A perfect opportunity for an effective manager to play a key role in the next phase of our story. The post holder will help build on the last decade of development, consolidating The Gaiety as a successful hub for the arts in Ayrshire and an innovator in the Scottish theatre landscape. This role provides the opportunity to play a key part in developing our plans for the future, alongside other senior managers, the CEO and board.
You’ll keep our theatre running smoothly, running at the lowest possible cost while providing access and comfort for everyone. This will include monitoring finance, admin and HR functions. You’ll be great at co-ordinating people, overseeing our front of house staff, building manager and volunteer teams.
Person Specification
You like being organised and you are good at it. It’s not only that you’re organised yourself, you also have a management style that ensures you can lead and support (and sometimes cajole) others to get things done too. You know your way around financial administration and you have a keen sense of the importance of looking after money diligently. You are comfortable being a lynchpin that others depend on – and with leading by example in quality and customer service.
Digital communication is probably second nature to you, and you are comfortable using digital and online tools to help deliver your goals.
You will need to understand the social enterprise sector – preferably but not necessarily in theatre. Whatever your background, a passion for live entertainment will be essential; otherwise you just won’t fit into the team. Experience is good, but a track record of success is even better (however long or short). Finally, you will be comfortable in an environment where there are many stakeholders to satisfy and working together as a team is the only way of doing so.
The Organisation
Ayr Gaiety Partnership is the charity and social enterprise that runs The Gaiety Theatre and an increasing range of producing, touring and creative engagement activity. While the theatre itself is almost 120 years old, the organisation has been going for 13 years – taking on the theatre ten years ago. The organisation sprang originally from the Ayr based Borderline Theatre Company and individuals in the local community. So touring theatre is in our DNA. And we have always aspired to be much more than just a theatre building, with community-based activity very much part of what we do.
This is an exciting and challenging time to join the organisation – you will have considerable influence over future direction along with members of our senior team. Over the last year we have successfully relaunched the live programme on our main stage. At the same time we have built up the second arm of our organisation – delivering creative engagement around our communities. And we are continuing our steady progress to produce an increasing proportion of our own shows, as well as receiving top class tours. Recent highlights for the organisation include;
• Our own top quality pantomime: Like 2019’s Jack and the Beanstalk (but unlike pantos from 2012-18) and 2021’s Jamie and the Unicorn, our 2022 panto, Sleeping Beauty, was our own production created specially for Ayr, with a Scottish creative team and cast. The increased artistic quality was recognised nationally with a 5 star review in The Stage.
• Relaunching our rural touring network – with shows touring Troon, Girvan, Maybole, Kirkmichael, Ballantrae, Fairlie, Cumnock and more in Autumn/Winter 2022-23.
• Creative engagement activity for around 1000 people of all ages over the last year, in settings varying from low income communities, to Primary Schools and Youth Centres. We have created a track record of success in real “co-creation,” gathering national attention.
We are a small professional team, working with a significant cadre of volunteers. And as a still young organisation, we continue to develop our ambition and
Please apply with cv and covering letter by email to Gaiety CEO Jeremy Wyatt – jeremy.wyatt@ayrgaiety.co.uk by midnight on Friday 10th February – earlier if you can. Please also submit a copy of our Equal Opportunities Form.
Interviews will be held on Thursday 16th February.
If you’d like to discuss the post, please contact Jeremy to arrange a phone call. If you wish to speak to the current postholder, Sally Rennie, then this can also be arranged.