Head of Creative Programming & Deputy Director

• Reporting to: the Director
• Salary Range: £ 39,879.75 – £ 43,167.13
• Location: Holocaust Centre North, University of Huddersfield campus
• Type of contract: Permanent, full-time. For the right candidate, we will also accommodate a part time role. Some weekend and evening work might be required. 
• Deadline: 17 November 2024

About us

Holocaust Centre North promotes education on the Holocaust and post-Holocaust issues, to raise awareness of human rights, freedom, and equality. We do so by telling a global history through local stories, specifically those of survivors and refugees who rebuilt their lives in the North of England. Our work and collections tell stories of discrimination, persecution, forced displacement, exploitation, loss, difficult choices, intergenerational memory and trauma, but also of resilience, hope, and building new lives and families in the North of England.

Our work across collections, learning, communities, artistic research and survivor welfare seeks to foster a culture of care and promotes awareness about the relevance of Holocaust history in the present. We work closely with refugees of Nazi persecution, their families and carers, artistic practitioners, researchers and schools to create a space for nuanced dialogue about the ongoing relevance of the Holocaust. We strive to provide opportunities for reflection on the role that this dark chapter of our shared history plays in the now and to reframe Holocaust memory within contemporary critical frameworks.

We are looking for someone to support the Director to provide leadership and ongoing development of an effective multi-faceted team to ensure managers are supported and inspired to deliver an effective, high-quality integrated programme of work. The role will also be responsible for bringing consistency across our broader programming and manage our programme of residencies for contemporary artists, writers and translators.

About you

We are seeking a dynamic and inspiring individual to serve as the Deputy Director of Holocaust Centre North, supporting the strategic leadership of the Centre. You will join a talented and creative team committed to shaping the future of Holocaust education and commemoration through innovative, critically engaged and contemporary relevant projects. In this pivotal role, you will also oversee Memorial Gestures, Holocaust Centre North’s unique project of residencies for contemporary artists, writers, and translators, while also ensuring consistency across broader programming in public areas.

The ideal candidate will possess extensive experience in the literary, contemporary art, or interdisciplinary sectors and will be able to demonstrate a strong understanding of current cultural and artistic landscapes. They should have a proven track record of leading ambitious and innovative projects that challenge and inspire, while successfully engaging a diverse range of audiences and stakeholders. This background should include a deep familiarity with curatorial practices, artistic programming, and collaborative approaches that span multiple disciplines. The ability to navigate and influence complex networks, both within the arts community and broader public engagement sectors, is essential to ensure impactful and sustainable project outcomes.

You will be a visionary leader who thrives in collaborative environments, nurturing strong, positive relationships within teams and supporting the growth and development of colleagues. You will approach your work with empathy and creativity, ensuring that Holocaust Centre North’s public programmes foster meaningful reflection and dialogue in an ever-changing world.

You will demonstrate keen conceptual and analytical thinking, staying attuned to shifts in the wider landscape and adapting with insight and flexibility. Informed by current trends and issues, you will navigate change while remaining grounded in the organisation’s core mission. As a hands-on leader, you will be visible and engaged with front-line staff, understanding their challenges and offering practical support where it’s needed most. You will excel at making things happen, not just at a strategic level but by being actively involved and responsive to the needs of the team.

Memorial Gestures

Memorial Gestures is an art commissioning initiative that aims to produce contemporary artistic responses to our archive collections. Through a yearly programme of residencies—3 for visual and interdisciplinary artists, 1 for a writer, and 1 for a translator— the project offers participants the time and resources to create new work, develop their practice, and engage communities and/or other organisations in research. The Memorial Gestures programme’s past residents include: Jordan Baseman, Laura Fisher, Maud Haya-Baviera, April Lin 林森, Irina Razumovskaya, Ariane Schick, Matt Smith, Rey Conquer and Tom Hastings. Current residents are: Sebastian Chebo Roitter, Hannah Machover, Laura Nathan, Sierra Kaag, and Nathalie Olah. The ambition of the project is to contextualise the Holocaust within contemporary critical frameworks. Our curatorial aim is to use this platform to encourage artists and audiences who have historically felt excluded from engaging with Holocaust history to find ways to respond to complex and traumatic narratives. The project involves open studios, readings, publications, and a culminating exhibition, which will take place in June 2025 at Sunnybank Mills.

As part of our ambition to foster a culture of care, we also aim to develop a mental health initiative to help establish best practices for safeguarding the well-being of our workforce when engaging with traumatic stories. This is a crucial yet often overlooked issue in the field, and we are keen to address it by organising cultural labs to share our findings with major Holocaust organisations across the UK. 

To find out more about other key programmes of work, please check our website: holocaustcentrenorth.org.uk

Flexible Working

Holocaust Centre North is based on the campus of the University of Huddersfield, and we champion a flexible approach to working where this supports our business needs. We have formally adopted a hybrid working approach. This means that most employees will work from their contracted base in Huddersfield three times a week at minimum. Time spent elsewhere, for example visiting partner organisations or survivor families, is counted as part of those three days. The other days in the week employees may work from home.

