Recruitment Call: Head of Engagement - now closed

About the candidate:

The candidate should have:

Essential criteria:

• A minimum of three years of equivalent experience in a relevant role
• A knowledge and/or expertise in engagement, active listening and/or open consultation processes
• Experience of project management and effectively managing people and/or teams.
• Proven experience in worthing in the area of engagement in cultural participation or cultural heritage activity, projects or programmes.
• Ability to plan, organise and lead a project, and to work to deadlines with flexibility around working hours
• Ability to prioritise competing work demands, working independently and collaboratively as part of a team
• An interest and knowledge of the work of Dublin City Council Culture Company
  

Additional experience, which may be considered:

• An understanding of, and, ideally, experience in, preparing Engagement or audience development plans in a cultural or heritage context
• Experience of monitoring, evaluation and reporting of qualitative research or customer feedback
• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills to include the ability to facilitate groups, consultations with numerous kinds of partners, community groups and stakeholders
• Ability to engage with a wide range of people including colleagues, project partners and the general public.

Key responsibilities of the Head of Engagement include:

1. Team management:

You will line manage the Engagement Team, consisting of Engagement Coordinators, Project Managers and the Culture Club Manager, which will require you to:

• Lead and inspire the Engagement Team, and develop it towards best practice in citizen cultural engagement.
• Resource plan within your department including team structure, role descriptions, recruitment, and convening of panels in line with Company procedure, so as to ensure you have the skills on hand to deliver the programmes your department is working on, including specialist contractor/artist/supplier panels.
  

2. Listening, going, visiting - our Engagement programmes:

Active listening is at the core of our engagement work. Our programmes are developed in response to what we learn from listening. They open up ways for people to visit and connect with cultural spaces; engage with schools, develop opportunities for learning, and create the conditions for people to connect to their city, community and with other people, through culture. All of these are run by the Engagement department.

Listening to people:

Tea & Chats:

• Deliver, sustain, grow and develop this programme. Tea & Chats is an ongoing programme of informal and open conversations over a cup of tea with people about what matters to them. By listening and connecting, we can build relationships, collaborate and suggest ways for people to embark on their own cultural adventures.
• Lead the research gathering and share the learnings required for this work to feed all of the company programmes and teams.

Oral Histories / Your Tenement Memories:

• Deliver, sustain, grow and develop this programme. Your Tenement Memories is an Oral History programme of 14 Henrietta Street which collects memories of tenement life in Dublin. By listening and learning, we preserve and share stories and connect people to the heritage of our city.
• Work with the Visitor Experience, Creative Engagement and Development departments to create new work and projects, enhance the tour content that will benefit in richness and authenticity with these personal testimonies as primary source material.
• Continue this research and collecting to augment the Collection of the Company and share the learnings via programming, exhibitions and other mechanisms to provide responsive programming via the Creative Engagement department
• Initiate a national public-facing memory collection project for Kilmainham Mills
  
  

Going to places:

Mobile Museum:

• Mobile Museum (working title),is an outreach project of 14 Henrietta Street, is a programme which brings the museum experience beyond the walls of the museum. This important outreach programme for the museum requires further development, you will lead a dedicated working group to complete the project and roll it out as part of our core museum programming.

Culture Club:

• Culture Club is a series of hosted talks and tours that introduce and encourage people to connect with the cultural spaces of the city.
• Deliver, sustain, grow and develop this programme (including piloting versions with children, youth groups, intergenerational groups)
• Create new partnerships for people to explore and experiment through culture. These partnerships should demonstrate a variety of cultural organisations, cultural communities and expressions of culture.
• Working closely with our partners to continuously strive to open up new ways for people to access cultural activity more easily and confidently in order to develop and expand their cultural habits.

3. Embed - developing relationships and partnerships

We develop projects with a view to having a multiplier effect and a real legacy for those involved. We want to build partnerships and cultivate our relationships with agencies, venues and organisations working in the city so that culture is recognised as essential to the city’s development and reputation.

• Develop and implement the Public Engagement plans for various programmes or buildings in development with the visitor experience department to align with the Company Strategy specifically in the area of audience development and engagement.
• Build supportive and collaborative relationships with citizens, community groups, participants, cultural partners including municipal and national, Dublin City Council sections, (including community development teams), and like minded partners in community, culture, health, education and heritage sector.
• Work with the Development and Creative Engagement teams to develop and deliver anl engagement conference or ‘Peoples Forum’ for the city.
• Collaborate with Creative Engagement and Development departments to develop legacy outcomes, such as case studies and community capacity building programmes.

