Projects Officer - Music

The Projects Officer - Music will be an important member of the Pembroke House Team. You will work across the sweep of Pembroke House’s activities as a “Projects Officer”. In this role, you will work flexibly as a member of a small and dynamic team, working together to make a long-term difference in Walworth. You will be asked to work on, and lead, projects that could range from strategy, to fundraising, internal and external comms, events, community activities, HR, operations, IT, governance and finance. This part of the role does not necessarily relate to our music offer and will be shaped by the post-holder’s skills and experience and our organisational goals.

Within this broader role, your central responsibility will be the delivery, development and sustainability of our three open-access music education and engagement programmes, providing inspirational, low-cost training to 70 children aged 0-15 and developing our unique approach to music education under the umbrella of the Pembroke Academy of Music (“PAM”).This work work on music will take approximately 2-4 days during term time and 0-2 days out of term​.

Pembroke House actively seeks and encourages applications from eligible candidates who live locally.

Responsible to: Director of Programmes

Responsible for: PAM Administrator, PAM Instrumental Tutors, PAM Volunteers, other volunteers and contractors (as required)

Location: The post-holder will work flexibly from home and from one of the charity’s office spaces in Walworth, SE17

Hours of Work: 35 hours per week. The post-holder will need to be available on Wednesday evenings until approximately 9:30pm, during term time, in Walworth for our main Pembroke Academy of Music (PAM) session. Some other evening and weekend working will be required for which TOIL will be offered.

Budget oversight: Music Budgets (up to £50,000), other budgets (up to £25,000)

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Pembroke Academy of Music

-Lead the Pembroke Academy of Music (PAM) and, working with the Director of Programmes, oversee its development and sustainability
-Create, maintain and develop conditions which maximise the enjoyment, learning and development of participants, tutors and volunteers
-Lead the PAM team of tutors, administrator and volunteers to deliver inspirational teaching and sensitive support to participants and their parents or carers
-Fill vacancies, induct team members, and arrange deputies as required
-Manage the PAM budget
-Lead a regular, whole group session, for example, choir or orchestra
-Oversee participant feedback and assessment, including external examinations
-Develop, test and evaluate schemes of learning that work to achieve the aims of our music programme, working collaboratively with the whole team
-Oversee the provision and maintenance of learning resources and instruments
-Maintain and build on existing relationships with arts organisations and explore new opportunities to collaborate
-Provide guidance and support to parents and carers on wider opportunities
-Ensure that Health and Safety and Safeguarding policies and procedures are properly understood and followed
-Work with the Projects Officer - Dance and the Director of Programmes on developing our performing arts offer across the board

Projects Officer

-Lead on specific tasks and work streams on matters that could range from strategy, to fundraising, internal and external comms, events, community activities, HR, operations, IT, governance and finance
-Contribute to projects that cut across the organisation, playing a full role as a member of flexible teams
-Muck in when it is required, even if this means taking on a role that may not be familiar to you
-Support internal communications and contribute to an engaged and effective team, including being responsible for the Pembroke House phone line and info@ email address when necessary
-Support efforts to learn from and improve Pembroke House’s activities and operations
-Contribute to external communications, including outreach, social media and marketing
-Represent Pembroke House at meetings, conferences, and workshops
-Help scope and develop new ideas and activities

Fundraising

-Lead on fundraising for PAM from trusts, foundations and donors, working within existing processes, and maintain the relationship with funders of the project including reporting
-Support fundraising efforts from trusts & foundations across the wider organisation
-Research, identify, and build relationships with potential funders
-Draft applications, reports, and evaluations

Learning

-Keep a written record of our learning in our music programme, ensuring that Pembroke House contributes to developments in policy and practice further afield
-Build on existing efforts, working with the Director of Programmes and, where necessary external partners, to develop our practice and a learning framework for our music programme
-Build relationships with other organisations using music and performing arts to create conditions for enjoyment, learning and new relationships that we can learn alongside

Administrative

-Make arrangements for visitors, events, and meetings relating to the music programme and the wider organisation

Other

-Be committed to the Equal Opportunities Policy of Pembroke House
-Take part in the life of Pembroke House and muck in when a team effort is required to get something done
-Take part in weekly and monthly meetings of all staff or smaller project-based teams helping foster effective team-working and a coherent approach across all our activities

Occasional duties

-Attend special events organised by Pembroke House which may be during the evenings or at weekends
-Attend monthly team meetings held during the evening
-Complete other tasks commensurate with the level of the role

The above job description is a guide to the work you may be required to undertake but does not form part of your contract of employment. Pembroke House reserves the right to change the duties detailed in this job description to reflect changing circumstances. Changes will be introduced following discussion with the post-holder.

