Lighting Up The Lea Program Manager

Gasworks Dock Partnership (GDP) is a registered charity based in the East London Borough of Newham and manages the regeneration and development of Cody Dock into a Creative Industries and Community Quarter.  As part of its vision, GDP has rehabilitated Cody Dock and created new heritage, arts and creative workspace, providing jobs and public facilities with the aim to foster greater community cohesion and civic pride through the collaborative restoration and celebration of the area’s waterways, rich industrial, social and environmental heritage.

Newham’s history is deeply intertwined with the River Lea and this new role, funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, aims to celebrate this connection and further develop Cody Dock’s heritage and cultural programming through a three year program of public events, exhibitions and activities under the umbrella of ‘Lighting Up The Lea’ [LUTL].

GDP produces and participates in a number of local, regional and national annual events, often partnering with The London Festival of Architecture, Open House, Totally Thames Festival and national campaigns such as the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, the World Wildlife Fund’s Saving Our Wild Isles and the Bat Conservation Trust’s Sunset Surveys. 

Interpretation will be a significant element of our LUTL delivery program that will touch every corner of our 2.5 acre site, filling it with publicly accessible heritage walks, sculptural installations, information boards, wayfinding, interactive cabinets of curiosities, history timelines, audio histories and virtual exhibitions and guided tours. Using materials that echo the Lea’s natural and industrial past, the creation of our interpretation will employ traditional crafts and provide commissioning opportunities for local artists. The aim of LUTL is to engage new audiences with the many different facets of the Lea’s long history through all its stages of development from open marshland, through early habitation, mediaeval landscape, industrialisation, its regeneration and re-emerging wildlife habitat thereby increasing people’s appreciation and inspiring them to become more engaged in its future.

You will be responsible for developing and delivering a program of agreed events and installations from start to finish, contributing to the creative vision, and be responsible for logistical planning and on-site execution of these events. You will liaise with event staff, key external partners, artists and stakeholders to ensure that all event and installation elements come together seamlessly. 

As part of the role you will also liaise with our existing heritage, environmental, community and education programs to facilitate their inclusion within our events and exhibition content, and lead on  the marketing and promotion of these activities.

Event design & Curation:

• Stakeholder engagement with local communities and cultural organisations, providing them with opportunities to co-design cultural and heritage celebrations
• Commissioning and curating LUTL program of events
• Curate 4 annual exhibitions and 4 open days
• Produce artist and design briefs
• Liaise and vet potential external event producers and serve as the lead producer on assigned projects, including but not limited to: community events; private and commercial events.
• Support the production of regular in-house events in collaboration with GDP project leads
• Identify and appoint workshop artists and performers for events

Event Pre-production:

• Develop comprehensive project plans that identify all deliverables, milestones, and required tasks, and assign responsibility for each task to a specific team member or vendor
• Manage event budgets and track all invoices and expenditures to ensure accuracy and adherence to the agreed budget 
• Site plans, risk assessments, volunteer end event stewarding packs
• Manage associated tendering and interviews
• Adopt existing and develop and implement new strategies for managing event logistics

Event Production:

• Serve as the primary point of contact for all event stakeholders
• Support and supervise event staff and workshop leaders
• Work with the Volunteer Manager to support and coordinate event volunteers and stewards
• Artist, event staff and vendor management
• post-event wrap-up

Press, Communications and Marketing:

• Promotion and publicity of LUTL program; coordinate with other team members and providers (e.g. Website provider) to develop and implement promotional campaigns that generate awareness and excitement for the event.
• Generate event based social media and web content
• Produce digital and printed media for event flyers and posters
• Advertising
• Prepare content for online Sales platforms
• Prepare press releases (and maintain PR contacts)

Reporting, Monitoring & Evaluation:

• Write post-event reports detailing successes, challenges, and lessons learned to improve performance and contribute to funder and stakeholder reports

General:

• Engage with Cody Dock’s volunteering, community, wellbeing, urban ecology and education programs.
• Participate in relevant training and development to improve skills and knowledge.
• Ensure all projects align with and further GDP’s charitable aims and objectives.

Qualifications and Knowledge

Essential

Educated to degree level: BSc in related events, live performance, arts or heritage fields; or with demonstrable equivalent experience (continued service in relevant role)

Desirable

• MSc in related arts, heritage or events production fields
• Level 3 Safeguarding
• Extended DBS check (GDP will apply for Extended DBS checks on behalf of successful candidates if candidates do not have a DBS check prior to application)

Skills and Experience

Essential

• Experience of project managing and delivering arts and/or heritage-focused events and exhibitions.
• Project budget management
• Ability to work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders to deliver funding outcomes
• Project and volunteers’ management skills
• Experience of digital communication platforms
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Solid organisational skills, including attention to detail and multitasking skills
• Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office; PowerPoint; Word; Excel, Gmail and Google Drive, and social media platforms
• Experience of developing and sustaining excellent relationships with stakeholders
• Self-motivated with ability to work under their own initiative
• Strong familiarity with project management software tools, methodologies, and best practices

Desirable

• Proven track record in event and exhibition curation
• Proven track record of exhibition, theatre or arts venue technical management
• Experience of working with the project management tool Monday or equivalent
• Experience with working with and inputting data on CRM databases e.g. Salesforce or equivalent

Personal attributes

Essential

• Ability to understand and communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences, both verbally and in writing.
• Ability to work with a range of people including children and those with SEND and vulnerable adults.
• Interested in the personal development of service users and able to offer good support and guidance.
• Ability to network with necessary contacts and develop strong partnerships.
• A creative, confident and warm personality.
• Well organised, proactive and thorough.
• Friendly and approachable manner, with the emotional intelligence to lead creatively and empower others to maximise their strengths.
• Proactive with a can do attitude.
• A passion for increasing participation and inclusion through this work, improving representation of the local community.
• Ability to work within the boundaries of confidentiality.
• A commitment to the vision, mission, aims and values of Cody Dock.