COVENTRY CITY OF CULTURE TRUST FREELANCE EVENT OPERATIONS ASSISTANT, COVENTRY MOVES

Reports to Event Operations Manager, Coventry Moves

Role: Freelance Events Operations Assistant, Coventry Moves

Contract Fee: £8,000

Timescales:Fixed-term, full-time role to commence from 1st March 2021, to be delivered until 31st May 2021. You must be available throughout the entire period. The role will involve some anti-social hours and weekend work, particularly in April and May 2021.

Location: A combination of remote working as well as office working once restrictions allow. On-site work in and around Coventry for meetings or rehearsals may be required and particularly during the production period.

CONTEXT

We are a diverse, modern city which is re-imagining the role culture can play in bringing people together. Coventry is a city of welcome, a city of activists and pioneers, a city of peace and reconciliation, a city of innovation and invention, a City of Culture.

The Trust is committed to:

· Welcoming 2.5m additional visitors to Coventry in 2021/22

· 80% of the city’s residents experiencing at least three events in 2021/22

· Increasing audience attendance from under-represented communities by 20%

· Activating more than 16,000 volunteers and participants

· Making long-lasting, tangible social change in Coventry

· Transforming who holds the power to create and curate in the city

· Starting a wave of cultural investment across the region

In July 2020, we announced that Coventry’s City of Culture programme will start in May 2021 and run for 12 months, allowing us to keep our promise to the city and region - to deliver an extraordinary year while providing some much-needed certainty and resources to our artists and communities. This is your opportunity to be part of telling the story of the city that moves.

COVENTRY MOVES

Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 has been inspired by the city’s pioneering activism in inventing the twin cities movement after WW2, extending the hand of friendship, and building cultural partnerships with cities around the world.

Our programme will reflect the internationalism of the city, as a home of diverse migrant communities and a place of sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers, its role in peace and reconciliation, and its position as a dynamic, revolutionary city tackling global social issues. Coventry has always been a city of movement and exchange, a city of changemakers.

Taking place on Saturday 15 May 2021, with some activity and installation continuing until Sunday 23 May 2021, Coventry Moves will open the City of Culture programme as the opening.

Activity will focus on the city as a place of reinvention, its pioneering and innovative spirit, Coventry as a city of craft and creators, a city of activism, of peace and reconciliation, a city which has long welcomed and celebrated people and cultures from around the world. Coventry as a city of movement.

THE BRIEF

The Trust is looking to appoint a freelance Event Operations Assistant, overseen by the Event Operations Manager, to support the operational delivery of the Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 Opening Event ‘Coventry Moves’. This role will offer support to the Event Operations Manager in ensuring a safe and secure event delivery. 

This person will work closely with the Event Operations Manager (EOM), providing operational planning and administrative support, contributing to the delivery of this major national event.

This person will work with the core event team and have regular interactions with colleagues and Contractors across Event Operations, Production, Creative, Marketing & Communications and other core Coventry City of Culture Trust functions.

THE ROLE

· Accessibility: Under direction from the EOM, develop event accessibility policies and ensure their implementation across the event

· Accreditation: Work with the Accreditation Team to ensure the event Accreditation system is effectively implemented and secure, ensuring contractors and event staff are efficiently accredited

· Accommodation: Work with the Production Coordinator to ensure all Event Operations accommodation requirements are factored and arranged accordingly

· Administration: Support the EOM in all event administrative duties, including arranging meetings, monitoring timelines, raising purchase orders, preparing contractor agreements and wider event documentation

· Briefings: Develop and implement an event briefing plan, including all required documents and run sheets to ensure effective briefing across all event areas

· Business & Community Liaison: Support the EOM in liaison with Business and Community Stakeholders about planned event activity

· Comms & CCTV: Support on the collation of requirements and deployment of event comms for all event departments and contractors. Support the EOM in working with Local Authority and Police colleagues to ensure a robust CCTV and control room infrastructure package is in place to support event delivery

· Health & Safety: Work with the EOM and Event Health & Safety Advisor to prepare and collate documentation for the Event Safety Management Plan

· Infrastructure: Work with the EOM and Site Manager to collate and procure required event infrastructure on time and in budget; including but not limited to barrier, cabins, toilets, marquees, plant, power etc

· Multi-Agency: Support the EOM as delegated in event planning and liaison work with Multi-Agency Partners. Attend Safety Advisory and Event Operations Group meetings in support of the EOM

· Signage: Working with the Marketing & Communications Team, lead on planning and deployment of event signage, to include all statutory, back of house and public facing signage requirements.

