Director

Job description

CDMT is looking for a talented, ambitious and driven education and arts professional to energetically build on the company's success over the past decade and imaginatively take forward and elevate our mission and vision for the years ahead. The role is accountable to the Chair of Trustees.

CDMT's position in the sector and the requirements of the role are described in the job pack and on our website.

ABOUT THE ROLE OF DIRECTOR

CDMT is the industry body for world-class professional schools, conservatoires and awarding organisations in the performing arts, and we are a strong advocate on behalf of the sector.

The Director of the CDMT plays a strategic role in performing arts training, education and assessment nationally and manages the staff and resources of an organisation of UK-wide standing. The CDMT is financed primarily by membership subscriptions. As this source of income is restricted, the successful applicant will need to demonstrate a strategic business sense and a successful income-driven record that will enable the CDMT to create, diversify and take full advantage of developing opportunities.

The Director must be able to liaise effectively with all sectors of the dance, drama, music and musical theatre education communities. They will have wide knowledge and experience of arts education at all stages of development from entry level, through Further/Higher Education to post-graduate level, and will also require an understanding of qualification frameworks in the UK. Knowledge and experience of inspection and self-assessment mechanisms similar to those operated by the Office for Students, Ofsted and Ofqual, is desirable.

The role includes advocacy on behalf of the sector and requires an ability to offer support and advice to professional schools, conservatoires and awarding organisations as well as informing the thinking of regulators, civil servants and parliamentarians. This demands a high level of tact, diplomacy, professional understanding and tenacity as well as intellectual rigour and integrity.

This is a time of change and challenge for the performing arts education community. The post of Director of the CDMT requires a talented, ambitious and self-driven professional able to offer and energetically deliver an exciting vision for the company's future, and manage the journey required to successfully achieve it.

THE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE MUST DEMONSTRATE

• Experience of management at a senior level in the education and/or arts sectors, with an awareness of national assessment and inspection frameworks
• Staff management skills and a motivating and inclusive style
• Ability to identify opportunities, take initiative, and command the respect of peers and associates, demonstrating honesty and integrity in all dealings
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, interpersonal abilities, and strategic thinking and planning
• Knowledge and experience of financial procedures and regulatory compliance and responsibilities
• Proficiency in influencing, negotiating, and finding common ground and agreement
• Resilience, self-motivation, clear vision and the ability to defend and promote CDMT's mission
• Commitment to equal opportunities and the charity's values
• Education to a minimum of Degree level
• The guile to engage with the pertinent issues of the time and to endeavour to shape the future for the benefit of CDMT

SUMMARY OF DIRECTOR'S ACTIVITIES

• Set CDMT strategy, vision and direction with Board support
• Establish corporate values, rewards quality and success in a culture of equal opportunity
• Create business plans, allocates capital in support of aims, produces budgets and monitors finances
• Cultivate key relationships, influences decision-makers, develops suitable partnerships and networks
• Strengthen CDMT's reputation through representations to government, industry bodies and media
• Lead, inspire and build teams of highly qualified staff, consultants with effective use of resources
• Chair meetings and ensures success of operational policies, membership committees and inspections
• Utilise sector intelligence to reinforce the company's standing through targeted initiatives
• Oversee reports to the Charity Commission, Companies House, HMRC, Pensions Regulator etc (acting as Company Secretary)
• Manage risk assessments and mitigating actions, seek legal and professional advice where necessary.