Head of Public Curation in Manchester

The Head of Public Curation provides strategic leadership for the organisation's civic role, driving meaningful and sustained engagement with diverse communities across Greater Manchester and beyond. They will build and sustain relationships with artists, communities and public bodies, developing and embedding new models of public curation. This includes leading the development of a Public Assembly as the next evolution of Factory International's People's Forum, exploring participatory democracy and delivering a programme of publicly curated work of all scales across the organisation. Working closely with the Curatorial team and Senior Engagement Producer, they will support the commissioning of participatory artists, shape the organisation's programme through inclusive curatorial processes and create opportunities for the public to make curatorial decisions. The postholder will also lead on securing investment for this work, collaborating with Development and Brand Partnerships to enable long-term, embedded engagement. Through this leadership, they will strengthen community voice, access and participation across all areas of the organisation's activity.

Key responsibilities

• Work closely with the Public Engagement Director and senior leadership to shape, review and adapt strategic priorities for public curation and power-sharing practice in response to organisational and external need.
• Collaborate with the Head of Community Engagement and Audiences team to develop an in-depth understanding of a range of Greater Manchester's communities, especially those underrepresented in the arts and provide inclusive routes for people to get involved.
• Provide leadership in participatory and co-curatorial practice, developing innovative approaches that embed public agency within artistic and curatorial processes, and sharing learning and practice across the sector.
• Ensure the highest standards of safeguarding, access, equity, diversity and inclusion are embedded across all public-facing and participatory work.
• Lead, support and develop staff working across engagement and co-curation, ensuring clear objectives, shared ownership, and effective delivery of programmes.
• Oversee budgets and resources for public curation and participation programmes, ensuring sustainable investment in long-term, embedded practice.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with artists, community partners, civic organisations and networks that support co-curation, participatory democracy and public engagement.

Person specification

• Essential
• Experience of leading ambitious programmes of community-led cultural activity on a strategic level.
• Experience of developing and delivering work that increases public agency.
• Experience of successfully leading teams, managing budgets and overseeing resources in complex, multi-partner environments.
• Demonstrable ability to design and lead meaningful monitoring, evaluation and learning frameworks for participatory or co-curated programmes.
• Demonstrable ability to build trust and sustained relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, including artists, communities, civic partners and public bodies, with excellent communication and facilitation skills.
• Demonstrable ability to secure and/or contribute to fundraising and the development of new investment models.
• Ability to work with a high degree of autonomy, managing multiple complex programmes of work with accuracy, clarity and strong attention to detail.
• Positive, collaborative and adaptable approach, with a commitment to evolving practice in response to communities, artists and civic partners.
• Commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, with a proven ability to embed inclusive practice and champion representation and access across all levels of activity.
• Enthusiasm for mentoring, supporting and developing emerging artists, facilitators, producers and community-led practice.
• Strong commitment to the aims and values of the organisation, particularly in relation to public engagement, co-curation and civic practice.
• Deep commitment to diversity and inclusion, with knowledge of a wide range of cultural contexts and a proven ability to work respectfully and effectively with people from varied backgrounds.
• Commitment to championing representation and inclusion at every level of the organisation.
• Willing to undertake relevant statutory checks e.g. DBS (Factory International can support with processing and payment).
• Desirable
• Knowledge of and enthusiasm for a range of arts and culture.
• Enthusiasm for training, mentoring and support of emerging talent.