each year from UK and international artists in the Robin Howard Dance Theatre, and providing extensive professional development support for dance artists

Our mix of activities creates an ecosystem for contemporary dance unlike any in the world, whilst the strong interdependence of our different strands of activity, co-existing within a single organisation, yields huge added value, both artistically and financially. The Place’s holistic, 360-degree range of activity creates a fertile artistic environment in which great dance can be developed and experienced by everyone.

The Place has a vital role to play in dance development in the UK. It is uniquely placed to enhance the sector’s ability to support independent dance artists. We provide the space and conditions they need to take the creative risks that keep the art form alive, and help them attain greater profile and integration within the UK and European dance communities.

The Place’s plans for the future build upon our history of achievement, underpinned by our flexible business model that draws on a range of public and private funding sources and self-generated income, enabling us to continually adapt our activity to meet the changing needs of the dance sector at all levels.

The Place currently employs 92 full and part-time staff – dancers, teachers, producers and administrators – and works with nearly 300 casual staff. Our annual turnover is in excess of £6.5million, with approximately two-thirds of our income from statutory funding, and one-third earned and fundraised income. The Place’s building, which incorporates 11 dance studios together with our theatre, is fully accessible to disabled people, and The Place has a firm commitment to equal opportunities for staff, students, artists and users of our building and services.

We are committed to developing new and enhanced ways of engaging participants and audiences whilst continuing to focus strongly on building a sustainable future for dance as the UK’s leading supporter of dance artists. Through all of our work we will continue to transform and enrich lives through dance and to shape where dance is going next.

Richard Alston Dance Company

Based at The Place, Richard Alston Dance Company is one of the UK’s most acclaimed companies.

"Alston is one of the few real dance makers in the world and he can show us how, when real dance comes along, it changes everything"
The Times

Launched in 1994 to great acclaim, Richard Alston Dance Company has grown into one of Britain’s most celebrated contemporary companies.
Alston is one of the most inspiring and influential figures in British dance. He choreographed his first work in 1968 as one of the original students at London School of Contemporary Dance, directed this country’s first independent dance company, Strider, and was Artistic Director of Rambert Dance Company from 1986 to 1992.
In building its repertoire, Richard Alston Dance Company focuses on Alston’s new choreography but combines this with the re-creation of seminal works from his career, including recently Soda Lake (1981), Roughcut (1990), Rumours, Visions (1993) and Brisk Singing (1997). Music plays a vital part in the Company’s identity and Alston is rightly admired for the musicality of his work.

"A choreographer for whom every dance is a love affair with his chosen music"
The Times
The Company has participated in a range of musical collaborations including a Harrison Birtwistle retrospective with the London Sinfonietta and a commission to choreograph Rite of Spring for the BBC’s Masterworks series.

"Alston, one of Britain’s greatest choreographers, has been making sensual dances for 30 years. He is an outstandingly musical creative force"
Evening Standard

Richard Alston Dance Company tours throughout the UK and overseas, including annual London seasons at Sadler's Wells.

Programme Manager: Essential Alston 0.4. (Richard Alston Dance Company)

(Part time - 2 days per week)

Job Description

Essential Alston is the highly successful education outreach programme for Richard Alston Dance Company (RADC). Managed by Richard Alston Dance Company at The Place, the programme offers repertoire-based workshops, DVDs, resource materials and special projects to complement the Company's annual tour. It is led and managed by the RADC Education Programme Leader, with assistance from the Richard Alston Dance Company’s Administrator. Following the inclusion of Richard’s 2003 work Overdrive as a specified work on the 2009-11 GCSE dance syllabus, we wish to develop the programme and this appointment is part of that investment.

Role

In consultation with Richard Alston Dance Company (RADC) and the Director ofCreative Teaching and Learning , to devise and lead the education/outreach programme of RADC, providing repertoire-based workshops, web-based and other materials, and other resources for schools, the FHE sector and other beneficiaries of the project.

