Performing Arts Lead

Founded in 1997, Extant will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2027 and as part of this journey, we are transforming. Our new leadership team, called The Extant Hive, is recruiting for two Performing Arts Leads. Visual impairment is a Genuine Occupational Requirement (GOR) for this role; visually impaired people are underrepresented in our workforce and the performing arts in the UK. We are targeting our recruitment to address this underrepresentation. Extant has made a commitment to working towards all its internal roles being held by visually impaired people by 2033. The Extant Hive will begin this process.

This is a permanent (subject to securing new ACE NPO funding from April 2028) part-time (0.6) PAYE contract paid at £38,000 pa / FTE starting on 5th October 2026. This is a co-artistic leadership role within The Extant Hive. At a time of significant and exciting change at Extant, as Performing Arts Lead, your main responsibilities are:

• Artistic direction and delivery
• Artistic partnerships and positioning
• Collaboration to ensure that Extant delivers against its organisational priorities

The ideal candidate is someone who has experience of working within the publicly subsidised arts sector, understands disability arts in the UK, and is interested in supporting ethical, radical and inclusive models of working. You will have a strong access-led creative arts practice, especially with regards to performance, theatre, participation and production, have led arts projects from inception through to evaluation, have a wide network of arts partners to bring to Extant, and have a strong understanding of how arts organisations work.

Responsible to: Co-Chair(s) of The Board.
Line Manages: One of the Performing Arts Leads will manage the Artist Development Manager.
Location: Extant, 2.06 Carlton Mansions, Brixton House, 385 Coldharbour Lane, London, SW9 8GL. We support flexible working, but we expect you to work from our Brixton office (London) at least one day per two weeks, to collaborate with the rest of the team.

How to Apply:
Please read the recruitment pack before applying: Performing Arts Lead.
To apply: Your CV (no more than 2 pages, including details of two referees). A 1-minute audio recording (in mp3 format) of yourself talking about why you are the right person for Extant at this moment of change (max one minute). A Cover letter stating which post(s) you’re interested in, outlining how you meet the job description and person specification. The Cover letter can be sent in one of the following formats: A Cover letter of no more than 2 pages, or a video no longer than 3 minutes, or an audio recording no longer than 3 minutes. Please send your files (CV, audio recording and Cover letter) to admin@extant.org.uk by 12 noon Tuesday 25th August 2026. All written attachments should be in Word (.doc), as pdf documents are not always accessible to screen readers.

Extant does not use AI in any part of its recruitment processes. The multi-stage interview process will test an applicant’s ability to operate without AI. If you wish to arrange an informal chat about any of the posts, please email ian@extant.org.uk to arrange this prior to submitting your application.

Access:
We will endeavour to support any access requirements you may have during the recruitment process and make reasonable adjustments where required. If you have any access requirements that you would like to discuss, please do not hesitate to let us know at any stage of the application process.