Creative Places Tipperary Town
Cultural Producer

Closing Date: 12 noon on Friday 22nd November 2024

Note that interviews will take place the following week, on Wednesday 27th November.

INTRODUCTION

Tipperary Town is one of nineteen places nationally that has been awarded a Creative Places Award by the Arts Council for either a one-year research project or three-year developmental arts programme.

The project in Tipperary Town began work proper in Autumn 2022 and current funding runs until September 2025.

The project is being led by Youth Work Ireland Tipperary in partnership with a range of other agencies and organisations that make up Tipperary Town Revitalisation Task Force.

The mission for Creative Places Tipperary Town is to:
Support and develop artists and creative practitioners to collaborate with those who live and work in Tipperary Town to explore identity, bring vibrancy to the place and high quality arts opportunities to the people.

A Creative Places Coordinator has been employed since November 2022. She has built an infrastructure and foundations for the project and developed it in partnership with local artists, community organisations and members of the wider public.

The project in Tipperary has several strands: a public engagement programme, socially engaged arts projects in community settings and a developmental programme focused on the arts and creative sector within the town. 

A change of Coordinator is due to happen at the end of November 2024 and a new Assistant has been recently recruited to support the Coordinator with the project’s administrative and marketing tasks.

A Cultural Producer is now sought to join the team so that Creative Places Tipperary Town can continue to develop and work towards its goals in collaboration with the community, artists and partner agency staff.

THE ROLE

The Creative Places Cultural Producer will support the project Coordinator to develop a small number of socially engaged arts projects and cultural interventions with artists and key community partners such as the HSE, Three Drives Family Resource Centre and Youth Work Ireland Tipperary. The role will involve developing and project managing arts projects in community settings, including an Arts and Health Artist Residency in HSE settings with health care service users. The role will involve supporting and coordinating the artists who will devise and deliver those projects with and for a range of members of the public.

The person who undertakes this role will also be responsible for bringing together artistic creations and examples of community engagement to meaningfully celebrate the range and variety of work that has happened as part of Creative Places in Tipperary. The project plans to celebrate and showcase work made by and with communities during September 2025 at the end of initial project funding. The Cultural Producer will seek ways to share artistic work and produce events that reach the widest possible audience with the aim of sharing and validating the experiences of those artists and members of the community who have been involved in creating artistic work together.

This role is suited to an experienced Arts Manager, Cultural Producer or Project Manager who is used to brokering relationships with community sector partners and working with artists to develop meaningful socially engaged arts projects with and for specific communities of interest. It’s vital that the person who takes on this role is familiar with community engagement methodologies in the arts and cultural sector and understands socially engaged arts and the context they play within creative place-making. This role is suited to an imaginative person who enjoys working with people and is interested in the role that creativity and the arts can play in society.

The Creative Places Cultural Producer will be recruited and employed by Youth Work Ireland Tipperary (YWIT) and supported operationally by the Creative Places Coordinator, Project Assistant and wider YWIT team. The successful candidate will report to and operate within the employment and governance procedures of YWIT.

DUTIES

The duties will include but are not limited to the following and the post holder may be required to perform other duties as appropriate to the post from time to time and to contribute to the development of the post while in office:

Work alongside the Creative Places Coordinator to:

• Develop and support the delivery of a small number of socially engaged arts projects and cultural interventions with artists and key community partners.
• Support the recruitment of an Arts for Health Artist in Residence.
• Work with the above Artist in Residence to develop meaningful work with HSE partner staff and service users.
• Support the Artist in Residence to deliver and document their work, as described above.
• Take responsibility for bringing together artistic creations and examples of community engagement to meaningfully celebrate and share the multiplicity of work that has happened as part of Creative Places in Tipperary.
• Document and monitor activities and collate Creative Places data in collaboration with the Creative Places Assistant.
• Be an active member of the Creative Places Team and contribute to project processes, for example by sharing ideas for the development of the Creative Places project in Tipperary.
• Support and work with volunteers and local creatives to support the project.
• Work with the Coordinator, project Evaluator and other people involved to reflect on and evaluate the project’s processes and programme.

TENURE

The contract duration is until the end of September 2025. The position is a fixed term contract with a 3-month probation period.
A panel may be formed to fill this position and any future vacancies for the Creative Places Tipperary Town Cultural Producer which may arise during the lifetime of the panel.

LOCATION OF POST

Where and when particular pieces of work will take place will be discussed and agreed with the Creative Places Coordinator. Administrative and other desk-based tasks can be undertaken from home or at an office in Tipperary Town, the project has a shop that it uses at its headquarters and to host art workshops and meetings. Other activities will require the Cultural Producer to work at a community venue in Tipperary, such as Three Drives Family Resource Centre or St Vincent’s Hospital, an HSE mental health support venue.

SALARY

The rate of pay is €22.82 per hour, based on 13 hours per week.

WORKING HOURS

Working hours provide for thirteen hours across each working week. The successful candidate may be required to work hours outside of “normal office hours”, including evenings and weekends, as required by the Creative Places programme and as agreed in advance with the project Coordinator. It may be that some weeks require more hours of work and that other weeks require less, depending on project activity, again this will be agreed in advance with the project Coordinator and there is a recognition of flexibility being required on both sides of the working relationship.

All hours worked will be subject to the provisions of the organisation of the Working Time Act 1997 and Organisation of Working Time Act (Regulations) 2001.

ANNUAL LEAVE

The current annual leave entitlement is 27 days per annum or on a pro-rata basis for any period worked. Notice of intention to take leave shall be given to the line manager at least two weeks before proposed leave commences.
YWIT’s leave year runs from 1st January to 31st December. Granting of annual leave, payment for annual leave and arrangements for public holidays will be governed by the provisions of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1977 (as amended).

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential skills and experience

• Significant experience of developing and project managing work that involves both artists and community organisations.
• Experience of sharing artistic work made by communities with a wider audience, either through exhibitions, performances, events, publications or other means.
• Experience of working to high quality artistic and production outputs.
• Experience of supervising and supporting artists who engage with communities.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation and communication skills.
• An understanding of the cultural sector and the practices of community engagement and socially-engaged arts.
• Good team work skills.
• Ability to work on one’s own initiative.
• Ability to take direction and maintain appropriate boundaries.
• Report writing skills and the ability to document work and record data.
• Experience of keeping accurate budget records.
• Ability to adhere to organisational policies such as child protection, data protection and health and safety.

Desirable experience and qualities

• Experience of working within an Arts and Health context.
• An awareness of creative place-making and its impact on communities.
• Committed to human rights and equality of access to the arts.
• Self-motivated, enthusiastic and imaginative.
• Honest, responsible and reliable.

Essential

• Flexible approach to work according to the need of the Creative Places Project.
• Garda vetting applies to this post.
• The ability to be on-site in Tipperary Town occasionally, as required by the Project.

TO APPLY 

Please send a CV and covering letter to hr@youthworktipperary.ie with the subject heading “Creative Places Cultural Producer”.

Your covering letter should be no more than 2 sides of A4 and needs to explain how your experience, skills and personal qualities match the person specification for this role, also why you are interested in the job.

The deadline for applications is Friday 22nd November 2024 at 12 noon.

Any applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

If you have an enquiry about this role you can email creative.places@youthworktipperary.ie

PLEASE NOTE: We are a small, part-time team and it may take us a few days to reply to your enquiry.