COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OFFICER

barnsleycivic.co.uk

COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT OFFICER

INFORMATION PACK

WELCOME

Thank you so much for your interest in Barnsley Civic
and the role as Community Engagement Officer.

Barnsley Civic is a regionally significant,
contemporary arts centre in the heart of Barnsley
town centre. With ambitious new leadership in place,
and a growing cultural programme, this is a brilliant
time to join our dynamic team.

We are a passionate and creative bunch. We believe
in our shared cultural & social aims, and work hard
together to deliver on them. Our collaborative team-
led approach gives everyone a chance to shape what
we do and how we do it.

In late 2024 we reopened our Eldon St entrance
after more than 26 years, as part of a £2.5 million
redevelopment project. As we prepare for our 150-
year anniversary in 2027-28, further capital investment
will unlock more of our unique building, and we will
be developing a wider and more diverse cultural
programme; both inside and outside our historic walls.

In these challenging times, we are constantly seeking
out new opportunities and new partnerships. The
diversification of income streams goes hand-in-hand
with an expansion of cultural ambition. Our optimistic
vision for the future is that Barnsley Civic will play an
ever-increasing role in the cultural and civic life of
South Yorkshire, and the wider regional & national
cultural landscape.

If you are looking for a new challenge, are ambitious
for your own career, and want to be part of a positive
& hopeful staff team, then please consider applying
for this role. We look forward to hearing from you.

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ABOUT US

We are a future-focused, contemporary arts centre
positioned in the heart of Barnsley town centre.

Barnsley Civic is a large and diverse arts & cultural
centre. Our 150-year old building is Grade II listed.
Across four floors, and over 50,000 square feet,
our public spaces include an adaptable 400-
seat assembly theatre, a 50-seat studio theatre,
three large development spaces, contemporary
exhibition spaces, a classes studio, bars and
catering spaces, and a welcoming community
space in our newly reopened frontage. Alongside
these public rooms, the building also holds a
range of different office spaces occupied by
resident companies and artists.

As a receiving house we programme a rich variety
of performance and visual arts, welcoming
national and regional tours and touring art
exhibitions. We host a broad mix of theatre, dance,
family shows, gigs, comedy and entertainment.
Alongside external programming, we are
expanding our in-house production capacity,
with both solo and co-produced projects in
development. Like all mixed-use arts buildings
we also support a range of private hire events to
cross-subsidise our artistic programme.

Both within our building and beyond, our in-
house engagement team works with a wide
range of community partners and educational
institutions to bring creative activities to Barnsley
communities. Core activities include Cross the
Sky, a theatre company working with learning-
disabled adults. We also deliver a growing
heritage engagement programme, with support
from partners like Historic England. A productive
partnership with local and regional government
provides the additional resources needed to help
us maximise the impact and reach of our creative
engagement and cultural programme.

As an Arts Council England National Portfolio
Organisation we are focused on supporting the
development of the local and regional cultural
ecosystem. Our artist support and development
activity includes a diverse studio theatre
programme of new works, and the provision of
creation space for both visual and performing
artists. As the most significant ACE-funded
cultural building in our area, we host many
associate and resident artists and companies,
and act as a meeting place for the whole regional
cultural sector.

barnsleycivic.co.uk

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A BIT ABOUT BARNSLEY

Barnsley is a welcoming, thriving, and vibrant location
and is fast becoming one of Yorkshire’s most exciting
places to live, work visit and explore.

Living in Barnsley gives you the best of what
South Yorkshire has to offer - bustling towns
surrounded by incredible outdoor space, it’s
minutes from the M1 and has superb transport
links (train/ bus/ road).

Sitting on the northeast edge of the Peak District
National Park, Barnsley is perfect if you enjoy
getting out and about.

With picturesque countryside, beautiful parks and
gardens (Yorkshire Sculpture Park), stately homes,
industrial heritage, nature reserves, the Trans
Pennine Trail, galleries, a wealth of public art, and
bustling historic markets, right on the doorstep, it
has plenty to offer.

There are some fantastic places to set up a home.
Like most of South Yorkshire, Barnsley is best
known for its rugged stone-built terraced homes
but the most popular properties in the area are
three-bedroom semi-detached homes - outlining
Barnsley’s appeal to families.

And with new developments springing up, the
town also offers its fair share of newer houses,
as well as town centre apartments close to the
station for commuters.

Barnsley town centre recently underwent a £220M
transformation, bringing a brand-new retail and
leisure complex, The Glass Works and a great
day, evening and night-time offer. This is driving
footfall and business and attracting visitors from
across the region.

The town centre is also home to The Seam
development, Barnsley’s Digital Campus. An urban
village will transform the two Digital Media Centres
and the Barnsley College Sci-Tech Digital Hub and
will be a testbed for innovative ideas, supporting
the Barnsley economy to grow, with digital and
smart tech at the heart of it.

Across the borough, investment continues, with
several major schemes underway and more in the
pipeline.

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     COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT OFFICER

JOB DESCRIPTION AND PERSONAL SPECIFICATION

Hours:

Salary:

21 Hours Per week

£26,000 (Pro Rata) Fixed Term until January 2028

Based at:

Barnsley Civic

Reporting to:

Community Engagement Manager

Responsible for:   Freelance Artists

Liaison with:

 Community Engagement Manager, Engagement Projects Manager,
Head of Programme, Exhibitions Curator, CEO & AD.