If you have any questions about the role then please be in touch with Nina Feldman, Chief of Staff at [email protected]

Who we're looking for

The person we appoint to this role will be passionate about improving music education. You will bring musical expertise and training, as well as an understanding of the challenges young people face in music education and more broadly.

You will also be passionate about Pembroke House’s wider mission and will be looking to mix your musical skills and creative practice with the opportunity to work as part of a small and enterprising organisation, tackling long term inequalities in a diverse neighbourhood.

You will be both a brilliant communicator, able to engage and motivate a team to work together and build shared understanding, and a formidable organiser, able to turn a multitude of interconnected and sometimes competing priorities into a well-ordered plan in no time.

As a people person, you’ll be able to build strong relationships with ease with people from every walk of life. You’ll also be a thoughtful listener, driven to work out what makes different people tick.

Most of all, you’ll be passionate about learning, comfortable with challenging your own ideas and preconceptions, and constantly looking for ways to improve.

This role would suit someone with musical expertise, together with skills and experience in wider work relevant to Pembroke House’s activities. This could be in any of the following areas: strategy, fundraising, events, HR, Operations, data and IT, internal and external comms, Governance, or Finance.

Requirements

Person Specification

Qualifications/ academic achievements / education

-An undergraduate degree in music or an equivalent level of formal musical education

Skills / knowledge / training

-Confident musician, with excellent performance and teaching skills in at least one instrument (or voice)
-Excellent written communication
-Excellent verbal communication and strong interpersonal skills
-Proactive organisational skills; ability to plan, prioritise, and reprioritise tasks to manage workload
-Ability to work effectively as part of a team and take direction from others
-Confidence in delegating tasks, including to people who are not direct reports
-Ability to take initiative and work independently
-Ability to maintain focus and adapt in a rapidly changing environment
-Competent keyboard skills (desirable)

Experience

-2 years’ experience working with children and young people in a music education environment
-Experience of raising money for projects
-Experience directing choirs or orchestras
-Experience of leading a team of freelance musicians (desirable)
-Experience driving complex projects through to completion (desirable)

Personal attributes

-A passion for musical education and creating environments that maximise enjoyment, learning and development
-A desire to develop your musical practice in a wider work context and to learn new skills
-A passion for the vision and mission of Pembroke House
-A love and eagerness for learning and self development and an openness to exploring unexpected directions
-An ability to respond to and act on feedback
-Commitment to the Equal Opportunities, Data Protection, and Child and Vulnerable Adult Safeguarding Policies of Pembroke House
Second language skills, particularly in Spanish (desirable)

Special conditions

-Ability to work outside of normal office hours including on Wednesday evenings (until 9:30pm) during term time for PAM sessions, and sometimes at the weekends
Sensitive to the ethos of St. Christopher’s Church

Pembroke House is a centre for social action and residential community in Walworth, south-east London.

We were founded in 1885, by students from Pembroke College, Cambridge, as one of the first settlement houses. Shocked by growing poverty and inequality, the pioneers of the settlement movement sought a new approach: taking up residence to live, work and solve problems alongside local communities.

For over 130 years, we’ve been working to bridge traditional divides and unite people – whatever their background or walk of life – in building a better Walworth. Today, Pembroke House is a growing and dynamic organisation, working with partners across Walworth and further afield to see a long-term change in our neighbourhood and beyond.

PEMBROKE ACADEMY OF MUSIC

Music is a part of all of our lives – whether we play it, relax to it, share it, make it, move to it, dance to it or find meaning in it. And a good music education can be central to developing us as people; helping us to connect with each other and work together, to grow and learn, and to contribute.

That’s why we believe that all children should have the chance to engage with sustained, high-quality musical training. Through the Pembroke Academy of Music (“PAM”), we provide classical training at heavily subsidised rates for local children who would otherwise miss out. Its three programmes—Baby PAM, Junior PAM, and Senior PAM—provide a progression route from age 0-14.

As babies and toddlers (0-4), children come together with their parents and carers to laugh and learn through musical games and songs. As juniors (5-7), children are trained using the Kodály method to develop foundational musical skills and understanding. In the Senior programme (7-14), children are trained in a musical instrument, musicianship and theory, ensemble performance and choir.

Concerts and practical examinations play an important role across the programmes, as do opportunities to collaborate with top quality professional ensembles, like The Multi-Story Orchestra and The Choir of Pembroke College, Cambridge.

In all of this work, PAM is guided by three aims:

-To provide access to high quality musical tuition, music-making, and musical education to local children of all abilities and backgrounds who would otherwise miss out
-To engage participants in the process of learning and support their personal development through music
-To provide wider opportunities to participants and a supportive environment with the resources for them to make the most of them

For further information about Pembroke House, please visit our website: www.pembrokehouse.org.uk