THE KOESTLER TRUST

Creative Writing & Spoken
Word Officer (temp,p/t)
Job Pack 2025

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Koestler Arts is an arts charity. We work with people in
custody or on community sentences.

Our vision is that the power of the arts unlocks
hope, talent and potential in the lives of people
in the criminal justice system.

We are looking for a Creative Writing & Spoken Word
Officer to join us in making this happen.

About Koestler Arts

Koestler Arts is renowned for its impactful work within the criminal justice system. From our
new premises just outside HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs in East Acton, our team collaborates to
unlock hope, talent and potential in the lives of people in the criminal justice system.

We provide an annual awards programme — the Koestler Awards — open to people in prisons,
secure mental health hospitals, immigration removal centres, and beyond; a post-release arts
mentoring scheme; arts membership for people in prison; family engagement opportunities; and
a programme of exhibitions, events and publications.

We extend our impact through partnerships. Recent exhibition curators include Ai Weiwei,
Jeremy Deller & John Costi, Inua Ellams and women in prison. Our recent poetry anthology was
edited by Lady Unchained. Our public programme is built on a long-term partnership with
Southbank Centre; alongside one-off and recurring partnerships including Baltic, Tramway, John
Hansard Gallery and the Old Fire Station, Oxford.

Our main funders are Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Arts Council England (we are an NPO), and the
Ministry of Justice.

About the Role:

As our Creative Writing & Spoken Word Officer, you’ll bring your expertise to our team to
encourage and champion the many written entries to the Koestler Awards. You will help drive
forward writing-focused outreach work, judging, feedback, partnerships and showcasing.

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The Creative Writing & Spoken Word Officer will work within our arts team. They will be
expected to play a hands-on, collaborative role and help with relevant aspects of the team’s
work, including mailouts, events, and family days for exhibited artists.

We want the post-holder to help ensure that the work leaves a legacy of new partnerships,
learning and evaluation that enriches our work with writing beyond the funded period. The post
is currently funded for one year.

What You'll Do:

• Share creative writing (particularly poetry) entered into the annual Koestler Awards in

meaningful and engaging ways. This may include print, events, digital media and
installations that form part of our national and regional exhibition programming or which
form standalone showcases.

• Work with our outreach and involvement team to encourage participants to engage with
creative writing (particularly poetry) in secure settings and in the community. This may
include printed and digital resources, activity ideas, workshops and presentations.

• Develop the charity’s work in creative writing to leave a legacy — producing internal

resources for the rest of the team, building links with writers and other professionals,
evaluating and reporting on learning points to the team and externally.

What We're Looking For:

•  Significant previous experience working with poetry, spoken word and creative writing

organisations/professionals.

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Innovative showcasing ideas that put our participants’ voices at the heart of
communicating to audiences — and the practical skills to make them happen.

•  Experience of engaging people who are new to poetry, writing and spoken word

activities.

Contract:

Duration:
Salary:
Hours:
Line Manager:
Location:

Holidays:
Pension:
Start date:

12 months, Fixed-term contract
£27,237 per annum, pro rata to 2 days a week
Part-time, 14 hours a week (2 days), Mon – Fri (to be agreed)
Director of Creative Programmes
Based at our offices in London, W12. Home-working will not usually be
possible for this role, as you will be required to work closely with the
writing entries stored in our offices and the volunteers/awards judges
visiting our site. As needed, you will work off-site at meetings, criminal
justice establishments, events and exhibitions across the UK.
25 days a year + bank holidays pro-rata.
Eligible staff will be auto-enrolled into the charity’s pension scheme.
As soon as possible.

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How to apply:

Read through Job Description and Person Specification. Apply by email to
recruitment@koestlerarts.org.uk by 10 am on 19 January 2026, including:

1)  Your CV, which should detail whether the roles were full-time or part-time, and paid

or voluntary.

2)  The completed Application Form, which is available to download from our website.
Please make sure you complete all sections, including the application question.

3)  Please complete the recruitment Monitoring Form. This is an anonymous Google Form

and will be kept separate from your application.

Please mark the email: “[FIRST NAME SURNAME] Application — Creative Writing & Spoken Word
Officer”

Applications will be assessed against the Essential and Desirable Criteria (outlined in the person
specification table, pages 10-11).

We aim to contact all candidates within 21 days of the closing date. We regret that, as a charity
with limited resources, we are unable to provide feedback on applications.

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Artwork: Home Strict Home, HM Prison Wayland, Gold Award for Drawing

Diversity & Inclusion

We are committed to building an inclusive team that shares a passion for the charity’s 60-year
legacy inspiring life-changing art. Every time we add to our small team is an opportunity for us
to bring in a new perspective, and to better represent our diverse range of participants and
audiences. We strongly encourage candidates of all backgrounds and identities to apply.

We have a guaranteed interview scheme for people with recent lived experience of prison who
meet the ‘essential’ requirements of the role. Please mark the relevant section of the
application form, if you’d like to apply through this scheme.

If there’s anything we can do to make our recruitment process more open to you, please let us
know.

