Job Summary
Theatre company Talking Birds is looking for a General Manager to take care of the company’s finances, office systems and project administration and play a key role in the growth and development of Regenerative Creative Practice at The Nest in Coventry.

Job Description


This role would suit a professional administrator/manager who is excited by the transformative power of the arts and its capacity to effect positive change. We are looking for someone who enjoys working as part of a team while…

Job Summary

Theatre company Talking Birds is looking for a General Manager to take care of the company’s finances, office systems and project administration and play a key role in the growth and development of Regenerative Creative Practice at The Nest in Coventry.

Job Description

This role would suit a professional administrator/manager who is excited by the transformative power of the arts and its capacity to effect positive change. We are looking for someone who enjoys working as part of a team while being independently motivated to play their part in delivering an ambitious and wide-ranging programme of work.

Though not an artistic role, the General Manager is a big part of a small team and we ask everyone to draw on their knowledge, skills, lived experience and creative ideas in working collectively to shape the company’s vision and deliver its programme – encompassed by the belief that anyone can have ‘the best idea in the room’.

Hours: 0.8FTE (30 hrs based on 37.5 hrs per week)
Contract: Permanent
Salary: £32,760 pro rata (£26,208 for 0.8 FTE)

Talking Birds is a theatre company based in Coventry since 1992, known for its thoughtful, playful, resonant, mischievous and transformative meditations on people and place. Our values (Kindness, Brilliance, Transformation, Curiosity, Wellbeing, Collaboration) combined with our ‘six big ideas’ (about artist process & support; access & participation; climate conscience; agency, equity & diversity; nurture & resilience) weave through our work and guide our choices and interactions.

We put accessibility at the heart of our work and are pioneering affordable, mobile captioning with The Difference Engine. Work at our purpose-built shared creation space, The Nest, models an active commitment to climate justice and equitable, regenerative relationships (with people and planet). Here we explore and share Regenerative Creative Practice with a diverse, climate-conscious community of artists (we call them the Flock) engaged through our Nest Residencies, support network (F13) and Third Fridays programme. It is also home base for Talking Birds’ popular Outdoor Arts/touring productions, including the iconic big metal Whale.

Job Requirements

Essentials include:

• Experience of company administration
• Experience of financial management including book-keeping, budgets, cashflow and accounts
• Strong IT skills (we use Xero accounting package)
• Knowledge of HR processes including working with freelancers and temporary company members
• Ability to negotiate, problem solve and be a solutions-focused team member who likes a challenge
• Experience of project monitoring and evaluation
• A commitment to supporting and promoting Regenerative Creative Practice

Desirables include:

• Experience of supporting a company Board
• Experience of VAT accounting/returns, payroll and pensions
• Experience of statutory reporting to Companies House & HMRC
• Experience of current Arts Council England NPO reporting procedure
• Experience of developing funding bids and working with funders

Job Responsibilities

This role has some very specific areas of responsibility which cut across all our projects and activities, including:

• Financial Planning & Management
• Funding
• Monitoring and evaluation
• Working with our Board
• Company Management & Administration

Please see the Job Pack for more details.