Head of Arts, Ukraine

Pay Band 7 / F

Department – Cultural Engagement

Contract Type Indefinite

Location Ukraine

Requirements Candidates must have the legal right to work in Ukraine.

Closing Date 19th of December 2023

Interview Date – 8th January week

Purpose of Role:

The Head of Arts, Ukraine leads strategic planning in Ukraine and implementation of a diverse portfolio of Arts and Creative Industries programmes funded by British Council grant, other partners or client-funders.

They will have oversight of activities in Ukraine delivered through the Arts four global programmes: Culture Connects, Spotlights on Culture, Creative Economy and Culture Responds to Global Challenges (details below).

They will lead a small specialist Arts team in Ukraine and manage sector partner and stakeholder relationships.

They provide Arts and Creative Industries sector expertise at a country level and feed relevant insight up to Regional Arts Director.

They are an important part of the Ukraines leadership team as well as the Global Arts Management Team, and will work with colleagues in the region to influence decision making across regional Arts and regional Cultural Engagement.

This role is the most senior representative of Arts in Ukraine, and represents our work in Arts and creative industries externally.

Main Accountabilities:

Sector/subject expertise

Uses their own expert knowledge on the arts and creative industries in Ukraine, intelligence and insight from other sector stakeholders, opinion formers and funders to support the ongoing development ofarts programmes that meet the specific needs of the Ukraine while also providing value to a diverse range of UK arts and creative industry organisations.

Through ongoing relationships with rest of Global Arts Management Team, builds and maintains good understanding of UK arts and creative industry sector priorities as well as UK Government priorities.

Represents British Council in Ukraine as a recognised, credible authority in Arts and the creative industries to external stakeholders and audiences.

Provides up-to-date and well-informed senior-level briefings on current and emerging themes in arts and creative industries in Ukraine.

Identifies and develops opportunities for the UK Arts sector to work in and collaborate with peers in country

Supports internal capacity building, ensuring that teams can access appropriate and cost-effective L&D opportunities and grow their sector knowledge and skills

Supports internal capacity building, ensuring that teams can access appropriate and cost-effective L&D opportunities and grow their sector knowledge and skills

Leadership & management

Provides specialist input and design to ensure activities under the Arts global programmes are relevant to the Arts and creative industry sectors in Ukraine.

Actively works across the matrix in the Arts network, empowering and enabling colleagues to collaborate on programmes, while promoting equity, diversity and inclusion

Is responsible for assuring quality and impact and managing issues and risks relating to programme grants, partner agreements and supplier contracts.

Uses digital platforms and technological advancements to improve efficiency, impact and quality of activity design and delivery

Incorporates specific actions to address equality, diversity and inclusion priorities in programme delivery

Manages Arts portfolio day-to-day ensuring global standards on programme and contract management are achieved

Direct line management and matrix management support provided to Arts teams in Ukraine or in other countries as required.

Ensures effective financial management and compliance -manages and delivers to target, budgets, profitability, timelines, and to corporate quality standards in all areas

Monitors, reviews and ensures that the portfolio is achieving agreed impact measures, and monitoring, evaluation and learning and reporting is in place against the British Council Cultural Engagements Strategy 2025 and the UK Government indicators.

Leads an inclusive organisational culture where staff have opportunities for continuous professional development.

Leads and inspires arts initiatives which actively drive forward to the British Councils anti-racism action plan. Is accountable for Arts delivering to EDI strategy (to mainstream EDI and become anti-racist in our cultures and practices within our organisation and in our programmes.)

Strategy and/or planning

Leads on planning process for Ukraines arts portfolio within the Wider Europe

Contributes to regional business strategy

Management of design, development, delivery and closure of projects and or programmes as needed

Develop and nurtures internal relationships across Cultural Engagement to ensure strategic objectives are aligned, understood and achieved

Considers the role of digital products, services and channels in optimising the impact and sustainability of the portfolio, working with regional marketing and digital colleagues.

Relationship & Stakeholders

Builds and maintains critical Ukraine partner relationships relevant to the Arts, and wider cultural sectors, to maintain an excellent understanding of relevant themes and issues in the arts and creative industries. Uses this insight to identify new opportunities and partnerships for the British Council, and build favourability for the UK.

Builds and maintains a broad, diverse and dynamic network of key creative and cultural sector representatives in country, including artists, creative professionals, creative hubs, arts organisations, arts advocacy groups, intermediary and sector bodies, etc.

Builds and maintains the sector institutional relationships that will help open doors for artistic collaboration, cultural exchange and creative economy work.

Leads on relationships with a range of stakeholders and partners at a sector level, including representing and communicating about regional and global Arts programmes

Represents the British Council externally and internally

Brand and market positioning

Promotes and positions the diversity of the UK arts and creative industries sector in Ukraine

Ensures British Councils value proposition and support to the UK arts sector in Ukraine is clear, agreed and communicated.

Ensures that British Councils reputation for quality and as a valued not-for-profit partner remains high and contributes to our organisational mission of building trust between the UK and other countries.

Works closely with colleagues and experts in the SBU to feed market/customer insights into the programme development planning cycle, to ensure the British Councils offer is market relevant for Ukraine and the UK, demand-led and consistent with the British Council and UK Government objectives.

Contribute to the development of internal and external communications materials to highlight impactful stories from the country Arts portfolio

Business development

Contributes to business and partnership development for the portfolio, aligning with country/regional and corporate priorities, systems and processes

Programme management

Leads on Ukraine portfolio planning working closely with operational programme management colleagues

Leads on ensuring activities under the Arts global programmes are tailored to the specific needs of Ukraine, through collaboration with colleagues in globally dispersed programme teams

Oversees finances of the country Arts portfolio and can interpret financial information

Is able to find solutions to issues with internal and external partners and stakeholders when escalated to them by programme delivery teams

Holds delivery partners, team members and consultants to account including supply chain management

Has responsibility for developing , monitoring and successfully delivering the project management plan

Where applicable has responsibility for managing all country contractual obligations on programme or project

Maintains governance frameworks and manages compliance on a project

Convenes risk meetings, updates risk register and either mitigates or escalates risk

Oversees procurement, grants management and due diligence on programmes

Responsible for project/programme management reporting

Reports to British Council impact targets.

Role specific knowledge and experience

• Specialist knowledge and understanding of current trends and practices in arts and creative industries in Ukraine
• Experience of managing national arts/ creative industries projects
• Understanding and appreciation of current arts trends and practices in the UK
• Experience of managing international arts projects