Position Vacant: Administrator

Live Art Development Agency
Administrator

 

The job description and application procedures on this page are available as a downloadable pdf. You can also download the monitoring form which we request you return with your applicaiton.

 

Launched in January 1999, the Live Art Development Agency is the leading development organisation for Live Art in the UK, offering resources, schemes, projects and initiatives for the support and development of Live Art practices and critical discourses.

The Live Art Development Agency works with practitioners, organisations and institutions on curatorial initiatives; develops strategies for increasing popular and critical awareness; provides practical information and advice; and offers extensive opportunities for dialogue, debate, research and training.

The Live Art Development Agency aims to respond practically and strategically to new artists, practices and ideas and is particularly committed to supporting the work of emergent artists, culturally diverse artists and artists engaging with challenging concepts or forms.

Many of the Agency’s schemes, projects and initiatives are strategic interventions within cultural sectors realised in partnership with individuals, organisations and institutions.

The Live Art Development Agency is small independent organisation with a team of staff who are responsible to a Board of Directors. As of April 2008 the staff are: Director, Associate Director, Projects Manager, and Administrator (new post). The Agency has decided to retain a small and focused permanent staff team, however, it regularly works with contract staff on a project basis. As of April 2008 the current contract staff working with the Agency are: Live Art UK coordinator; Restock, Rethink, Reflect Project Manager; and the Many Headed Monster (a forthcoming publication) Intern.

The Live Art Development Agency is a fixed-term client of Arts Council England, London. The Agency has received a welcome increase to its fixed-term funding for 2008 – 2010 which has enabled the creation of the post of Administrator.

The Live Art Development Agency office is located in Rochelle School, an old Victorian school in Shoreditch, East London managed by the A Foundation as offices and workspaces for the creative and cultural industries. Read more about Rochelle School at www.afoundation.org.uk/rochelle.

Further information about the Live Art Development Agency is available on this website. Also visit www.thisisUnbound.co.uk to find out about Unbound the Agency’s online store.

 

Administrator

The Live Art Development Agency Administrator will work as part of the small team at the Live Art Development Agency and will assist the Director Lois Keidan, Associate Director Daniel Brine, and Projects Manager Andrew Mitchelson with running the office and will contribute to the activities of the Agency. S/he will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the office and company book-keeping. The Administrator will also work on specific projects and schemes whenever possible and appropriate.

The Administrator will be line managed by the Associate Director.

General
The Administrator will be responsible for the day-to-day running of the Live Art Development Agency office. The Administrator will:

  • respond to telephone calls, mail and emails and report on them as necessary;
  • manage the office filing;
  • undertake general correspondence;
  • order stationery;
  • manage the post including organising mail-outs and fulfilment of Unbound orders;
  • organise travel arrangements;
  • organise and where appropriate minute meetings including Board meetings;
  • maintain the office equipment and computer systems; and
  • maintain and develop the Agency’s databases.

Resources – Study Room
The Live Art Development Agency’s Study Room is a core resource of the organisation. It houses a comprehensive collection of Live Art related publications, magazines and journals, and over 1,500 videos, and dvds. The Study Room is publicly accessible and is regularly used by artists, students, curators, and other arts professionals. The Administrator will:

  • ensure the upkeep of the Study Room including making sure that the Study Room is tidy and the holdings well maintained;
  • respond to bookings for the Study Room, and supervise Study Room users; and
  • purchase and catalogue new Study Room acquisitions.

Resources – Unbound
In recent years the Live Art Development Agency has piloted the sale of materials and publications which do not have commercial distribution in the UK. Materials include artists' books, dvds, and multiples. In 2006 the Live Art Development Agency launched Unbound – www.thisisUnbound.co.uk – an online shop for Live Art publications and materials. The Administrator will be responsible for the fulfilment of Unbound orders, s/he will:

  • manage stock including registering orders, sending out orders, ensuring a constant stock supply and monitor the stock using stock-tracking software.

Finance
The Directors are responsible for the financial management of the Agency and will prepare budgets and oversee all financial management. The Administrator will act as the Live Art Development Agency’s bookkeeper and will:

  • manage banking including paying in;
  • manage petty cash including regular reconciliation;
  • prepare all company invoices and purchase orders;
  • enter all income and expenditure on the financial management software;
  • track sales and payments in relation to Unbound;
  • undertake monthly reconciliation of accounts;
  • prepare quarterly statements of income and expenditure; and
  • liaise with third parties involved in financial transactions (eg online credit facility) as necessary.