The Programme Manager is responsible for managing the programme budget, and leads on marketing current resources to teachers and anticipating potential future products, markets and platforms with the assistance of the Company’s Administrator and Marketing Officer.

Reporting to:Executive Director, Richard Alston Dance Company

Responsible for:Freelance dance tutors and assistants

Responsibilities

Management (10%)

  1. Direct the programme artistically and educationally in consultation with the Company’s Artistic Director and its Executive Director.
  2. Supervise evaluation of the programme and use this information to plan strategically for current and future seasons, in consultation with RADC personnel and the Director of Creative Teaching and Learning.

Workshop and Audience Development (50%)

  1. Secure education workshops/residences/projects for the Company in line with touring schedule. The post holder will be expected negotiate directly with schools and other purchasers by phone, email and in person.
  2. Actively encourage workshop participants to attend Company performances and liaising with the Marketing Officer in order to put together promotional offers to support this. This is vital in helping us secure and develop younger audiences for the Company.
  3. Lead on the development and delivery of special projects such as short residencies and INSET courses.
  4. Collate the Company’s educational contacts on a data base system in order to best support the bookings of workshops and help maintain good record keeping of the Company’s educational work in schools.

Budget and Staff Management (15%)

  1. Manage the programme budget effectively and take responsibility for achieving yearly agreed income targets on workshops/residencies/projects.
  2. Ensure all paperwork is passed to the Company Administrator for inclusion in the RADC ROPE sheet. Identify and recruit suitable dance artists to work alongside existing RADC dancers to deliver the programme and arrange suitable training for them, as well as offer advice, support and further training as necessary.
  3. Work closely with the Company’s Rehearsal Director and endeavour to use Company dancers (touring schedule permitting) to deliver educational workshops in order to reduce costs.

Administration (5%)

  1. Prepare artists’ timetables and contracts for workshop delivery
  2. Liaise with the Company Administrator over the day-to-day administration of the programme in order to facilitate booking of travel and accommodation for Essential Alston Animateurs and Company dancers.

Marketing and Website (20%)

  1. Identify the needs for the development of supporting material for the programme e.g. Production of visual, written and other educational resource materials for teachers, including material for The Place and The Alston studio websites.Work closely with the Artistic Director, the Executive Director and the Company’s Marketing Officer on the production, marketing and distribution / exploitation of filmed material.
  2. Responsible for the development and maintenance of the Alston studio website with assistance from the Company’s Marketing Officer.
  3. Responsible for contributing educational related information and new ideas for social media. e.g. Face book, vimeo, twitter and for the Alstonstudio website with assistance from the Company’s Marketing Officer.
  1. Carry out any other duties which may reasonably be required by the Executive Director of RADC.

Note: an appropriately qualified postholder may also be eligible to be a member of the Essential Alston teaching team. This would be governed by a separate agreement.

Person specification

An imaginative, strategic and dynamic dance professional with enthusiasm for the work of Richard Alston and proven experience of dance teaching and dance education projects and marketing, in school and other contexts.

Essential / Desirable
Educated in dance to degree level or equivalent
Substantial practical experience of dance education, including GCSE and 'A' Level Dance / Experience of teaching dance up to HE level
Excellent knowledge and understanding of the work of Richard Alston / High level of dance technical expertise
Good communicator, both orally and in writing, including writing website copy / Good presentation skills
Numerate, with experience of budget management.
Experience of producing and marketing resources for teachers, including web-based material / Knowledge / understanding of interactive resources
Computer literate: MS Office for PC, including Excel
Outgoing , organised, strategic-thinking and highly motivated
Able to work co-operatively as part of a busy team

IT/LN- July 2013

Hours

This is a part time position of two, eight hour days per week including a paid lunch hour each day. Evening and weekend work will be required from time to time for which time off in lieu will be given.

Salary

The salary is: £27,962. Salaries are reviewed annually in April where cost of living increases will be made if funding constraints allow.