· Staffing: Support the EOM in identifying and recruiting for temporary event staffing as required. Lead on liaison with the Volunteering contractor to ensure effective deployment of event volunteers

· Vehicles: Manage the event fleet deployment, working across event departments and with the vehicle supplier to ensure a cost-effective hire solution

· Waste: Lead on planning and deployment of event waste management requirements, working with Local Authority colleagues, and appointed contractors.

· Wider Operational Areas: Support the EOM in all other event operational areas as required to ensure an effective event delivery.

· To commit to and promote the Trust’s sustainability and access policies

· To actively engage with the organisation’s vision and policies regarding equal opportunities and diversity, health and safety, safeguarding evaluation and monitoring, supported by the Head of Production

· Support the Trust’s Monitoring and Evaluation team to capture data necessary for reporting, particularly around the Trust’s sustainability and access policies

PERSON SPECIFICATION

· Demonstrable experience (3-5 year minimum) of working on complex outdoor events of scale in an operational or production role

· A good understanding of health and safety processes and legislative considerations in event management  

· An understanding of multi-agency (police, fire, ambulance, local authority) collaborative working and processes in event management

· An understanding of event infrastructure and site procurement processes

· Excellent organisation skills, with the ability to balance and prioritise a diverse workload 

· Excellent administration skills with strong attention to detail 

· Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office and willing to learn use of other software tools  

· Good understanding of the principles of safeguarding and health and wellbeing in the workplace 

· Be passionate about the power of arts & culture to create social change 

· Attributes of diplomacy, confidentiality, trust and respect for colleagues and partners 

· To be based in or be willing to move to within commuting distance of Coventry 

· To hold a full UK driving licence  

GENERAL

Coventry is one of the most diverse cities in the UK and we want our Team to reflect that diversity. We value the benefits of a diversity of life experiences, cultural and social knowledge and are particularly keen to hear from candidates from currently under-represented groups, including those with disabilities.

PROCESS

Please submit an up-to-date CV and letter (maximum 2 pages) addressing your interest and suitability for the opportunity with particular reference to the person specifications. Documents should be sent in PDF format to recruitment@coventry2021.co.uk

Coventry City of Culture Trust is committed to equal opportunities and will treat all submissions fairly based on written submissions, please complete the anonymous equal opportunities form available at www.coventry2021.co.uk/jobs

TIMETABLE

AdvertisedThursday 4th February 2021

Deadline for submissionsFriday 19th February 2021, 12noon

InterviewsWeek commencing Monday 22nd February 2021. Following government guidelines, interviews will likely be held via video conferencing software.

Proposed Start DateMonday 1st March 2021

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

· Contract fee is £8,000

· Payments will be made upon receipt of invoices at installment points to be agreed

· This is a fixed term contract until 31st May 2021

· You must be available throughout the entire period

· The role will involve some anti-social hours and weekend work, particularly in April and May 2021

· On appointment the successful candidate must be able to provide the correct documents as proof of their right to work in the UK for duration of the contract

· The successful candidate must be able to provide proof of current Public Liability Insurance to a minimum of £5,000,000

· The successful candidate will be expected to use their own IT equipment in delivery of this contract (including laptop and phone)

· The work will involve a combination of remote working as well as office working once restrictions allow. On-site work in and around Coventry for meetings or rehearsals may be required and particularly during the production period

For more information about the Coventry 10-year Cultural Strategy visit www.covculture.com and for more information about Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 visit www.coventry2021.co.uk