Head of Lighting

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. The Royal Opera House describes the place we work, not who we are. The whole is always more than the sum of its parts – we may be a House, but three quarters of our audiences experience what we do outside this building. While our Covent Garden theatre is the nerve centre, the impact and influence of the organisation can be felt in every corner of the country, and around the world.

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 looking to recruit a Head of Lighting. This role will be responsible for the management and delivery of all lighting functions for the RBO, including co‑productions and hires, for Covent Garden, overseas venues, and on tour, delivering safely and effectively within agreed resources and budgets. The role will be responsible for department leadership, development of existing resources and research and budget analysis of new technologies, staff recruitment and development, and robust safety and financial leadership.

What You’ll Bring

• Proven experience of managing a large scale, complex operation.
• Confidence in leading by example and promoting a positive team environment and culture of continuous improvement.
• An exceptional track record in effective lighting management for major professional productions.
• Excellent technical skills with a thorough understanding of current lighting equipment and systems and the implications of new product developments.
• Computer skills should include Advanced AutoCAD, Vectorworks, Visualisation Software and MS Office, plus any other software pertinent to the role.
• Highly developed management skills and use of systems and procedures to support delivery of objectives, including resource and budget management.
• Some experience of managing trade union relations and negotiations.
• Demonstrable understanding of all relevant Health and Safety legislation, including experience of production risk management, and holding BS7909.

To submit your application, please provide a supporting statement that outlines how your skills and experience match the essential criteria listed above. Your supporting statement will be reviewed by the shortlisting panel, so please do take the time to consider your response and use this to highlight your suitability for, and interest in, the role. We recommend drafting your response in a separate document and then copying the final version into the application form. Please note that as part of our commitment to anonymised shortlisting, panels do not view CVs during the recruitment process. If you choose to upload your CV, our system will automatically pull information from your CV into your application form.

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; we actively work 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 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, Friday 30th January 2026. First‑round interviews will be held from 9th February 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.