Chair and Trustees, Barbican Centre Trust

The Barbican Centre is being supported in this appointment by Cadence Partners. For an informal discussion, or to request the materials in an alternative format, please contact our consultants Shahidul Miah at [email protected] or Emma Harvey at [email protected], call +44 20 7947 4960, or email [email protected].

The architecturally renowned centre opened in 1982 and comprises the Barbican Hall, the Barbican Theatre, The Pit, Cinemas 1, 2 and 3, Barbican Art Gallery, a second gallery The Curve, public spaces, a library, the Lakeside Terrace, a glasshouse conservatory, conference facilities and three restaurants.

The City of London Corporation is the founder and principal funder of the Barbican Centre. The Barbican is governed by the Barbican Centre Board, chaired by Tom Sleigh, consisting of City of London Corporation and external members. Our charitable arm, the Barbican Centre Trust, is led by a cross-section of corporate and cultural leaders.

The Barbican believes in creating space for people and ideas to connect through its adventurous and innovative international arts programme, community engagement and creative learning activity. We present a bold year-round programme across our stages, screens and galleries, and seek opportunities for collaboration with artists and local communities. A typical year would see thousands of artists and performers featured and events attended by over a million people. We are home to Resident Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra. Our Artistic Associates include the Academy of Ancient Music, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Boy Blue, Britten Sinfonia, Cheek by Jowl, Create London, Deborah Warner, Drum Works, Michael Clark Company and Serious.

Committed to identifying new talent, nurturing emerging artists and supporting innovative work that reflects and responds to today’s world, the Barbican is a place that invites fresh perspectives and provokes conversations, and is inspired by local and international talent. The Barbican is one of the leading partners of Culture Mile, the City of London’s cultural district stretching from Farringdon to Moorgate. It’s an ambitious, long-term initiative led by the City of London Corporation with the other core partners the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London Symphony Orchestra and Museum of London. Culture Mile aims to transform the area with lively outdoor events, support its thriving local economy, improve the links between cultural venues and the wider public, and to develop life skills through creative participation.

As a not-for-profit arts centre, we’re committed to offering the widest possible access to culture, giving everyone the opportunity to encounter and enjoy creativity. Inspired by the bold ideas and creativity of communities, we believe that working and learning in partnership with our neighbours, community organisations and the wider industry is vital for developing brave, inclusive, sustainable projects and networks that grow communities. Over the past year, our Beyond Barbican team, in collaboration with community organisations and local councils, created free events attended by over 87,000 people, and our Level G team organised an exciting public programme of free events, talks and installations.

Our Creative Learning work supports people of all ages and backgrounds to develop creative skills for life through its award-winning programmes and activities. Spanning music, theatre, film, dance, visual arts and poetry, Creative Learning offers new and exciting ways for children, young people, families, schools, community groups and adults to get creative. More than 100,000 people have taken part in its programmes, including innovative talent development opportunities for Young Creatives, which provide the skills and confidence needed to get ahead in today’s creative industries, and pioneering schools programme Barbican Box, which supports children and teachers to create and perform new artistic work.

Please visit the Barbican website for further information.

The Barbican’s current Equality & Inclusion Strategy was developed through consultation across the organisation, informed by best practice within and beyond the sector and is in line with the City of London’s Equality & Inclusion practices and policy. It was signed off by the Barbican Board in 2017. This set out top-level plans to shift our programming and recruitment practices to be more reflective of London’s communities and demographics. Plans were also made to manage access requirements across the Centre through a programme of interventions in the building.

The reignition of Black Lives Matter earlier this year, following the murder of George Floyd, made us reflect on the fact that we had not done enough as an organisation to lift the many and differing barriers for people from currently underrepresented backgrounds (e.g. ethnically, geographically, culturally and socially) to our workforce and artistic programme. We recognised that in order to tackle a range of issues – systemic and otherwise –we needed to robustly analyse the current barriers to change and then work with our staff to find effective, sustainable solutions, resulting in measurable action and change for which we are accountable.