Benefits

Benefits include access to Stakeholder pension scheme, interest-free season ticket loan (after three months), theatre ticket allowance, free access (subject to availability) to The Place evening classes and subsidised café and bar prices. We operate a salary sacrifice scheme for the purchase of bicycles and childcare vouchers. There is a weekly subsidised lunchtime staff yoga class.

Holiday

Full time annual leave entitlement is 25 days during the year (Jan – Dec), of which five days may be on dates determined by the line manager (e.g. Christmas shutdown), plus public holidays and bank holidays. For a part time post this will be pro-rated and in this instance would be 10 days including 2 days fixed by the line manager for shut downs etc.

How to Apply

Completed applications (comprising of completed application form and monitoring forms, no CV’s)(preferably by email) should be returned by12pm onThursday 8November 2013.

Laura Naldrett

Human Resources and Administration Manager

Email:

The Place

17 Dukes Road

London WC1H 9PY

Fax 020 7121 1142

The Place is committed to equality and diversity and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Monitoring information is collected and processed separately to applications, if you do not wish to disclose this information please return a blank monitoring form.

The Place is an equal opportunities employer and we are keen to ensure everyone applying for employment has an equal experience when attending an interview. Should you have any queries about, or wish to make us aware of, any support required to attend an interview or to work at The Place or would like this pack in alternative format please contact Laura Naldrett, HR and Administration Manager who will be happy to discuss this with you in confidence on 020 7121 1002 or email: (Please do not send applications to this address)

Interviews will be held on Thursday 21 Novemberat The Place.

We apologise that we are unable to respond to every application individually. If you have not heard from us please assume that your application has been unsuccessful.

Thank you for your interest in The Place.

Oct 2013

Date as download

Dear Candidate

Re: Application for post as advertised on the website

In accordance with our Equal Opportunities Policy I attach a form for you to complete and return to help us in monitoring our recruitment. Please would you complete and return the monitoring form along with the job application form, and return this to me by post at my address below, by the required closing date.

HR and Administration Manager

The Place

17 Duke’s Road

London WC1H 9PY

Yours faithfully,

Laura Naldrett

HR and Administration Manager

Please return this tear-off section indicating where you saw this position advertised.

Position: ______Advertisement : ______

Website (name): ______Other:______

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Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

The Place is committed to a policy of equality of opportunity in its employment and personnel practices. It aims to ensure that every employee or job applicant receives equitable treatment on the grounds of his/her gender, marital status, sexual orientation, race, religion, ethnic or national origins and nationality (including citizenship), age, disability, HIV or AIDS status and trade union membership.

The Place wishes to monitor the effectiveness of this policy and to prevent any job applicant being disqualified by conditions and requirements which cannot be shown to be justified. It is therefore important that you provide the following information by ticking the appropriate boxes. This information will remain confidential to the HR manager and will not be disclosed to those who are shortlisting and appointing to the vacant position.

Surname/Family Name………………………………………………………………

First Name(s) ………………………………………………………………

Post applied for………………………………………………………………

Gender Male  Female

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Ethnic origin (if other, please specify)

A White

 English
 Scottish
 Welsh
 Northern Irish
 Irish
Other White origin ……………………………

B Mixed

 White and Black Caribbean
 White and Black African
 White and Asian
 Other mixed origin ….………………..

CBlack, Black British, Black English, Black Scottish,Black Welsh or Black Northern Irish

 Caribbean
 African
 Other Black origin …..…………………..

D Asian, Asian British, Asian English,

Asian Scottish,Asian Welsh or Asian Northern Irish

 Indian
 Pakistani
 Bangladeshi
 Other Asian origin ……………………………….…

E Chinese, Chinese British, Chinese English,

Chinese Scottish,Chinese Welsh or Chinese Northern Irish

 Chinese
 Other origin ……………………………………………….

FOther ethnic group(please specify)

 .………………………………………………………………………......

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