Dear Applicant

LIVERPOOL BIENNIAL – COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER (DIGITAL AND PR)

Thank you for expressing an interest in the Communications Officer (Digital and PR) vacancy at Liverpool Biennial. We are looking for someone to start as soon as possible, and the contract will last until 31 October 2018.

Please find attached a job information pack, which includes a job description and person specification, together with some background information about the Biennial. It also includes an application form and an equality and diversity monitoring form. Please note that you must apply using the application form, and CVs will not be considered.

If you would like to apply you should include:

A completed application form, in which you demonstrate how you meet the knowledge, skills and experience requirements of the role.

A completed equality and diversity monitoring form. Please return the equal opportunities form as a separate document to your application form.

As well as the main application form and an equal opportunities form, you may wish to submit supporting documentation either as a single PDF or PowerPoint presentation, including examples of previous writing, digital and/or PR campaigns that you have delivered. Please send the file via a file-sharing service such as Dropbox or WeTransfer if above 10MB and make a note of it in your main application form.

Application forms should be returned by email to jane@biennial.com no later than 12 noon on 18 August 2017. It is expected that interviews will be held in Liverpool on 29/30 August 2017.

If you have any queries about the application process, please do not hesitate to email me. If you have any queries about Liverpool Biennial please visit our website at www.biennial.com

Yours sincerely

Jane HowardHR Consultant to Liverpool Biennial

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Communications Officer (Digital and PR)

Salary: £19,342 – £20,388 (depending on qualifications and experience)

Location: Liverpool Biennial55 Jordan Street Liverpool L1 0BW

Primary Purpose of the Job: The Communications Officer (Digital and PR) works within the Marketing and Communications Team to grow and engage regional media and online audiences through targeted communications and relationship-building.

Directly Responsible to: Marketing and Communications Manager

Directly Responsible for: Marketing Volunteers

Terms: Fixed term until October 2018

Main Responsibility

Working to maximise Liverpool Biennial’s profile as the leading festival of contemporary art in the UK, the Communications Officer (Digital and PR) will be busy identifying opportunities to communicate the Biennial’s varied offer through a number of own and partner channels, from social media and newsletters to regional newspapers, online magazines and blogs.

Main Duties

Position Liverpool Biennial as a leading presence and voice on contemporary visual art in the North West and UK through regional media and online activity

Build effective relationships with key regional print, broadcast and online media, including freelance journalists, bloggers and online influencers

Support audience-specific campaigns (e.g. culturally active, families, tourists) through seeking opportunities to profile the Biennial in regional and non-arts media, and through creating targeted digital content

Lead on the development and delivery of innovative digital marketing campaigns and activities, with a view of growing and deepening engagement with audiences

Create and coordinate the making of dynamic audience-focused content, in the form of written pieces, videos and photography, telling the Biennial story

Work closely with Liverpool Biennial’s partner organisations to maximise reach, identify opportunities and coordinate press and digital activities

Identify opportunities to capture and share content from artist visits, artwork

production and exhibition installation, coordinating schedules with the programme team and external suppliers (photographers, filmmakers)

Regional and Online Media

Deliver on-going communications for the 2018 festival and Liverpool Biennial’s year-round programme targeted at regional and non-arts media

Liaise with Liverpool Biennial’s PR agencies on the delivery of a successful programme launch in spring and press trip for the festival opening

Help coordinate regional press previews, trips, photo shoots and other press-focused events for specific projects

Manage incoming press enquiries for information and images in a timely and

effective manner

Liaise with key staff, curators, artists, partners and external suppliers (photographers, film crews) to create and collate press materials

Organise interviews to profile key individuals regionally and gain exclusive access to exhibitions by liaising with key stakeholders, curators and partners

Ensure press activity is coordinated seamlessly with wider marketing activity

Monitor and report on press coverage, through ensuring the filing system is up-to-date and distributing coverage to relevant stakeholders

Work with the marketing team to ensure the listings section of regional websites and print media is up-to-date with information about Biennial events

Digital Communications and Audience Development

Maintain engagement with existing audiences and grow online audiences further, enabling them to experience the Biennial’s output online

Maintain and regularly update multiple online channels, including the Biennial website, e-newsletter, blog, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and others

Identify opportunities for content capture such as artist visits, artwork production and exhibition installation, liaising with curators and external suppliers (photographers, filmmakers)

Support events and project launches by maximising their digital impact through

providing live social media support

Champion digital innovation and experimentation within the organisation and in

working with the Biennial’s partners

Ensure digital content and platforms are optimised for SEO purposes, mobile access and other, as dictated by the way people consume content online

Liaise with agreed internal and external suppliers, including designers, website developers and video production teams, to ensure digital marketing tactics are delivered

Liaise with other departments on identifying digital content opportunities and coordinate contributions by staff, volunteers and external contributors

Monitor, evaluate and report effectively on all digital activity and campaigns against

agreed objectives, providing insight for future action

Ensure Liverpool Biennial is properly represented on partner websites and digital communications regionally, nationally and internationally

Other Duties

Regular team and line management meetings with Marketing, Programme and Development teams.