4. Share, research and collaborate

Share:

• Oversee the integrated use of all the data records gathered via Tea & Chats through Insightly, our CRM system to ensure effective and efficient knowledge transfer of the findings and resources with the wider teams in support of responsive programming and other company activity
• Work with the Development team to support in the development and dissemination of any engagement-related research or learnings and best practice at peer conferences, preparation of journal papers and other publications

Research:

• Be responsible for the implementation of monitoring, evaluation and reporting of engagement activity, both internal and external

Collaborate:

• Work collaboratively with team members to assist in the implementation of engagement-related activities across all departments, sites and programmes.
• Identify, develop and deliver consultation projects or processes in relation to any other sites that come into the Dublin City Council Culture Company remit

Position summary

Post Title: Head of Engagement, Dublin City Council Culture Company

Post Status: Fixed term contract, full-time, for three years; a six month probationary period applies.

Location: Dublin City Council Culture Company HQ, 14 Henrietta Street, Dublin 1, D01 HH34 and Richmond Barracks, Inchicore, Dublin 8.

Reports to: Chief Executive, Dublin City Council Culture Company

Key relationships: other Heads of Departments as part of the senior management team; manages Engagement Team, supports and collaborates primarily with Development, Visitor Experience and Creative Engagement teams and programmes.

Salary: €48,000 gross per annum (prior to reward and recognition)

Reward and recognition: All Dublin City Council Culture Company employees participate in the performance review and appraisal process annually. This process measures performance, considers training and development opportunities and is used to determine any reward (pay or annual leave increases) that may be applicable.

Annual Leave: 20 days plus seasonal restricted / compulsory assigned 3 to 5 days (grace & favour days): 23-25 days.

Pension: A contribution of 10% of salary will be made to an agreed pension savings scheme subject to the individual contributing a similar percentage.

Other benefits: Other Employee benefits include Employee Assistance Programme, Cycle to Work Scheme, Taxsaver Commuter Ticket Scheme for public transport to and from work, access to certified training and opportunities for professional development in your role.

Training: You will be provided with the necessary training for the key functions required of your role.

Professional development opportunities: will be discussed in line with company policy following your probation period.

Working from home: The company facilitates working from home suitable to the requirement of the position, this can be discussed further with the successful candidate.

How to apply

Applications are now invited from applicants who meet these published requirements. Applications must include the following:

• Your CV (including the names and contact details of two referees). Note that referees will not be contacted without prior consent.
  
• A one page letter citing your specific skills, knowledge and experience relevant to the role specification and requirements set out here.
  
• A cover letter outlining why you would like to work with the Culture Company in this role.

Completed applications should be sent by email only to recruitment@dublincitycouncilculturecompany.ie with “Head of Engagement” in the subject line.

Closing date for this application is Sunday 26 February 2023. Applications received after the closing date and time will not be accepted.

The information supplied in your application will be reviewed against the requirements set out in this notice by a panel. Dublin City Council Culture Company reserves the right to shortlist applicants and/or call people for an interview. We envisage that any resulting first round interviews will be held during the week beginning 6 March 2023; subject to government guidelines, these may be online or in person. It will not be possible to provide application process feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Garda vetting is mandatory for successful applicants, and you must be cleared by the National Vetting Bureau before the work can commence. The successful applicant may also be required to complete mandatory training in line with the requirements of their role or broader company requirements.

Please note that Dublin City Council Culture Company is committed to developing policies and practices ensuring that accessibility, universal design and reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities are taken into account. Dublin City Council Culture Company is an equal opportunity employer. Please see our Equal Opportunities Policy here (PDF).

Please note that both the museum at 14 Henrietta Street and Richmond Barracks are Part M access compliant, and the offices of Dublin City Council Culture Company in both have limited physical access. Reasonable accommodation of access requirements will be made for successful applicants.

Interviews will take place in an accessible location. We are committed to respecting and protecting your privacy. We keep several kinds of personal data about our prospective employees so we can manage the recruitment process effectively and efficiently and meet our legal obligations. Please see our Privacy Notice for Job Applicants here (PDF).