Festival Director

**Please do not apply via LinkedIn, but head to www.southwestfest/2025/10/27/were-hiring/ for the full Application Pack**

Role

Freelance Festival Director

Contract value

£22,360

Contract period

January 2026-December 2026, renewable annually

Time commitment

Two days per week on average, but weighted towards the festival

events and immediate preparation for them in early summer

Place of work

Primarily home based/flexible, with attendance at meetings in Westminster needed on a

regular basis

Reporting to

Chair and Board of Trustees

Supervising

Freelance staff, Volunteers as required

Enhanced DBS check required

Background

Since 2004, SouthWestFest has brought the SW1 community together in the first weeks of July to celebrate the cultural and community work taking place in this unique part of the capital. Now the Board of Trustees is seeking an experienced freelance Festival Director to lead this dynamic annual community festival, sustain past success and take it into a new phase of development.  

The successful candidate will work with the Board and partner organisations to link local people to cultural and community opportunities through fun activities and engaging events for all ages.

The Festival Director will:

1. Work with the Board of Trustees to develop the overall artistic and strategic vision for the festival.
2. Plan for the delivery of the annual festival events, identifying fundraising and planning elements that need to be initiated to meet early deadlines.
3. Work alongside the Board to identify sources of and successfully raise funding from trusts and foundations, local and regional authorities, and private/commercial sponsors.
4. Develop a festival programme of events including directly delivered, commissioned and curated elements.
5. Supervise the work of any additional freelance and agency staff to ensure their effective performance.
6. Build and supervise our pool of admin and festival volunteers, working in partnership with local volunteering organisations and programmes.
7. Oversee the promotion of the festival via a variety of media including via community partners, community champions, brochure distribution, festival website and social media.
8. Be responsible for liaising with Westminster City Council and any other appropriate authorities, including keeping relevant officers informed of developments and representing the festival effectively to a range of stakeholders.
9. Oversee production to ensure the organisation of infrastructure for physical festival events, including venues, obtaining appropriate licenses, taking responsibility for health & safety, generating risk assessments, liaising with appropriate authorities and hiring of technical equipment.
10. Produce any large scale events, including arranging get-in and get-out, and liaising with partners and stakeholders, the Board of Trustees, volunteers and staff to ensure the public enjoys a safe and successful event.
11. Work to develop an increasingly diverse and inclusive festival, including varied programming of events, with an emphasis on giving opportunities to local people.
12. Work with the Treasurer and Bookkeeper to ensure financial records are maintained and that the Charity has the resources necessary to deliver its plans and remain financially viable.
13. Plan effective evaluation of the festival and contribute to impact reports and the charity's Annual Report
14. Prepare a report for, and attend whenever possible, the monthly Board of Trustees meetings, maintaining close liaison with the Festival Chair on all aspects of the Festival.

Person Specification

Management:

• Highly motivated and able to work on own initiative.
• At least 3 years' experience in successful events management, with a particular emphasis on community events of equivalent size.
• Excellent knowledge of and a proven track record in health & safety, risk assessment, and dealing with production management
• Knowledge and experience of staff and volunteer development
• Excellent organisational and time management skills with the ability to work to tight deadlines
• Analytical skills and understanding of outcomes and evaluation.
• A working knowledge of charity finance and governance

Budgets and Fundraising

• Proven Ability to manage project budgets of at least £50k.
• Good working knowledge of funding bodies and fundraising methods
• Proven experience in successfully gaining funding for projects from trusts and foundations, local and regional authorities and prestigious private and commercial sponsors
• Excellent written and oral communication skills

Marketing & Communication

• Knowledge and experience of marketing and P.R.
• Good networking skills, able to work with a range of different people including funders, local community partners, trainees and volunteers.
• Experience of working in a multicultural, inner-city environment, with a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion.
• Good IT skills and familiarity with social media

Desirable

• Knowledge of, and experience within, the South Westminster community.
• Experience of delivering events within a high profile environment, such as Westminster.

Note

With the agreement of the trustees, the Festival Director may arrange to outsource part of their role to other freelance or agency staff but the cost of this would be part of the Director's fee.

Diversity and inclusion is integral to our work at SouthWestFest, as we are a festival for everyone. We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people of the global majority, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse and disabled candidates.

South Westminster Community Festival is an Equal Opportunities employer. All staff, including Freelance staff, are expected to adhere to our Equal Opportunities policy and comply with our Code of Conduct.