JOB DESCRIPTION

• To be Holocaust Centre North’s Deputy Director, working with them to provide strategic leadership and management of the Centre’s work
• To direct Holocaust Centre North’s contemporary art and writing residency programme ‘Memorial Gestures’
• To ensure consistency across our public programmes Specific Responsibilities Deputy Director 
• Work with the Director on the development and delivery of the Centre’s strategic plan, helping to strengthen the Centre’s role as the Holocaust Museum in the North of England
• Lead on operational matters, ensuring appropriate systems are in place to support high-quality delivery, effective staff management processes and seamless internal communications.
• Line-manage members of the team and support them to effectively line manage others
• Support the Director to cultivate an organisational culture that emphasises care, respect, safety, and fairness, enabling colleagues to prosper and the organisation to effectively realise its mission.
• Support team heads to strengthen programming related to the Centre’s Exhibition, Education, Learning and Communities activities
• Work with the Director on funding applications and relationships as required
• Deputise for, and represent, the Director during periods of absence and at other times, as required. 

‘Memorial Gestures’

• Line-manage the Curator of Contemporary Practices, whose role is to deliver the programme on a day-to-day basis, including the management of artists-in-residence, the production of the end-of-year exhibition and any workshop within the programme.
• Oversee the writer and translator part of the residency program, including editing their final work to ensure it is polished and publication-ready.
• Ensure the Memorial Gestures programme aligns with the organisation’s strategic goals, maximising its potential for impact.
• Develop a comprehensive Programme Plan that outlines key actions, activities, timelines, and resource requirements.
• Act as a key representative of the programme, and work with our PR consultant to raise its profile, communicating its vision, achievements, and upcoming events.
• Cultivate partnerships with external organisations, including cultural institutions, educational bodies, and other relevant stakeholders. Leveraging these relationships to enhance the programme’s profile, for sponsorship and collaborative opportunities.
• Collaborate with the External Evaluator to collect both quantitative and qualitative data that measure the impact of the programme. Use this data to refine and improve the project’s reach and effectiveness.
• Where necessary, write project reports for the board or other stakeholders. Assist in preparing proposals and presentations that demonstrate the value and impact of the programme to prospective supporters.
• Stay informed of contemporary trends, methodologies, and technologies within the art world and Holocaust studies to ensure the programme remains innovative and relevant. Broader public programmes
• Line-manage and work closely with the Head of Learning, whose role is to deliver our programme of learning activities for school groups; and the Head of Communities, whose role is to extend our work to community groups that are currently under-represented in our work.
• Ensure our broader public programmes align with the organisation’s strategic goals, maximising their potential for impact.  
• Lead on impact measurement processes across our public facing programming

Other

• Provide reports for and contribute to Board of Trustee meetings where appropriate
• Carry out any other duties commensurate with the general level of responsibility of the post

PERSON SPECIFICATION

• Proven experience of working in a senior managerial role in the charity, arts, museum or cultural heritage sector
• Proven experience of strategic leadership at a senior level including strategic planning and implementation.
• Experience of managing individuals across a range of disciplines.
• Demonstrable experience and understanding of programme management and of running programmes that deliver long-term impact.
• Experience of programme management in the contemporary arts or literature sector (desirable). • Experience of writing funding bids or of collaborating with other team members to apply for funding.
• Editorial skills – proofreading, copy-editing, attention to detail, experience of editing creative written work.
• Experience of publishing process (desirable)

Knowledge and Skills

• Outstanding organisational skills and the ability to manage competing demands and supporting others to do the same.
• An ability to recognise the challenges of colleagues who sometimes must handle difficult and distressing materials, and ensure their wellbeing is supported
• Ability to work with a small group of staff in a collaborative way to set goals and make decisions that enhance organisational effectiveness
• Excellent communication, interpersonal and presentation skills that can be adapted for different audiences
• Knowledge of monitoring and evaluation processes and ability to translate data insights into operational activities
• Able to multi-task and quickly respond to opportunities or changing priorities
• Ability to think strategically and translate strategic goals into achievable objectives
• Ability to manage risk and recognise potential impact of decisions across the organisation.
• Ability to build strong working relationships with colleagues across the organisation and externally
• Knowledge of the history and/or historiography of the Holocaust or the context of artistic responses in the field (desirable).  
• Knowledge and understanding of the literary and/or contemporary art sector.

Qualities and personal attributes 

• Interest in the history of the Holocaust and traumatic histories.
• Adaptable, flexible, resourceful and driven.
• A personal commitment to equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practices.

Other

• High level of IT competence, especially Microsoft Office programmes.
• The legal right to work in the UK.

How to apply

To apply, please submit the following to a.bucci@hud.ac.uk by Sunday, 17 November 2024:

• Your CV
• A supporting statement that explains how your experience, knowledge, skills, and personal qualities meet the criteria outlined in the person specification
• A completed Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form (which you can download from our website: https://holocaustcentrenorth.org.uk/about/opportunities/)

For an informal discussion about the role before applying, you can contact the Director via the same email address. The process will consist of two interviews.