Senior Arts & Culture Officer

Are you an experienced arts professional looking to make a significant impact in Dorset’s cultural sector? We have an exciting opportunity for you to join our leisure services team as a Senior Cultural and Arts Officer. This role, previously full-time, is now a permanent part-time job share opportunity.

About the Role: In this role, you will support Dorset’s cultural sector through working with our partners to build a strong infrastructure and deliver against Cultural Strategy priorities. Through our grants programme you will help support projects and organisations and a strong relationship with Arts Organisations across the County will be essential. Your key responsibilities will include:

• managing cultural revenue grants and project grant funding programmes.
• monitoring contracts and developing the Artz+ Sportz+ Programme for children with SEND.
• conducting grant assessments, data gathering, and report writing.
• writing funding applications and managing budgets.
• ensuring compliance with child protection legislation.
• recruiting staff for projects and managing freelance contractors.
• renewing the Cultural Strategy and monitoring arts development service contracts.
• identifying and developing collaborative strategic projects within Council services to benefit artists and organisations in Dorset.
• working closely with cultural leaders to understand and support the sector’s needs.

About You: We are looking for a confident, proactive individual who is passionate about supporting the cultural community in Dorset. The ideal candidate will have:

• relevant experience in the arts sector either in a management role or development role.
• strong organisational and project management skills.
• strong budget management skills
• excellent communication and presentation skills.
• the ability to work autonomously and manage multiple priorities.
• experience in service delivery and customer relations.
• knowledge of policy, legislation, and developments in leisure and cultural services.
• the ability to develop innovative and creative solutions.
• strong relationship-building skills with internal and external stakeholders.
• the ability to work well under pressure

We’re passionate about making Dorset a great place to live, work and visit. Working for us should be no exception. 

At Dorset Council we: 

• provide more than 450 services to over 300,000 residents 
• have ambitious aspirations  
• are excited about our future 
• care about Dorset and all the people who live here 
• know that all roles make a difference and that our employees are key to our success 

You will: 

• have access to a range of employee benefits  
• be part of an organisation that supports each other to grow and succeed 
• have access to range of training opportunities which will help with your personal development and career progression 

We are challenging ourselves to become a more diverse and inclusive organisation. We recognise that recruitment and inclusion of individuals with diverse skills, perspectives and backgrounds will bring real strength to the council and our communities. We have a commitment to equality and welcome applications from everyone. 

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We offer an interview to everyone who declares a disability and meets the essential criteria for the role. We are keen to make our interviews accessible. Let us know on your job application if you have a disability and need any reasonable adjustments. 

We also look for applicants who share our commitment to our values. We will ask you to evidence when you have demonstrated them as part of the selection process. 

This role is UK based and we will need to establish your Right to Work as part of the appointment process. 

We use generic job descriptions and person specifications. This means the job title on any attachments may differ from the job title in the advert. We may provide specific information in a context statement if relevant. 

Find out more about how to apply.