Deputy Head of Lighting - WC2E 9DD in Coleshill

Salary: £65,497.54 per annum

Full time; 42.5 hours per week (with some evening/weekend flexibility around the RBO tech and production schedule)

Based in: Covent Garden, London

The Royal Ballet and Opera continues to lead the way in opera, ballet, music and dance both live on stage and through multiple digital platforms, from live streaming to worldwide cinema screenings. Our Covent Garden theatre has been at the heart of London and British cultural life for three centuries. We are home to two world-class Companies: The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera.

Our Technical, Production and Costume Department plays a leading part in ensuring our performances are of the highest quality by delivering technical excellence for every performance, rehearsal, and event. We are now seeking to appoint a Deputy Head of Lighting, with a bias towards the operational management of resources, staff and finances. While all senior managers are expected to have both artistic and operational oversight, the person in this role will be primarily responsible for ongoing development of existing resources, research and budget analysis of new technologies, staff recruitment and development, and robust safety and financial leadership.

Working with the newly appointed Head of Lighting and alongside a 2nd Deputy, this role will offer robust leadership across all departments within Lighting. With a large permanent and casual workforce and an extremely busy repertoire, the postholder will join the department at an exciting time, as we enter Phase 2 of our Production Lighting Rig Upgrade. We are looking for a senior leader with the vision and motivation to help drive the department forward in both artistic and operational excellence and who will act as an ambassador for the Lighting Department, across the RBO as well as externally.

What you’ll bring:

• Our ideal candidate will have a proven track record at management level with a major producing venue or organisation and be able to demonstrate strong leadership qualities.
• You will also be able to evidence:

• An excellent track record in theatre lighting management for major professional productions or companies.
• Experience of relighting shows (an advantage).
• Excellent technical skills with a thorough understanding of current lighting equipment and systems.
• Strong team leadership skills, able to foster a culture of continuous improvement and a strong team ethic.
• The ability to project manage, provide budget oversight and scrutiny and develop resourcing plans.
• Well-developed relationship building skills, with an ability to engage with both technical and creative stakeholders.

The Royal Ballet and Opera is one of the UK’s leading arts organisations and our aim is to inspire imagination, ignite emotion and make the extraordinary for everyone. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion underpin all that we do. We want our people to be representative of the diversity in the UK. We understand the creativity and innovation that diversity can bring and strive to create an inclusive environment in which everyone can thrive. We encourage applications from people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and skills to join our teams. We particularly welcome applications from those who are from a global majority background and/or those who are disabled, as they are under-represented within our organisation.

We are a Disability Confident Employer, which means that we are actively working to ensure that candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions feel supported, engaged and able to fulfil their potential in the workplace. We will endeavour to offer an interview to candidates who tell us they wish to participate in the scheme and who demonstrate in their application that they meet the essential criteria for the role, though sometimes due to the volume of qualified candidates with declarations this is not possible.

The RBO is also committed to safeguarding and protecting all children, young people, and adults and we implement robust safer recruitment practices. Due to our safeguarding promise, certain roles will be subject to a DBS check before commencing employment with us, which will be indicated in the advertising.

Closing date for applications: 11:59pm, Sunday 12th April 2026

Interviews will be held week commencing 27th April 2026.

To ensure a fair process, late applications will not be considered under any circumstances.

Applicants must have work authorisation for the UK. No agencies.