Audience Engagement Assistant

Salary: £23,700 with progression to £25,138 per annum, pro rata

Newcastle University is a great place to work, with excellent benefits. We have a generous holiday package; plus the opportunity to buy more, great pension schemes and a number of health and wellbeing initiatives to support you.

Closing Date: 13 May 2024

The Role

We are recruiting for one part-time Audience Engagement Assistant post.

The Audience Engagement Assistant role offers an exciting opportunity to join the team of cultural institution focused on architecture and cities. Situated in the heart of Newcastle upon Tyne, the Farrell Centre’s mission is to engage and involve the broadest possible audience with the forces driving urban change to help bring about a built environment that is more inclusive, sustainable, and democratic. The building project to transform a late 19th-century building into the centre’s new home was completed in February 2023 and the centre opened its doors to the public in April 2023.

Reporting to the Operations and Visitor Experience Coordinator, the Audience Engagement Assistant will play an important role in the day-to-day running of the Farrell Centre, working to ensure the safety and comfort of our visitors and that their experience of our building, exhibitions and programmes is as rich and rewarding as possible. The Audience Engagement Assistant will also contribute to the delivery of the centre’s digital engagement strategy working across the centre’s website, e-newsletter, and social media channels.

The part-time post is 21 hours across 3 days per week. Normal working days will be within the centre’s opening days (Wednesday–Sunday) and a rota will be agreed with Operations and Visitor Experience Coordinator before start date. Additional shifts and evening event shifts will be on offer and paid as additional hours.

A DBS check is required with this position.

To apply, please complete an online application and upload a CV and a cover letter. Your cover letter should be a detailed supporting statement outlining why you are a good fit for the role. Please explain how you meet the essential criteria outlined and evidence this with examples, please also indicate whether you are interested in the full-time or part-time roles. Informal enquiries may be made to Hania Klepacka (hania.klepacka@newcastle.ac.uk).  

What is the Farrell Centre?

The Farrell Centre is a new centre for architecture and cities in Newcastle. 

Instigated by renowned architect-planner Sir Terry Farrell, and forming part of Newcastle University’s School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, the Farrell Centre is located in a four storey Victorian building in central Newcastle that has been transformed in a £4.6 million building project; it works to widen the debate around the crucial roles that architecture and planning play in ways that are engaging, innovative and challenging.

The Farrell Centre is free to all and combines a public gallery, research hub, and civic space. The centre offers a variety of experiences for visitors of all ages and hosts an ambitious programme of temporary exhibitions, public talks, and debates, workshops for schools, young people, and community groups, as well as commissioned publications, podcasts, and other digital projects.

Key Accountabilities

Visitor Experience

Working with the Operations and Visitor Experience Coordinator, play a key role in ensuring visitors’ safety and comfort, and quality of experience:

•    Work in collaboration with the broader staff team to ensure that all aspects of the Farrell Centre visitor experience are consistently of the highest quality
•    Contribute to ensuring the Farrell Centre is safe, welcoming, and accessible to all
•    Be a key point of information for visitors: welcoming visitors, answering questions, aiding visitor navigation of the building, relaying information about all aspects of the Farrell Centre’s programme
•    Working with the Farrell Centre curatorial team, take a proactive approach to visitor engagement: introducing temporary exhibitions and the Urban Rooms programme, offering further information and insights, prompting visitors to offer their views and responses, and supporting visitors with self-directed engagement activities
•    Deliver informal daily spotlight tours on temporary exhibitions and Urban Rooms programme
•    Support the delivery of workshops and events held at the Farrell Centre
•    Ensure the Farrell Centre building is always in a presentable state, reporting any cleaning requirements to the Operations and Visitor Experience Coordinator and university cleaning team as required
•    Work to protect Farrell Centre exhibits and building from damage, including carrying out detailed daily checks of objects and displays. Report any concerns to the Operations and Visitor Experience Coordinator and, if necessary, university security
•    In the event of fire alarm, working with the Operations and Visitor Experience Coordinator and other members of the Farrell Centre team, ensure the building is evacuated and where necessary assist wheelchair users with locating refuges
•    Report any health and safety concerns to Operations and Visitor Experience Coordinator and take action where necessary or appropriate
•    Engage with visitor feedback procedures

Digital engagement

•    Attend and contribute to the centre’s weekly digital engagement meetings
•    Help deliver digital content, to include:
•    Contributing to updating website, creating new pages, adding content etc
•    Working with the Farrell Centre team to put together the centre’s monthly e-newsletter
•    Contributing to creating and scheduling social media content across various channels
•    Take an interest in trends in digital engagement in the cultural sector and beyond, notably social media
•    Support the Operations and Visitor Experience Coordinator in responding to messages / enquiries from the public

General

•    Ensure familiarity with all centre policies and procedures where relevant, including safeguarding policies
•    With the support of the Operations and Visitor Services Coordinator, be up to date on necessary training, including wheelchair evacuation procedures, fire marshalling and first aid
•    Support the Operations and Visitor Services Coordinator in coordinating the centre’s volunteers and interns
•    Be prepared to offer visitor support at weekend and evening workshops, talks, or events with time off in lieu or additional hours paid to part-time staff (frequency to be agreed with Operations and Visitor Services Coordinator). As part of this, occasionally act as a building key holder
•    Provide general organisation and logistical support to the Farrell Centre team as required
•    Undertake any other grade appropriate duties at the discretion of the Operations and Visitor Services Coordinator, Centre Director and/or University manager

The Person

Knowledge, Skills and Experience 
•    Experience working or volunteering at a cultural venue or equivalent
•    Customer service and/or front of house experience
•    Knowledge of the museums sector and commitment to the mission and values of the Farrell Centre
•    Excellent IT skills, in particular social media
•    Excellent communication skills, with ability to communicate effectively to a range of audiences

Attributes and Behaviour
•    Ability to take a proactive approach to tasks
•    A confident yet friendly manner when dealing with members of the public
•    Reliable, ensuring tasks get done in a timely and efficient manner
•    Ability to well work in a team
•    Conscientious and attention to detail in all aspects of work

Qualifications
•    Grades A-C in English Language and Mathematics at GCSE (or vocational qualifications or equivalent)
•    Demonstrable work experience in a relevant role and/or comparable setting

Desirable
•    Current First Aid qualification 

Newcastle University is a global University where everyone is treated with dignity and respect.  As a University of Sanctuary, we aim to provide a welcoming place of safety for all, offering opportunities to people fleeing violence and persecution.

We are committed to being a fully inclusive university which actively recruits, supports and retains colleagues from all sectors of society.  We value diversity as well as celebrate, support and thrive on the contributions of all of our employees and the communities they represent.  We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer and encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing teams, we believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of our university and student population.

At Newcastle University we hold a silver Athena Swan award in recognition of our good employment practices for the advancement of gender equality.  We also hold a Race Equality Charter Bronze award in recognition of our work towards tackling race inequality in higher education REC.  We are a Disability Confident employer and will offer an interview to disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the role as part of the offer and interview scheme.

In addition, we are a member of the Euraxess initiative supporting researchers in Europe. 

Requisition ID: 26987

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