Overview of the role
The Community Engagement Officer will play a key role in supporting the delivery of Barnsley Civic’s
Community Engagement programme with a specific focus on our work with schools, young people, and
education providers throughout the borough and how we can connect them with our artistic programme.

The post holder will work closely with our Community Engagement Manager to support the delivery
of Barnsley Civic’s own ongoing creative community groups and exploring new ways in which we can
continue to develop audiences for our artistic programme through community engagement and creative
health activities.

The role may be split between working on site at Barnsley Civic and off-site in the community and will
involve an element of evening and weekend working.

barnsleycivic.co.uk

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    COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OFFICER

     KEY DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

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 Co-ordinate and deliver educational resources, engagement activities, events and workshops
within the building and in the wider borough connecting children and young people to our
performance, visual arts and heritage programme.

 Effectively maintain our established relationships with schools, education providers and third
sector youth organisations and establish new partnerships.

 Support engagement with our annual pantomime, by developing educational resources and
activities connecting with specific communities and school

 Support the management and delivery of Barnsley Civic’s core creative community groups
(these include Cross the Sky, Barnsley Young Writers and Civic Pride Singers)

 Ensure delivery of programmes and projects are to a high standard, including planning, and
budgeting.

 Support the management of relationships with freelance artists and companies to deliver
engagement activities.

•  Play a key role in the creation of Barnsley Civic’s long term Youth Engagement Strategy.

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 Work closely with the Marketing and Comms department to ensure planned activities are
advertised and align effectively with in house marketing and promotional initiatives.

 Work to a framework and process led by the General Manager, and alongside the Community
Engagement Manager, ensuring Barnsley Civic delivers on ACE’s reporting requirements,
including tracking qualitative and quantitative data for including in our Activity Plan and
Investment Principles Reporting.

 Work to a framework and process led by the General Manager, and alongside the rest of
the Programming and Engagement Team, collect feedback for monitoring and evaluation
supporting the delivery of Barnsley Civic’s overall evaluation framework.

 Play an active role as part of the Barnsley Civic team and contribute to the wider objectives of
the business, including our aims to become a more sustainable and greener organisation.

•  Take part in engagement specific and company-wide training and development when required.

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 Uphold and comply with the organisation’s policies and procedures and the law in relation to
health and safety, financial regulations, equal opportunities, data protection, required for the
effective and appropriate operation of the venue.

•  Undertake any other duties commensurate with the salary and level of responsibility of the post

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     PERSON SPECIFICATION

Essential

•  A good understanding of Barnsley and its communities.

•  Experience of delivering engagement activities that engage children and young people.

•  Experience of working in the arts & culture sector, or grass-roots arts eco-system

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 Excellent written and verbal communication skills, for internal and external audiences,
including the ability to formulate copy for publicity and interpretation of exhibitions

•  Excellent interpersonal skills

•  Proven ability to work as part of a team and independently

•  Experience of working towards targets and delivering against them

•  Good IT skills

•  Flexible and self-motivated

Desirable

•  Experience of working with grant funded projects

•  Experience of creating educational or engagement resources

•  Experience of budget management

•  Experience of contract management

•  Experience of youth work

•  Experience of working in schools

•  Experience in marketing/publicity/social media

barnsleycivic.co.uk

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     COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT OFFICER

Diversity

Barnsley Civic welcomes applications from everyone regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual
orientation, faith, socio-economic background or disability. All appointments are made on
merit, following a fair and transparent process. The organisation employs positive action where
appropriate to ensure our staff team better reflects our audiences and communities.

Organisational
Structure

GENERAL
MANAGER

FINANCE
MANAGER

ENGAGEMENT
PROJECTS
MANAGER

HEAD OF
PROGRAMME

VISUAL ARTS
CURATOR

HERITAGE ENGAGEMENT
& VOLUNTEER
COORDINATOR

CEO & AD

COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
MANAGER

COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
OFFICER

HEAD OF
COMMUNICATIONS

HEAD OF
OPERATIONS

MARKETING
OFFICERS

FRONT OF HOUSE
 MANAGER

FRONT OF HOUSE
 MANAGER

TECHNICAL
MANAGER

BOOKINGS
ADMINISTRATOR

TECHNICIAN

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION

LOCATION
Barnsley Civic
Eldon Street
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S70 2JL

EQUALITY
Barnsley Civic passionately believes
in equality of opportunity and is firmly
committed to encouraging equality, diversity,
and inclusion throughout the cultural sector.
We encourage applications from every part of
society and will strive to make any necessary
adjustments for the successful candidate and
interviewees.

Reasonable expenses can be paid for travel or
access requirements.

Distances
from Barnsley
20mins
Sheffield
Leeds
25mins
Manchester  70mins

Barnsley

Submission Process

Submit your CV and cover letter outlining how your Skills, Knowledge
and Experience meet the Job description and personal specification.

Provide two relevant professional referees we may contact.

If you have any questions about the role please email
jasonwhite@barnsleycivic.co.uk

Email: jobs@barnsleycivic.co.uk

Closing Date: 5th May 2026

Interviews: 14th May 2026

barnsleycivic.co.uk

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