Wigtown Festival Company is looking to appoint a Young People’s Engagement Officer to develop and run our year-round programmes with 15-25-year-olds. This is an exciting opportunity to help shape a fresh way of working with our target group of 15-to-25-year-olds at Wigtown Book Festival and around the year.

We are seeking a dynamic and imaginative individual who is experienced in enabling young people (YP) to develop cultural skills and explore their interests in a secure and supportive environment. The ideal candidate will be passionate about widening cultural access and overcoming barriers to participation.

Working within a small programming team and reporting to the Creative Director, they will be responsible for initiating, delivering and evaluating projects, and delivering against the aims of the Festival Company’s Young People’s Engagement Plan. An ability to self-organise and juggle multiple projects in a busy workplace is essential.

The Young People’s Engagement Post is kindly supported by The Holywood Trust.

Salary and Terms

The position is full-time / 35 hours a week. The salary is in the range of £26,000-£30,000 depending on experience, with an initial contract for two years.

WFC is a Fair Work and Real Living Wage employer and is open to flexible working from day one.

Key Responsibilities

• Working closely in partnership with a wide range of young people to programme activities (including at Wigtown Book Festival) and develop new projects according to need.
• Creating new and lasting working relationships with other YP organisations in the region and beyond.
• Building and nurturing a new young people’s advisory team.
• Developing and implementing the young people’s engagement plan and evaluation framework.
• Monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the impact of our activities with YP.
• Sourcing funding for YP projects and managing funder relationships.
• Overseeing social media and marketing for our young people’s activities.
• Occasional weekend and evening working (eg during Wigtown Book Festival) with time off in lieu.

Essential Experience and Attributes

• A proven ability to work with and engage with young people collaboratively and respectfully.
• A proven ability to build relationships with partner organisations in the cultural and third sectors.
• An understanding of monitoring and evaluating young people’s activities.
• An understanding and respect for the principles of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
• An understanding of the essential importance of safeguarding; PGV certificated.
• Interest in / experience of the cultural sector.
• Excellent personal, communication and teamwork skills.

Other Desirable Experience and Attributes

• Experience in budget management.
• A knowledge of Dumfries & Galloway.
• A knowledge and passion for literature.
• Familiarity with social media and marketing.

Scottish Book Trust is a national charity that believes books, reading and writing have the power to change lives. A love of reading inspires creativity, improves employment opportunities, mental health and wellbeing and is one of the most effective ways to help break the poverty cycle. We work towards a Scotland where everyone has an equal opportunity to thrive through literacy.

We are looking for an enthusiastic administrator with excellent communications and organisational skills to join the Early Years team at Scottish Book Trust.

What we offer

• Full time, fixed-term role

• Competitive salary

• Flexible hybrid working between home and our Edinburgh City Centre Office, with great access by train, bus, and tram

• Generous holiday entitlement

• Company Sick Pay

• Pension with additional 5% employer contributions

• Death in service benefit

• Free access to employee assistance programme

Among many other programmes, Scottish Book Trust delivers Bookbug, Scotland’s national early years book gifting programme, which provides a free, high quality, book bag for every baby, toddler, three-year-old and primary 1 child in the country and is funded by Scottish Government.

The Early Years Operations Administrator provides reliable and efficient administration to support the smooth running of the Early Years programme, with a particular focus on operational aspects.

scottishbooktrust.com/bookbug

ArtWise – Parenting through Creative Connections, is a newly designed project which seeks to support the whole family through an arts-based learning approach to parenting children who have experienced trauma, poor mental health, social difficulties and/or behavioural difficulties.

As Wellbeing Support Worker you will work alongside the Art Therapist to support families/parents to identify their own needs and develop coping strategies for themselves; connect with other parents/families, access peer support, and develop their local support networks by linking in with other local organisations which can support other aspects of family life e.g. benefits, welfare, food security, relationship support, nutrition etc.

Are you an experienced project or cultural event manager looking to take on a new challenge and lead the delivery of NYOS's orchestra programmes? Could you deliver unique, relevant and sector-leading programmes that develop the musicianship and skills of young musicians and offer outstanding performance opportunities?

NYOS is currently seeking an Orchestra Projects Manager to join our Ensembles and Engagement Team.

You will be responsible for creating a sense of belonging, creativity and pride within the NYOS community, developing positive relationships with young people and a range of stakeholders while managing a busy portfolio of inspirational orchestra programmes, including NYOS, NYOS Development and NYOS Camerata.

You will ensure robust planning and oversight of all project administration and effective delivery of course content and schedules, act as the key contact for members and parents, freelance staff and artists. You will oversee our audition and recrutiment process, building positive experiences. You will also plan and oversee the delivery of NYOS orchestra and ensemble courses and performances including preparation, stage management, organising recordings, venue liaison, and communicating key information in a timely manner to ensure the smooth delivery of public performances.

You can find out more about the role, including a full person specification by downloading the job description.