Cultural Learning and Participation Officer Apprentice
CHICHESTER FESTIVAL THEATRE
Chichester (PO19 6AP)
Closes in 12 days (Thursday 12 June 2025)
Posted on 27 May 2025
Contents
Summary
If you have a desire to learn the skills needed to support the facilitation and administration of practical theatre workshops, projects and events with a wide range of young people whilst following a formal Apprenticeship under the direction and in collaboration with a Course Leader at Chichester College this could be just the role for you.
- Wage
-
£13,741 to £22,222.20, depending on your age
National Minimum Wage
- Training course
- Cultural learning and participation officer (level 3)
- Hours
-
Our working week is based on 35 hours, which may include some evenings depending on workshop timings. Shifts TBC.
35 hours a week
- Start date
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Monday 18 August 2025
- Duration
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2 years
- Positions available
-
1
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
The Cultural Learning and Participation Officer Apprenticeship provides hands-on experience, mixing practical and administrative work with college learning underpinning your experiences.
You will support the CYP strand, which celebrates an extensive programme of year-round work through youth theatre activities and outreach initiatives, delivering over 2,000 sessions and workshops annually.
The Youth Theatre activity includes weekly workshops, bespoke projects, productions and integrated wellbeing support. Alongside these opportunities, extensive outreach programmes link us to work in partnership with other organisations locally and nationally, enabling participants of all abilities and backgrounds to develop their artistic, academic, personal, social and transferable skills.
There will also be times when you are asked to support events linked to other LEAP strands, including adult community groups.
Over the course of the Apprenticeship you will gain professional experience in arts administration, practical workshop delivery, project management and leadership, and will receive ongoing mentoring and coaching from the LEAP Team and Chichester College staff. There may also be opportunities to expand your knowledge of the wider arts industry through shadowing other departments at CFT. You will work towards completing a formal apprenticeship in Cultural Learning and Participation, which is celebrated and monitored throughout the role in a portfolio of work, culminating in an End-Point Assessment.
Full details of the opportunity can be found on our website: https://www.cft.org.uk/jobs/cultural-learning-participation-officer-apprentice
Where you'll work
Chichester Festival Theatre
Oaklands Park
Chichester
PO19 6AP
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
College or training organisation
CHICHESTER COLLEGE GROUP
Your training course
Cultural learning and participation officer (level 3)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Plan, organise and co-ordinate education and community engagement projects on behalf of the organisation, in order to ensure the facilitator (visiting artist or company colleague, freelancer or volunteer) can deliver effectively This could typically include deciding on appropriate content and information including producing event schedules, artist and technical riders, booking artists and practitioners.
- Identify learning objectives of education and community engagement projects and suitability for target audience.
- Work within a set budget, use appropriate resources, venues, systems and technologies to implement the CLP projects ensuring they meet stated objectives and outcomes.
- Ensure projects comply with the organisation’s Health & Safety policies and procedures including Safeguarding children and vulnerable adults.
- Communicate clearly and effectively, adapting methods both verbal and non-verbal as appropriate to the stakeholder or audience, which may include public speaking and/or using social media and digital communication methods.
- Communicate the CLP projects aims, which may include artistic or cultural outcomes, skills and knowledge development, or a range of social and educational outcomes to audiences, partners and colleagues.
- Produce clear, concise project reports, fundraising applications and other written communications.
- Find and participate in professional networks such as arts and culture networks, meetings and events, performances and exhibitions, training and professional development events and industry membership schemes, in order to benefit the organisation.
- Establish, develop and maintain positive relationships with a wide variety of internal and external partners, artists, colleagues, participants and audiences that result in and/or enable successful projects.
- Build effective professional arts and cultural networks and identify the benefits they bring to the projects and wider organisation.
- Contribute and manage audience/participant/venue bookings and ensure artists/external practitioners are recruited for projects as per the organisation’s policies and procedures, including contracting requirements.
- Maintain artist/external practitioner and audience records as directed, which may include personal information, in-line with employer systems and data protection requirements.
- Have excellent time management skills, demonstrating your ability to be organised, meet deadlines within project timeframes and meet budgets requirements.
- Evaluate projects and use feedback to improve current and/or future activity.
- Provide high quality content, which may be in written or image form, as required, to internal/external communications for example e-bulletins, newsletter content, posters, print and meetings, to aid the promotion of, and engagement with, the organisation’s learning and participation programme.
- Contribute to fundraising activities including desk research on potential funding sources, note taking at audience consultation meetings, compiling data and information.
- Identify problems, generate and form ideas to resolve issues, by thinking creatively in response to challenges and identifying when to seek help and support from others.
- Collaborate effectively with colleagues, creative and cultural professionals and other organisations and partners to achieve project aims and objectives.
Your training plan
Requirements
Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Administrative skills
- Team working
- Creative
About this company
Chichester Festival Theatre creates inspiring experiences that bring people together – on and off the stage. It’s a place where exceptional stories are created and shared. We connect inventive artists with imaginative audiences. We bring theatre to schools and youth groups, to the West End and world stages, with the belief that theatre is for everyone. Sitting at the heart of a cathedral city in West Sussex between the South Downs and the sea, the Festival Theatre’s bold thrust stage design makes it one of England’s most striking playhouses – equally suited to epic drama and musicals. Our studio theatre, the Minerva, is particularly noted for premieres of new work alongside intimate revivals. We'll soon be opening the Nest, our third space. Nestled among the trees next to the Festival Theatre, The Nest has been designed to complement its sister theatres with a thrust stage. This 119-seater studio will be fully wheelchair accessible and usable year-round. This dynamic new venue will support artists and technicians at the beginning of their careers, including local writers and performers. Plus, it'll be perfect for staging entertainment for a younger audience. The Nest will also provide a much-needed space for our growing community programme, including creative activities for adults, our Technical Youth Theatre and work for Early Years (ages 0 – 4). With sustainability at its heart, we have found an ideal structure previously used by The Pleasance at the Edinburgh Festival. Countless productions originated at Chichester have transferred to the West End or toured nationally and internationally over the past six decades, from musicals to significant new plays and classic revivals.
https://www.cft.org.uk/jobs (opens in new tab)
Company benefits
CFT offer discounts in our onsite cafes, restaurants and bars. Complimentary or discounted tickets to see our shows (subject to availability). Discounted gym membership.
After this apprenticeship
Arts or educational organisations.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
CHICHESTER COLLEGE GROUP
recruitment@cft.org.uk
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000322663.
Apply now
Closes in 12 days (Thursday 12 June 2025)
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