JOB TITLE                                                             Short Course Programmer

LOCATION                                                           West Dean College

SALARY                                                                £32,000 per annum

HOURS                                                                 Monday – Friday (35 hours)

                                                                Please note this role is a Fixed Term Contract for 6 months.

The Organisation

West Dean College is internationally recognised as a centre of excellence for art, design, craft, and conservation education.  The work of staff and students, frequently rooted in traditional skills, is both innovative and world leading.

We are making bold and ambitious moves as an organisation with the expansion of our portfolio, the redevelopment of our estate and our strategic push on diversity and sustainability. 

Our programmes are delivered across two sites in the UK - West Dean, the idyllic Grade II listed rural campus in the stunning South Downs near Chichester (West Sussex), and our prestigious Chelsea Harbour site in the heart of London.  These inspiring locations provide the ideal environment in which students can work across disciplines and forge exciting new collaborations. 

The Role

We are seeking to recruit a fixed term Short Course Programmer to join the short course team in the School of Arts at West Dean. Where we plan around 900 short courses per year with around 9,500 individual students. Courses range from 1 day taster courses to highly specialist 10-day residential opportunities. The short courses cover a wide range of subject disciplines from Fine Art to Contemporary Crafts, from Interior Design to creative writing and from heritage building to music. Students come from a range of background, from beginners looking to learn a new skill to practitioners seeking professional development and everything in between.

This new role is to support the existing team as we seek to establish a programme of short courses at our new West Dean London campus, alongside the existing programme of short courses at West Dean Sussex.

Key areas of responsibility will include:

Devising, developing, implementing, and administering a lively and innovative programme of short courses, balancing student demand with the need to introduce and promote new and/or experimental topics. The programme is developed in accordance with the College’s ethos and its mission related to art, craft, writing, and music balancing professional integrity, economic viability and the effective use of the learning resources and spaces of the College.   

The People

To be successful in these roles you will need to have demonstrable previous experience of programming courses or events and a knowledge of and passion for education and the arts. You are likely to have knowledge of some or all short course areas however it would be an advantage to have a sound knowledge of the contemporary craft sector and/or creative writing or digital design skills.

It is envisaged that the role will be based at West Dean however we would be open to alternative options for the right candidate.

This roles requires good communication skills, with the ability to collaborate, inspire and build relationships both with colleagues and students.

Who we are looking for:

The Benefits

In recognition for all your hard work and dedication, we can offer you:

• 33 days holiday per year
• Pension (we’ll match you up to 7.5%)
• Life Assurance
• Company Sick Pay
• Employee Assistance Programme
• 25% off retail and restaurant
• 50% off short courses
• Salary sacrifice schemes
• Free on-site parking

Closing Date: 30 January 2024

We endeavour to respond to all applicants in a timely manner; however we can receive significant numbers of applications, which means we may not be able to respond to everyone.  If you do not hear from us within two weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.

We will be reviewing applications as we receive, therefore we may hire prior to end date of advert subject to right candidate.

Candidates for this role will need to be able to demonstrate a current Right to Work in the UK.