Arts in Communities Expert: Create Syria Social Arts Programme

About the project

Create Syria is a collaboration between the British Council and Ettijahat - Independent Culture, and seeks to increase the capacity of artists to contribute to the development of stronger, more cohesive communities through the design and delivery of high-quality arts initiatives. The project, running throughout 2018, will support artists to build their technical and artistic skills in community settings, through providing tailored training, mentoring, networking opportunities and seed funding for the implementation of innovative community arts initiatives. Please see the full concept note for further information on the programme.

About the role

The British Council is seeking a consultant with relevant experience in community based and socially engaged arts practice to work closely with Ettijahat in developing and delivering key elements of the Create Syria programme. This consultant will report to the British Council’s Syria Arts Manager.

The consultant will be required to:

• work collaboratively with the British Council and Ettijahat to develop the structure and content of a programme of professional training and mentoring for artists and community-based organisations in Lebanon, working on artistic initiatives in communities affected by the Syrian crisis 
• support in the delivery of training to take place in Lebanon in June 2018
• support programme partners to develop and implement a monitoring and evaluation plan for the programme
• support in the production of a toolkit for artists, community leaders and other practitioners on how to develop community arts programmes in the Syrian context
• provide input on the development and delivery of a one-day community arts forum in Beirut in November 2018, this will include identifying topics to be discussed and relevant UK speakers who can add value to the discussion. 

We expect this consultancy to require approximately 30 to 35 days of work between March and December 2018.  

The consultant must be available on the following key dates: 

• 1 day between 12th and 16th March for induction and introductory calls with project partners
• 1 to 2 days between 19th March and 23rd March for meetings with Ettijahat who will visit the UK and attend the Uncommon Ground Social Arts Symposium on 22nd March 
• 7 days consecutively in June 2018 for travel to Lebanon to support delivery of training sessions 
• 3 to 4 days consecutively in November 2018 for travel to Lebanon to participate in a one-day community arts forum event in Beirut in November 2018.

Qualifications and experience required

Essential

• A strong understanding of the UK community arts sector, including experience of creating and delivering projects that provide least-engaged / marginalised groups with access to transformative artistic experiences
• Knowledge of UK best practice around community-led approaches and inclusive growth strategies for arts engagement, including professional development, decision making models and working collaboratively to shape and sustain the local cultural offer
• Experience of developing and delivering training and mentoring programmes for networks of artists and community organisations working on participatory arts
• Strong facilitation skills and experience of working collaboratively with partners, artists and communities to develop, design and deliver projects  
• In-depth knowledge of approaches to developing, managing, monitoring and evaluating grant schemes for socially engaged, community based art projects.

Desirable

• Experience of developing written training materials, practical toolkits and case studies for an arts audience 
• Spoken fluency in Arabic.

If you are interested, please send the following information to stephanie.twigg@britishcouncil.org with the title 'Arts in Community Consultant: Create Syria’ by 11.59pm GMT on Tuesday 6th March:

• CV and one page covering letter summarising why you are applying for this role
• outline of your fees and availability throughout the project timeline
• links to relevant examples of training resources / toolkits or research you have produced or contributed to 
• at least two references (name, job title and contact details) from similar roles you have undertaken in the last three years
• supporting narrative of no more than three pages, detailing two to three examples of experience which evidences your suitability for the role, for each example please include information on:

1. operating context and objectives of the project 
2. the role you played and approach you took
3. profile of participants / beneficiaries 
4. successes, challenges and learning points 
5. links to further information on the project – webpages, online resources etc.