Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

The Bristol Improv Theatre is looking for a CEO to lead, sustain and expand our community-based theatre. We are looking for someone with varied skills in finance and business management to drive revenue growth and sustainability.

The Story So Far

The Bristol Improv Theatre is a registered charity and was established in 2012 as the Bristol Improv Network by a volunteer-led collective of artists, teachers and producers with an aim to forge connections between the existing improv groups in Bristol. Since then, we have offered four streams of community engagement:

• Theatre School and Courses
• Regular shows, from improvisation-based performances, improv jam sessions, comedy acts, to sketches
• Venue Hire
• Workplace Training/Applied Improv

We house a licensed bar, our main theatre stage and office spaces. Thanks to our community within Bristol, our theatre has transformed into a multi-disciplinary cultural venue where anyone can engage with the arts in a truly participative environment.

Job Description

Pay: Phased Increments* Pay is dependent on theatre growth & commercial success as we are a young, developing theatre aiming to achieve financial independence. Pay will be structured with incremental increases upon each phase based on individual and overall theatre commercial success.

• Phase 1 - Immediate - £26,000 per annum
• Phase 2 - Upon reaching £35,000 revenue per month for three consecutive months - £40,000 per annum
• Phase 3 - Upon reaching £45,000 revenue per month and £5,000 net profit for three consecutive months, and more than £35,000 per month revenue for the previous six months, three consecutive months - £60,000 per annum
• Phase 4 - Upon reaching £750,000 revenue and £120,000 profit a year on a rolling year basis for three consecutive months - £80,000 per annum

Hours: This role is full-time at 35 hours per week, with the expectation of primarily in-person work.

As Chief Executive Officer of the Bristol Improv Theatre, you will be responsible for the business development and growth of the UK’s first dedicated improv theatre. You will work to increase revenue across all sectors of the organisation, including shows, theatre school, venue hire, applied improv, and bar operations, with the view of furthering the improv theatre’s success. All of your work will be in line with the organisation’s mission, vision and values, with accountability and direct reporting to the Board of Trustees. As a business leader, you will be expected to be an ambassador to the organisation, maintaining professionalism and good business practices at all times.

Duties/Responsibilities:

• Strategic Business Leadership: Development of the business with a view to long-term sustainability, growth, financial performance and maximising revenue generation.
• Oversight, leadership and refinement of all of the theatre’s commercial operations.
• Undertake related people management processes and support managers in undertaking them.
• Refining and streamlining current operations, including identifying skill gaps and organising/providing training to fill these gaps.
• Oversee organisational and departmental performance and structure to ensure that each service is properly resourced and managed.
• Embracing and refining organisational culture, leading by example for the rest of the team.
• Knowledge sharing and instilling business acumen across the organisation.
• Develop & implement organisational strategy with the Board of Trustees.
• Produce reports and insights for the Board of Trustees and present them to the Board of Trustees with recommendations and strategic action points.
• Work directly with the Chair of the Board of Trustees to schedule, plan and attend quarterly board meetings.
• Support the Chair of Trustees in the recruitment of any new Trustees as required.
• Promote an inclusive and equitable environment, adhering to equality and diversity laws.
• Any other duties as may be reasonably required.

Management of the theatre’s finances, including modelling, forecasting, budget-setting, VAT, and working with our bookkeepers and accountant. Management of invoice processes. Monthly and quarterly financial reports to the board of trustees. Coordinate with our accountant to complete payroll and statutory accounts. Conducting annual pay reviews in conjunction with annual appraisals.

Operations and Health & Safety: Regularly review our operations processes with our Operations Manager and implement any necessary changes. Work with the operations manager to resolve operational issues. Ensure all of the theatre’s operations are compliant with internal, legal and charity policy. Oversee Bar Operations & Legal Compliance of alcohol sales & ensuring that the bar is operational & functional, working with the Bar Manager.

Person Specification:

• Proven business and commercial acumen, ideally in an entrepreneurial or startup environment and/or the charity sector.
• Experience in the growth and optimisation of organisational revenue streams.
• Experience in quality improvement and process improvement using proven methodology.
• Experience managing a business, charity, department or service (with responsibility for income generation).
• An ability to work independently with strong leadership, organisational and time management skills.
• Professional & courteous work ethic.
• A strong understanding of and ability to create and maintain effective administrative processes.
• The ability to manage, lead and inspire staff with well-communicated direction.
• Persuasive and adaptive communication skills.
• Setting and implementing organisation-wide policy.
• Ability to work in the unknown whilst conveying clarity.
• Comfortable with high pressure & tight deadlines.
• Can show empathy & compassion whilst remaining assertive.
• Managing customer service enquiries and complaint handling.
• Experience in managing people and a range of HR related situations.
• Existing relationships with national, local press and trade groups.
• Experience with setting and delivering marketing strategies with a limited budget.
• Experience working with the HMRC and the Charity Commission.
• Experience and understanding of software, including bookkeeping, CRM and POS.
• Understanding the financial reporting requirements of a VAT-registered medium-sized theatre.
• Proven interest and understanding of improvised theatre.

How to Apply:

By Writing – please send a CV and cover letter of no more than 2 pages stating your suitability and why you want to apply for this role. By Audio – please send a CV and voice note up to 4 minutes in length stating your suitability and why you want to apply for this role. By Video – please send a CV and video up to 4 minutes in length stating your suitability and why you want to apply for this role. Send to: trustees@improvtheatre.net with the subject “CEO Application - [Your Name]”

We will be interviewing people on a rolling basis/ as applications come in, so please apply as soon as possible. We anticipate that interviews will be no more than 2 stages. We welcome applications from any walk of life and different backgrounds, we are especially keen to hear from people whose identities or backgrounds are underrepresented in our organisation. In particular, we encourage applications from women; trans and non-binary people; people from Black, Asian, traveller, mixed heritage or other global majority backgrounds; Disabled people; and people who are LGBTQ+.

Regretfully, we are not a UKVI license holder and therefore are unable to sponsor candidates for the role. Applicants must have the right to work in the UK under the terms advertised.