Office Working:

This is an office-based role. Your role will require working closely with the writing entries stored
in our offices, with volunteers and experts on-site and gaining a solid understanding of the
Koestler Awards processes, so you’ll need to be present in the office.

Pre-Employment Screening:

Applicants must demonstrate eligibility to work in the UK and undergo a basic Disclosure and
Barring Service (DBS) check.

Equal Opportunities and Safeguarding:

We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, with zero tolerance for any form of abuse
or discrimination.

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Creative Writing & Spoken Word Officer
Job Description

Main aim of the post

•  To enrich the charity’s work encouraging, recognizing and sharing creative writing and

spoken word.

This includes 13 Categories of the Koestler Awards, as well as written/spoken word
entries to our Themed Category. The two poetry categories are by far the most popular.

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Flash Fiction and Short Story
Longer Fiction and Novel
Non-Fiction, Blog, Essay, Article and Review
Life Story
Braille
Poem
Poetry Collection
Anthology
Stage Play
Radio Play
Screenplay
Song Lyrics
Spoken Word

Main Duties

1. To support the outreach and involvement team in engaging people with written and spoken word
categories. This will be through visits to the establishments we work with, as well as producing
internal and external resources.

2. To collaborate with the arts team and the outreach team staff to produce writing and spoken word

showcases at our exhibitions, in print, and beyond.

3. To support the arts co-ordinator in identifying suitable creatives and organisations to judge, give
feedback or otherwise respond to the written/spoken word categories of the Koestler Awards.

4. To accurately and efficiently transcribe and edit written/audio material sensitively. This might
include handwritten poems, spoken-word recordings, or audience or participant feedback.

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5. To help process thousands of entries to the written and spoken word categories of the Koestler

Awards.

6. Produce professional showcasing and engagement materials independently, and when appropriate, to

identify, brief and manage freelance designers and other creatives to do so.

7.  Produce simple evaluation materials and assess and report on the data they provide.

8. Contribute to the charity’s strategic plan and support a new Writing and Spoken Word strategy.

9. To support work on the (currently biennial) poetry anthology.

10. To represent the charity to stakeholders, including visiting prisons, young offender institutions,

secure children’s homes, speaking at events and conferences, working at our exhibitors’ family days,
and leading tours of our exhibitions.

11. To adhere to the charity’s policies and internal procedures. These include Risk Assessments, Policies
and Procedures for showcasing artwork, health and safety, safeguarding, data protection, and equal
opportunities — suggesting improvements as required.

12. To participate in training, in team meetings and in regular one-to-one Support and Supervision

meetings with the line manager.

The job description gives an outline of key duties and is not intended to be an exhaustive
list.

As a small charity, each staff member is required to help with a range of additional tasks for
which guidance and any appropriate training is given (for example, online shop, info@ email
address, Fire Marshal, Health & Safety contact, IT contact). The post-holder may be asked to
take on other responsibilities as reasonably requested by her/his manager.

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Person Specification — Creative Writing & Spoken Word Officer
Everyone applying for the job will be assessed against the following criteria:

Essential
Qualifications / Background
1. Significant professional or practice-based
experience in poetry, spoken word, or
creative writing — gained through paid work
or higher education.
2. At least 12 months paid work experience
engaging participants in creative writing
and/or spoken word activities, including those
new to the art form.

3. Paid experience of producing showcases of
other people’s poetry or short texts – books,
events, installations, exhibitions.

4. Experience of transcribing, proofreading
and sensitively editing other people’s written
and audio material (e.g. handwritten poems,
spoken word recordings, participant
feedback).

Knowledge and Skills

8. Strong knowledge of poetry, spoken word,
and creative writing sectors in the UK, with
the ability to build partnerships with writers,
venues, and organisations.

9. Excellent communication skills — written,
verbal, and interpersonal — with the ability to
inspire diverse audiences.
10. Strong organisational skills, able to
manage a complex workload and meet
multiple deadlines.

11. Ability to use MS Office confidently,
including Excel for managing and sorting data.
Attitudes and Values

12. Commitment to amplifying participants’
voices through poetry, spoken word, and
creative writing.

12. Flexibility, adaptability, and a creative
problem-solving approach.
13. Enthusiasm for the aims of Koestler Arts

Desirable

1b. Relevant professional training or short
courses in arts participation, evaluation, project
management, or literary arts.

2b . Experience of supporting people in
challenging situations (hospitals, prisons, PRUs,
YOTs) to participate in writing/spoken word
activities.

5b. Experience of supervising freelance creatives
and/or volunteers.
6b. Experience of evaluating arts projects and
reporting findings clearly to internal and
external stakeholders.

7b. Experience of representing an organisation
to stakeholders.

8b. Established links with poets, spoken word
artists, and creative writing networks.

13b. First-hand experience of being in prison or

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Essential
and the role of the arts in the criminal justice
system.

Desirable
another secure establishment related to our
work.

This role is subject to a Basic DBS check.

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Artwork: Angel by a Starry Starry Night,
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HM Prison Northumberland,
Commended Award for Painting, 2023