Prepare reports for the Directors covering Digital Communications. Attend and report at Board meetings and sub-groups as required.

Work within the context of Liverpool Biennial’s policies for Equality and Diversity, Environment and others.

Internal and External Lines of Communication

The Communications Officer (Digital and PR) attends department team meetings and staff meetings. Attendance may be required at Board Finance Committee meetings and as required at Board meetings. It is expected that the post holder will fully participate in:

(i) Staff development(ii) Training opportunities which are made available

Health and Safety

To take all reasonable steps to ensure that the working environment conforms to current Health and Safety at Work regulations e.g. by undertaking risk assessments and reporting hazards.

Basic Systems

To report as appropriate any deficiencies in the basic systems which you either use or for which you have some responsibility.

Sickness Absence

To assist the effective management of sickness absence in accordance with the current policies and procedures of Liverpool Biennial.

Review

This job description will be reviewed six monthly during a Performance Appraisal. In the period between Performance Appraisals other duties may be assigned that are consistent with the responsibility of the post

PERSON SPECIFICATION

CRITERIA KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS METHOD OF ASSESSMENT

Education / Qualifications

Degree or qualification in related subject desirable but not essential

Application and Interview

Essential skills/abilities

2 years’ experience in media, marketing and/or PR, preferrably in a cultural organisation

Understanding of audiences, media outlets and digital platforms

Demonstrable history of managing digital media activity with demonstrable results

Excellent writing and editing skills, including the ability to adapt content for different audiences

Demonstrable interest in culture and visual arts Excellent interpersonal and communication skills,

including the ability to pitch Ability to generate effective and targeted content

(writing, photography, video) Ability to build and maintain relationships with

partners and media stakeholders Basic photography and video production skills Excellent organisational and planning skills Confident and personable manner Experience of working in a team on multiple

projects Ability to meet multiple deadlines in a fast-paced

environment Proactive manner with the ability to manage own

workload

Application and Interview

Assessment

Desirable Skills / Abilities

Understanding of Liverpool’s cultural sector and the regional media landscape

Experience of liaising with journalists and media Experience of generating cultural content for specific audiences

Understanding of how to grow and maintain audiences for the arts

Application and Interview

Knowledge of contemporary art Experience of working with content-management

systems (e.g. Wordpress) and phogoraphy/video-editing platforms (e.g. Photoshop)

Knowledge ofdigital trends, tools and best practice

Essential Attitudinal Factors

Confidentiality / integrity Dedication / loyalty Energy / motivation / initiative Resilience / adaptability Enjoy working under pressure Team worker

Interview

Other Commitment to equality and diversity Interview

APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT

Title of post applied for:

Before completing this form, please read the accompanying job description, person specification and briefing note.

Confidential

1. PERSONAL DETAILS Surname: Initials: Former surnames if different:

Preferred Name or Title (Optional):

Address:

Tel No (home):

Tel No (work):

Tel No (mobile): E-Mail address:

Nationality: If you are not a British passport holder or a European Citizen, or you do not have the permanent right to remain in the UK, you will require a work permit.

Do you need a work permit to be employed in the UK?

Yes No

If you already have a work permit, when does it expire? (Please note that your current work permit may not be valid for this post.)

Where did you learn of the post?

Preferred work arrangements: Full-time Part-time

2. EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (Original documents as proof of qualification will be required upon appointment.)

Secondary School / College / University

Dates Examinations taken Date ResultFrom To

Professional Qualifications currently held: how obtained, grade and date

Other relevant Educational or in-work Training Courses, with dates

3. CURRENT OR MOST RECENT EMPLOYMENT

Title of Post: Salary/Grade: Name of Employer:

Address:

Date Commenced: Date Ended (if applicable):

Please outline your responsibilities, to whom you are responsible and staff responsible to you (if applicable):

Reason for leaving or wishing to leave:

Period of notice required to terminate present employment:

Please notify us of any dates when you are unavailable for interview:

4. PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT (Please use continuation sheet if necessary.)

Name and Name and Address of Employ Employer Position Held Dates of Employment, and reason for

leaving. Final grade/salary

Description of duties:

Description of duties:

Description of duties:

Description of duties:

5. Bearing in mind the detailed job description and person specification, please tell us in your own words why you believe you are a suitable candidate: the particular qualities, experience and vision you would bring to the post if appointed. Please continue on a separate sheet if necessary. (You can insert a new sheet by pressing ctrl and enter)

As well as the main application form and an equal opportunities form, you may wish to submit supporting documentation either as a single PDF or PowerPoint presentation, including examples of previous writing, digital and/or PR campaigns that you have delivered. Please send the file via a file-sharing service such as Dropbox or WeTransfer if above 10MB and make a note of it below.

