Director of Vocational Training

£54979 per annum | Full Time | Permanent

Marlowe Theatre | Canterbury | CT1 2AS

Job Purpose

Lead on the strategic development, management and implementation of the Marlowe Theatre’s vocational education programme in line with the ambitions and priorities in our business plan.

About The Role

The Marlowe Theatre’s mission is to be Kent’s engine house for the performing arts, shaping the spirit of our region.

We are committed to investing in the next generation of theatre-makers, recognising that vocational training sits at the heart of the long-term health, diversity and sustainability of both our organisation and the wider creative sector in Kent. Our next business plan sets a clear ambition to significantly expand our vocational training programme: creating accessible, high-quality routes into careers in the performing arts and actively addressing structural barriers to entry.

The Director of Vocational Training will be responsible for developing and delivering an ambitious strategy, building on long-term partnerships and forging new relationships. Working across the organisation, we want to be a centre of excellence for vocational learning and training, supporting people to study, work and build their creative lives in Kent.
Our current programme includes:
• The Marlowe Academy of Performing Arts, an educational programme in partnership with East Kent Colleges Group designed for 16 to 19-year-olds to gain world-class experience in the theatre industry, leading to a UAL Level 3 Qualification
• The national home of Matthew Bourne’s Cygnet School, a dance training programme for 12–24-year-olds
• Our award-winning apprenticeship programme, now in its fourth year
• Working in partnership with Canterbury Christ Church University to deliver a BA (Hons) Performing Arts Degree
• Over 1,000 hours of work experience for Canterbury College students
• Schools careers insights through our Shine a Light programme

We want to grow this work and develop a cohesive plan for vocational training, identifying skills gaps across the sector and creating meaningful training opportunities to address them. Harnessing regional and national opportunities, the Director of Vocational Training will drive this work at the Marlowe Theatre, putting us at the forefront of the skills development agenda.

You will bring your knowledge of UK skills frameworks and the higher or further education sector alongside your passion for creating access to careers in the performing arts. A strategic thinker, you will harness opportunities and be able to develop new ideas, creating coherent delivery plans using the expertise within the organisation to deliver best practice in vocational learning. You will strengthen our role on the national landscape through excellent communication, relationship-building, and advocacy.

About Us

The Marlowe Theatre is an independent charitable trust redefining how a theatre can combine commercial success with cultural purpose. Our mission is to be the engine house for the performing arts in Kent and shape the spirit of our region.

We bring a presented programme of West End musicals, national companies, a symphony orchestra season and high-profile tours to Kent audiences, in a year-round programme of theatre, dance, opera, music and comedy in our 1,200-seater Main House. We are now in our second year of successfully producing high-quality drama for the UK’s mid- to large-scale touring circuit, plus a series of small-scale family musicals, commissioned from exciting early-career creatives. We also co-produce our pantomime with Evolution Productions, which reaches audiences of 100,000 each year. Our 150-seat Studio is dedicated to the development of new ideas, with a mix of Research and Development, sharings and presented shows.

We are committed to nurturing creative talent across the region. We support over 500 creatives as part of our Artist Network, alongside our Writers’ Room which develops regional talent and supports our producing aspirations. Our annual Writers’ Room Festival showcases work developed in the Writers’ Room, as well as new plays by leading writers.

Our ground-breaking work with young people gives them access to one of the best regional theatres in the country at the earliest stage of their careers and includes co-delivery of a UAL Level 3 Performing Arts course with East Kent Colleges Group; being the national home of Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures’ Cygnet School; supporting the BA in Performing Arts at Canterbury Christ Church University; a Youth Company that equips young people with vital social skills while offering their first access to professional theatre-makers; a Youth Voice initiative that amplifies young people's opinions to influence the shape of the Marlowe’s future; and partnering with the Royal Shakespeare Company as their Associate Theatre in the South East. As the largest performing arts employer in the region, we also provide apprenticeships and over 1,000 hours of work experience and careers-focused workshops for over 800 students every year.

We are fast outgrowing our spaces and developing major capital projects as a result, including turning the 800-year-old Poor Priests’ Hospital within the city walls into a Creative Learning Centre and free heritage destination, with support from Levelling Up and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. We are also looking towards the long-term development of our theatre building, increasing our technical and producing capacity.

All of this is achieved without any public revenue funding. We operate through a resilient and entrepreneurial model driven by box office income, secondary spend, memberships, and philanthropy. Our loyalty strategy has built one of the most successful membership schemes in the UK, with over 9,500 members. Situated in the heart of the city centre, each year we welcome nearly 400,000 audience members and generate an estimated £50 million in regional economic impact.

Working With Us

We offer a comprehensive staff benefits programme designed to reward, support and inspire our people. Benefits include complimentary tickets to performances at the Marlowe, generous staff discounts in our on-site restaurant and café, enhanced pension contributions and access to additional annual leave after three years’ service.

Our award-winning People Plan underpins everything we do, featuring a wide-ranging Employee Assistance Programme for health and wellbeing support, and a staff wellbeing and social fund that enables teams to bid for exciting activities that promote connection and team-building.

More Information

See the full recruitment pack https://marlowetheatre.com/about/jobs/