The Administrator will also be expected to carry out any other duties as reasonably requested.

 

Person specifications

It is essential that the Administrator:

  • is extremely well organised and possesses excellent administration skills;
  • is self motivated and able to work as part of a team;
  • has experience of office administration including filing, answering enquiries, correspondence, placing orders for goods and services, and minute taking;
  • has excellent communication skills and is confident communicating in writing and in person;
  • has some experience of financial management in a small organisations; and
  • has experience of using computers and has an understanding of email, word processing, spreadsheet, database, and web-browser software.

It is desirable that the Administrator has:

  • some experience of working in the arts, and with artists and arts organisations;
  • an interest in and knowledge of Live Art and the infrastructures that support it in the UK;
  • experience of taking responsibility for financial management systems within a small arts organisation;
  • experience of Apple computers and Macintosh OS X;
  • experience of using Word, Excel, Mail, FileMaker Pro, and Mind Your Own Business; and
  • an understanding of computer networking.

 

Terms of the appointment

The Administrator will be appointed on a full-time basis and will be expected to work 35 hours per week. Office hours are Monday to Friday from 10am to 6pm and Flexitime working is possible with prior agreement. At particularly busy periods the Administrator may be required to work longer hours and at weekends and on those occasions time off in lieu may be taken.

As a small organisation the Live Art Development Agency is as creative and versatile as possible in its approach to working conditions. The Agency is willing to consider proposals for work structures suited to the needs and skills of its employees, for instance: job share agreements; enabling time-off for artistic production; or professional development programmes building on strengths and interests such as critical writing.

Other staff benefits include a cycle to work scheme, staff discounts for Unbound, and subsidised tickets for events.

The post holder will be entitled to four weeks paid leave each year, plus statutory bank holidays.

The post is offered at a starting salary of £18,000.

There will be a six-month probationary period. The probation will be reviewed after three months and at the end of the probation period.

Notice of one month is required by either party for termination of employment (and two weeks during the probation period).

The Live Art Development Agency does not currently offer a pension scheme. However, the Agency is currently considering pension options and may offer a pension scheme in the future.

 

Equal Opportunities

The Live Art Development Agency aims to ensure that no applicant receives less favourable treatment on grounds of gender, race, colour, religion, disability, marital status or sexual orientation. Applicants should note that the Live Art Development Agency’s Study Room is located on the first floor of the building where there is no lift and access is by stairs.

The Live Art Development Agency places a strong emphasis on equality of opportunity and access. In order to monitor this commitment the Agency has created a monitoring form. Responses to the form will be used for statistical information only and the information will not be used in decision making.

A monitoring form is available to download from this site.

 

To apply

To apply, please send us by email:

  • A statement – of no more than two A4 pages. Please address:
    why you feel that you are suitable for the post; and
    how you match the person specifications – both essential and desirable - using examples of your past experience.
  • Your current CV of no more than two A4 pages.
  • Your current contact details.
  • The names and contact details of two referees. Referees will be contacted after interview.
  • Answers to the monitoring questions (optional).

You must submit your application by email.

Email your application with ‘Administrator application’ in the subject line to rsvp@thisisLiveArt.co.uk by 12 noon (GMT) on Tuesday 27 May 2008.

Your application should consist of an email which includes information provided under the following headings:

  • name
  • contact details (postal, telephone, and email)
  • referees (names and contact details)
  • list of attachments

Your attachments should be:

  • Your statement
  • Your cv
  • You monitoring form (optional).

All attachments should be Word documents, RTF documents, or PDFs. The extension should therefore be .doc, .rtf or .pdf. Our preference is for PDFs as this ensures that your formatting is retained.

Please title your attachments:

  • YourLastName_statement.pdf
  • YourLastName_cv.pdf
  • LADA_admin_monitoring.pdf

If you are unable to submit your application by email for access or technical reasons please contact us well in advance of the application deadline to discuss alternative arrangements.

The deadline for applications is 12 noon on Tuesday 27 May 2008.

Interviews will be held on Friday 6 June 2008. The interview process will include a number of tasks to test basic skills including data entry and correspondence writing.