I am sending supporting documentation: YES / NO

6. Disabilities

If selected for interview, do you require any special arrangements to be made on account of a disability? Yes No

If “yes”, please give brief details of the effects of your disability on your day-to-day activities, and any other information that you feel would help us to accommodate your needs during your interview and fulfil our obligations under the Equality Act 2010:

7. Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975

Have you any convictions that are not spent under Rehabilitation of Offenders Act? Yes No

If Yes, please provide further details: [Spent convictions do not have to be declared]

8. REFERENCES

Referee 1 Referee 2Title: Title:

Full Name: Full Name:

Job Title: Job Title:

Organisation: Organisation: Address: Address:

Tel No: Tel No:

E-mail address: E-mail address:      

Mobile No: Mobile No: Please state if we may obtain this reference prior to interview.

Yes

No

Please state if we may obtain this reference prior to interview.

Yes

No

9. DECLARATION

I declare that the information given in this application form is true and complete. I understand that if I have given any misleading information on this form or made any omissions, this will be sufficient grounds for terminating my employment.

Signature: Date:

Name:

The information provided by you on this form as an applicant will be stored either on paper records or a computer system in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will be processed solely relating to recruitment, in accordance with Liverpool Biennial’s Recruitment and Selection and Data Protection Policies.

PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM TO Jane@biennial.com by the closing date of noon on 18 August 2017.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Liverpool Biennial presents the UK Biennial of Contemporary Art, the leading festival of visual arts in the UK, every 2 years. The Biennial festival is underpinned by a programme of research, education, residencies and commissions.

The Biennial exhibition brings an international focus to our work. It is the moment when the world comes to Liverpool to engage with our thinking, and when we present art to the world.

Founded in 1998 Liverpool Biennial has commissioned over 300 new artworks from 444 artists around the world, including 34 collaborative neighbourhood projects in the city. During the last 10 years Liverpool Biennial has had an economic impact of £119.6million.

Both Bloomberg New Contemporaries Exhibition and the John Moores Painting Prize at the Walker Art Gallery are key strands of the Biennial and draw new audiences to the city. New Contemporaries presents the best of recent graduate works and John Moores shows the results of an open competition for contemporary painters.

Sally Tallant is the Artistic Director and CEO. Liverpool Biennial was conceived and founded in 1998 by James Moores (with Jane Rankin Read, Lewis Biggs and Bryan Biggs) and presented the first Liverpool Biennial in 1999.

Equality and diversity monitoring

Liverpool Biennial is committed to ensuring that its services are accessible to everyone regardless of race, gender, ability, religion, sexual orientation or age. The information you give on this form will help us comply with our policy of ensuring that we meet our obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

We recognise that some people may regard some of this information as personal and we have, therefore, included an option in most questions for ‘prefer not to say’. You do not have to complete all of this form but it will help us improve our services if you can complete as much as possible and return the form.

All information Liverpool Biennial collects around equality and diversity will be treated and stored confidentially in accordance with the Data Protection Act, and our own Data Protection Policy. Access to this information will be restricted to staff involved in the processing and monitoring of this data. It will be used to provide statistical information only.

Please give your consent below for your information to be stored and used in this way.

Signed: Date:

A. Your age

What is your date of birth?

Prefer not to say

B. Disability

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) defines a person as disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long-term effect (ie has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months) on the person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Do you consider yourself to have a disability according to the terms given in the DDA?

DD/MM/YYYY

Yes No Prefer not to say

If you have answered yes, please indicate the type of impairment which applies to you. If your experience more than one type of impairment, please tick all the types that apply. If your disability does not fit any of these types, please mark Other and specify.

Physical/mobility impairment, such as a difficulty using your arms or mobility issues which require you to use a wheelchair or crutchesVisual impairment, such as being blind or having a serious visual impairmentHearing impairment, such as being deaf or having a serious hearing impairmentMental health condition, such as depression or schizophreniaLearning disability/difficulty, such as Down’s syndrome or dyslexia or a cognitive impairment such as autistic spectrum disorderLong-standing illness or health condition, such as cancer, HIV, diabetes, chronic heart disease or epilepsyOther (Please specify below)

C. Your ethnic group

(These are based on the Census 2001 categories, and are listed alphabetically)

Asian, Asian British, Asian English, Asian Scottish, Asian Welsh or Asian Irish

Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Other Asian Background

Black, Black British, Black English, Black Scottish, Black, Welsh or Black Irish

Caribbean African Other Black Background

Chinese, Chinese British, Chinese English, Chinese Scottish, Chinese Welsh or Chinese Irish

Chinese Other Chinese Background

Mixed

White & Black African

White & Black Caribbean

White & Asian Other Mixed Background

Other

Other Please state:

Prefer not to say

White

White-English White-Welsh White-British White Non-European

White-Scottish

White-Irish White-European

Other White background

D. Your gender

Male Female Prefer not to say

Do you identify as transgender?For this question ‘transgender’ is defined as an individual who lives, or wants to live, in the gender opposite to that they were assigned at birth.

Yes No Prefer not to say

E. Your religion or belief

Buddhism Christianity Hinduism

Islam Judaism Sikhism

No Religion Other Prefer not to say

F. Your sexual orientation

Bi-sexual Gay Man Gay WomanHeterosexual Other (specify if you wish) Prefer not to say