Commercial Arts Director

Benenden School is looking for an exceptional individual to join us as our Commercial Arts Director to lead and develop our successful Hemsted Park artistic events brand.

Launched less than two years ago, Hemsted Park has quickly established a reputation as one of the leading commercial arts venues in the region, with a loyal customer base enjoying a wide range of music, drama, comedy, dance and other events.

Hemsted Park runs premium events for a public audience within the school’s outstanding artistic venues. These include the 250-seater Theatre and the stunning new Centenary Buildings, which feature an 800-capacity Concert Hall – the south east’s finest. The beautiful school grounds are also used occasionally for outdoor performances and we are keen to explore the potential for expanding outdoor opportunities.

With great contacts and a finger on the pulse of the arts scene, our new Commercial Arts Director will have strong professional experience of managing an arts or events programme, and not necessarily in a school setting.

We welcome applications from a wide range of artistic backgrounds; we are looking for energy and new ideas to continue to grow the success of this fantastic brand.

The successful candidate will be managing a small team to programme, promote and deliver Hemsted Park’s artistic seasons, with the twin aims of generating revenue for the school and to widen access to premium commercial arts events in Kent.

Strong interpersonal skills are essential: you will be interacting with a wide range of colleagues to develop an engaging and eclectic arts programme for the public and to ensure it fits around the school diary. A great people person, you will be equally at home liaising with a leading national orchestra as you will when helping young children rehearsing for their dance show.

You will primarily focus on running Hemsted Park for external audiences but will also support wider school initiatives for income generation and support internal school events, which are those aimed at current pupils and parents.

Benenden is one of the leading day and boarding schools in Britain. We were founded in 1923 and are situated in 250 acres of attractive parkland in Kent. There are 550 students in the school, aged 11-18, with 190 of those in the Sixth Form. We are an ambitious school, with recent developments including a state-of-the-art Science Centre and All-Weather Sports Pitch, and our new world-class Centenary Hall and Music School opened in June 2022.

Staff are provided with meals whilst on duty, catering for all tastes and dietary requirements. The school’s leisure facilities, including wonderful grounds, a fitness gym and swimming pool are also available for staff to use.

For full details and to apply, please click the apply button.

Completed applications to People Services at recruitment@benenden.school by 9:00am on Friday 26 July 2024.

Interviews will be held as follows: Round One: Thursday 1 August / Round Two: Thursday 8 August 2024.

The post-holder will be responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children with whom they come into contact. They must ensure compliance with the School’s Child Protection Policy Statement at all times. This appointment will be subject to enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks. Benenden School is committed to equal opportunities and equal pay for all employees. Whilst Benenden isn’t accredited to the Living Wage Foundation, we do look to the Living Wage for guidance and our starting pay is currently in line with this.