At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead and deliver innovative Early Years music programmes, ensuring inclusivity and child-led practices.
- Company: Sound Connections, a mission-driven organisation focused on music access for all children.
- Benefits: Flexible hybrid working, professional development opportunities, and a chance to make a real impact.
- Other info: Collaborative environment with opportunities for networking and sector influence.
- Why this job: Join a passionate team dedicated to transforming early years music education and championing diversity.
- Qualifications: Experience in Early Years music practice, training delivery, and strong project management skills.
The predicted salary is between 27255 - 32542 £ per year.
Sound Connections exists to make change - our mission is to ensure that all children and young people can access music and creative opportunities that are relevant to them and responsive to their needs in a changing world. Based in London with national reach, our work is rooted in inclusion, equity, youth voice, participation, and social justice. We work to make the music sector more inclusive, child-centred and youth-led.
Our programmes support:
- Young people - championing a community of 1,250 creatives aged 16-25+, particularly those from under-represented and marginalised backgrounds, through our flagship youth programme Wired4Music.
- Practitioners - teachers, creatives and organisations who work with children and young people through music and creativity to be more inclusive, child-centred and youth-led in their approach.
- The sector – supporting and challenging emerging and established organisations working with children and young people to reflect, develop and evolve.
Early Years (0–5) is a key strategic priority area sitting across our Practitioners and Sector strands.
About our Early Years work:
Established in 2010, the London Early Years Music Network (LEYMN) has grown from a small expert group to a large network of hundreds of practitioners and stakeholders, acting as a collective voice for early years music practice. The aim of the network is to:
- Champion high-quality early years music pedagogy and practice through networking, research, and CPD.
- Act as a key information hub for early years music in London, sharing best practice and resources.
- Bring together a diverse community of practitioners, organisations, and specialists working with children aged 0 - 5.
- Support ongoing professional development (CPD) through training, networking, and peer learning opportunities.
- Provide spaces for collaboration, knowledge-sharing, research, and sector debate.
- Advocate for the sector while fostering regional and national partnerships and collaboration.
About the role:
The purpose of this role is to lead and deliver Sound Connections’ Early Years programme including managing timelines, outputs, and reporting, ensuring alignment with our organisational strategy, and identifying and responding to sector priorities and emerging needs. With support from the Director, Programme Producer and wider team, key deliverables include:
- Learning and resources: Curate and facilitate in-person and online network meetings and national sector conversations; commission and deliver training sessions and digital learning resources (e.g. short films, toolkits) ensuring a strong focus on inclusive practice (including SEN/D, anti-racism, and trauma-informed approaches) and child-led music-making; design and deliver the Emerging Early Years Music Leaders programme, including recruitment with a focus on under-represented groups, delivery of CPD sessions, mentoring, and placements, supporting leadership progression and reflective practice, overseeing bursaries and resource creation.
- Strengthen the London Early Years Music (LEYMN)’s national reach, influence, and connectivity: Lead research and mapping activity on early years provision and training; build and maintain relationships with Music Hubs, early years settings, and national partners; represent Sound Connections at events and sector networks; contribute to advocacy, publications, and thought leadership.
- Monitoring, evaluation & learning: Capture data and insights across all programme activity; contribute to evaluation and reporting processes; support sector knowledge-sharing and dissemination.
About you:
Your experience - we are looking for someone who has:
- Significant experience in, and passion for, Early Years music practice / education (0–5).
- Strong understanding of inclusive and child-led approaches.
- Experience designing and delivering training.
- Experience facilitating networks, partnerships or communities of practice.
- Strong project management and freelance delivery experience.
- Strong ability to engage a wide range of stakeholders including experience supporting emerging practitioners and mentoring.
- Experience working with Music Hubs or national programmes.
- Research and evaluation experience.
Your way of working – we are looking for someone who is:
- Committed to our mission, values and inclusion, equity and social justice.
- Committed to reflective practice, co-creation and sector listening.
- Committed to safeguarding.
- Confident managing agreed milestones and outputs, on time and to budget.
- Collaborative in their approach.
- Flexible – the role is hybrid, and will include a mixture in-person London-based work and online national activity.
Early Years Lead - Sound Connections employer: Youth Music
Sound Connections is an exceptional employer dedicated to fostering a vibrant and inclusive work culture that champions creativity and social justice. Located in London, we offer our employees meaningful opportunities for professional growth through collaborative projects and extensive training programmes, all while making a tangible impact on the lives of children and young people. Join us in our mission to transform the music sector and empower under-represented voices in a supportive and dynamic environment.
