Applications are now open for our second Trainee Artistic Director!

A celebratory group shot of visually impaired drag artists, all dressed in a variety of colourful and outlandish costumes. Some people pose while others grin and have their hands in the air.

Quiplash: Unsightly Drag, 2019-20.

About Extant

Extant is the UK’s leading professional performing arts company that explores visual impairment to create unique and innovative artistic experiences, placing visually impaired (VI) people at the centre of all it does: from the productions we create, to the artists we support, to the audiences we perform to and the participants we work with. Extant is an award-winning company and are funded by Arts Council England as a National Portfolio Organisation as well as several trusts and foundations.

Since our inception in 1997 we have produced 8 ground-breaking national/international theatre productions led by VI artists, including pioneering work on 3 site-specific and multi-sensory productions. We have developed 11 VI Associate Artist productions since 2016 and our pioneering Pathways programme was the first programme in the UK to support emerging VI artists. We have supported the career development of over 250 VI artists and our ongoing programme of training, participation and access consultancy provides a 360 approach of interlinked activity for VI participants, audiences and artists.

The Role

Our Trainee Artistic Director will be an imaginative, dynamic and articulate visually impaired person with experience of working in the performing arts.

Start: Early December 2024, 15 months fixed term contract, ending February 2026

3 days per week (0.6 FTE)

Location: Hybrid – the TAD expected to be in the Extant office at Brixton House, London regularly (at least 2 days a month) to build relationships with Extant staff. We are open to supporting non-London based candidates to undertake the traineeship.

Responsible to: Artistic Director/CEO

Works closely with: Operations Director, the Board and Administrator and Projects Coordinator

Salary and Benefits

  • £30,000 per annum pro rata
  • 20 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays per year pro rata (12 days and 4.8 days respectively)
  • Occasional evening and weekend work will be required for which time off in lieu will be given
  • Pension
  • Employee Assistance Programme
  • Training and Development Budget
  • Theatre Ticket Budget.

Recruitment

We are holding two x 1hr Zoom FAQ sessions where you will have a chance to ask our CEO/AD Maria Oshodi, current Trainee Artistic Director Ben Wilson and Administrator and Projects Coordinator Ellen Jupp any questions about the role.

FAQ 1: 4pm Wednesday June 12th 2024

FAQ 2: 11:30am Monday July 8th 2024

The FAQ session dates have now passed, please find at the bottom of this page some of the questions and answers that were asked.

Please read the job pack and send a CV and Cover Letter (as word documents) to [email protected] of no more than 2 pages which demonstrates how you meet the person specification and includes answers to the following questions:

Why is the TAD role right for you right now?
What excites you about the role?
What can you bring to Extant? 
Where did you hear about the TAD role?

You can send us a video or audio recording of your CV and Cover Letter (no longer than 5 minutes per document) if you prefer.

Once you’ve submitted your application, please complete an equal opportunities monitoring form which can be found here: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/ExtantEqualOpps

Closing date for applications: Friday 16th August at 10am

Stage 1 Interviews (online): Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th September

Stage 2 Interviews (in person): Thursday 19th September 2024

For more information on how to apply, please view the job pack below:

Trainee Artistic Director Job Pack

Trainee Artistic Director Job Pack Large print

TAD FAQ Questions and Answers

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