Join the National Poetry Centre as our Operations Manager and take on a foundational role, working to support Director Nick Barley and Chair Ruth Pitt in shaping the operations of what will become a unique national cultural venue.

The National Poetry Centre is the brainchild of the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage. Despite a 1500-year history at the heart of British cultural life, poetry has never had its own dedicated HQ. We intend to change that.

You will be working with a small but growing team in a busy start-up charitable office, which is currently planning a three-year phase of rapid organisational growth alongside a major capital project. The organisation is run by a Director, supported by an actively involved Chair and an expert board of non-executive trustees. You will liaise regularly with the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage (also a trustee) as well as funding bodies, senior stakeholders, politicians, poets, community groups and partner organisations such as the National Literacy Trust and the Poetry School.

Foundational support for the organisation is in place from key stakeholders – Arts Council England, Leeds City Council and the University of Leeds. A grant of £5m has been awarded by UK Government towards the capital project and an organisational resilience grant of £225k has been awarded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. These grants have triggered a programme of strategic planning activity which will feed into a further application to NLHF for a multi-million pound grant. The Operations Manager will be responsible for working with the Director and – when funds can be drawn down – a project manager to help progress this planning activity. The Operations Manager will also play a key role in overseeing administrative aspects of the capital project. A creative engagement officer will follow, to help develop a programme of events and activities in a range of different spaces.

The charity has moved into a small office in Woodhouse Lane, Leeds which will be its home while the capital project is completed. It is likely that most of your working time will be undertaken in the office, although a modest amount of working from home is possible.

Marketing support will also be available as we start to raise the profile of the National Poetry Centre, grow our online presence, build our database, hold occasional public events and make the case both socially, economically and politically for a national home for poetry, based in Leeds.

This post will be responsible for recruiting new staff when funds allow, and will oversee the organisation’s provision of administrative support for the Director and Chair and will in summary include budget writing and management, grant management, data and website management, risk assessments, help with funding bids, coordination of events and activities and liaison with the parties mentioned above.

This is a fast-changing and at times high-pressured start-up environment which requires flexibility, creative responses to challenges and resilience in the face of unexpected situations. An ability to cope with pressure is vital, and occasional out-of-hours working is likely. Experience of working in a charity is expected, and ideally you will have experience of working on a capital project or administering a major funding grant.

KEY ACTIVITIES

• Coordination and administration management for core National Poetry Centre team
• Write and manage the NPC’s annual and project budgets
• Grant management
• Provide administrative and budget support to the Director and, when appointed, a fundraising professional, on funding bids
• Liaising with funders and stewardship of associated stakeholders such as West Yorkshire Combined Authority
• Coordination of events and activities, including a UK-wide programme for young people, the National Young Laureates scheme, to be delivered in partnership with the National Literacy Trust. A further project with South West Yorkshire NHS Trust is in development, using poetry as a means to support people with mental health challenges. Other engagement events such as Rubbish Words and Light Night have already been successfully completed, paving the way for similar events in 2025 and beyond.
• Risk assessments
• Diary management
• Coordinating board, sub-group and stakeholder meetings
• Liaison with Poet Laureate as needed
• Updating website and liaising with marketing consultants as needed
• Co-ordinating recruitment as needed
• Setting up and managing a database ahead of the appointment of a communications manager
• Office management
• Working with the Director and external consultants to develop organisational strategies which will shape growth. These will include an engagement strategy; a fundraising strategy; an EDI strategy; a sustainability strategy and an audience development strategy

WORKING ARRANGEMENTS

• Permanent, full time (35 hours per week, subject to six-month probation period)
• Some evening or weekend working may occasionally be required to assist with project delivery. Time off in lieu will be given
• Based at a Leeds office, with flexible arrangements by agreement
• Reporting to the Director but also liaising closely with the Chair
• 25 days annual leave pro rata plus bank holidays

ABOUT THE NATIONAL POETRY CENTRE

The National Poetry Centre will be a major national cultural destination, based in Leeds and reaching out to the world – giving voice to people from every community in every corner of the UK. It is the brainchild of the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, who is actively engaged in the project. Fundraising and planning are underway with a programme of events already in progress and a physical building opening in 2028.

Poetry is the most accessible and democratic of art forms, common to all languages and cultures and enjoying an international boom in popularity as people seek ways to express themselves and make sense of our challenging world. A UK centre will elevate the position of poetry in national life, becoming the spiritual home for poetry as it is written, read, spoken and performed up and down the country. 

A building has been chosen and early concept drawings prepared. The project will breathe life back into an historic Leeds landmark, Trinity St. David’s, a former church and iconic nightclub currently lying empty in the middle of a regeneration area, on the edge of the University of Leeds campus and beside a major public transport route in the heart of the city. Leeds City Council is about to undertake major improvements to the Woodhouse Lane area to create a sustainable transport corridor and improved public realm outside Trinity St David’s.

The building will be reimagined to create: 

• An environmentally sustainable building with open access for all
• 250 seat auditorium 
• Digital learning area
• Cafés, bookshops and vibrant social spaces
• Workshops and performance spaces  
• Writing rooms and quiet areas 
• A broadcast studio 
• Room for exhibitions
• Important collections and archives 
• Shared offices and work spaces for poetry and associated organisations  

In an increasingly virtual world, the National Poetry Centre will bring people together– to meet, perform, write, research, spend time or just pass through. This will be an inclusive space for the people of Leeds to share with visitors from around the country and across the world.

The centre will drive an ambitious programme of engagement for schools, young people and communities, helping them explore ideas, play with words, speak and perform in public. We are committed to supporting oracy, literacy and creative skills across the UK. 

HOW TO APPLY

We are committed to diversity, and we welcome applications from all sections of the community, we particularly encourage applications from disabled and ethnically diverse backgrounds as these groups are currently underrepresented within the arts and culture sectors.

For more information about the National Poetry Centre, please visit our website.

Please send your CV and a brief letter explaining why you’re ideally suited for this role, to nick.barley@nationalpoetrycentre.org.uk

Closing date for applications: 26th November 2024

Interviews: 3rd and 4th December 2024

Start date: early/mid-January 2025