We have a new urgency and commitment to becoming an anti-racist organisation. One of the steps we have taken in the last few months is to form a taskforce to help agree the steps we need to take to remove processes and barriers in the organisation that sustain systemic racism. We ran an open application process giving all staff the opportunity to apply. Senior leadership and Board members, along with the wider community of staff, will work closely with the group. Our Equality and Inclusion Strategy will be updated in 2021, in response to what we've learned in 2020 and to what emerges from the process that the anti-racism taskforce is undertaking. A reformulated Equality and Inclusion Working Group will ultimately be the body that holds the Barbican to account in meeting its objectives within an agreed timeframe.

A fundamental tenet of the Barbican Centre’s philosophy is that we want to offer the widest possible access to culture, giving everyone the opportunity to encounter and enjoy creativity.

To keep our programme accessible to everyone, and to invest in the artists we work with, we need to raise more than 60% of our income through ticket sales, commercial activities and fundraising every year.

The Barbican Centre Trust is the Barbican Centre’s charitable and fundraising arm, and we work to cultivate and grow our community of major supporters, corporate sponsors and grant makers. Their donations and other funding enable us to continue investing in our arts and learning programme. The Barbican Centre Trust and its Trustees have separate responsibilities to the Barbican Centre Board, which is responsible for the oversight of the Barbican Centre as a department of the City of London Corporation. However, the Chair of the Centre Board and the Chair of the Trust Board have ex-officio seats on both bodies, and there is an excellent and productive dialogue between them.

Led by the Chair, our Trustees lead the way in making introductions and strengthening connections with individuals, corporates and trusts who can help us achieve ambitious fundraising targets. Trustees use their networks and expertise to help us unlock transformative opportunities, securing crucial income for the Centre’s work.

Our key income streams are:
• Individual Giving
• Grants and Trusts
• Corporate

The Centre’s Development Team is led by Development Director, Natasha Harris – a highly experienced and successful fundraising professional, with a track record of sustained success. In tandem with Natasha and her team, the Trust develops and optimises major donor relationships by introducing, cultivating and closing key gifts with high net-worth individuals and corporates.

Read our latest Annual Report to find out more.

The City of London Corporation is the owner, founder and principal funder of the Barbican Centre. Its contribution to the Barbican’s overall budget has reduced in recent years, and this is expected to continue. In response to this direction of travel, the Barbican has been building a more diversified business model for the past decade, transitioning from 60% Corporation funding and 40% earned income, to less than 40% Corporation funding and more than 60% earned income.

The Barbican is one of Arts Council England’s National Portfolio Organisations, receiving a grant of £480,000 annually for work with east London communities over four years. These programmes are transforming the arts by investing in artists and communities and, contributing to making the arts relevant and accessible to all. The Barbican is a also investing in creating new audiences for the future through Young Barbican, a free membership scheme offering reduced price tickets for 14-25 year olds, which is extremely well-used.

The Centre is diversifying its income though rolling out a range of commercial activities, as well as expanding our approach to fundraising and relationships with leading grant-makers, individuals, and the business community. Trustees are central to this effort, and there are inspiring opportunities for Trustees to engage with Barbican programmes and involve their networks more closely.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the ability of arts and cultural organisations to carry out their usual activities. While the Barbican is no exception, we are working hard to adapt our plans to respond to the changing landscape. We’re adapting and developing new opportunities and channels through which to engage donors, increase their support and identify and steward major donor prospects. While reduced footfall and activity has had an inevitable impact on visitor giving, our ‘Live from the Barbican’ streaming initiative has produced extremely positive results, and Patrons are also maintaining or increasing their support.

Over the coming period, an inspiring new vision of the arts will be required which is responsive to changing culture, audience behaviour, the challenges of Brexit, and the post-pandemic economic situation. It will involve re-imagining the Barbican’s role as a creative leader in London, the UK and internationally.

In its nearly forty years of operation, the Barbican has acquired a unique international reputation, bringing together leading companies, artists, ensembles and communities to serve the widest public. As we emerge from the current crisis, it’s essential that our fundraising is as leading-edge as our artistic programming. We need to focus on growing our Development capacity and activity, supported by an active, engaged and visionary Trust Board.

The Trust’s primary role is to generate opportunities to secure income of all types – individual giving, trusts and foundations, and corporate support of all kinds.

As the leader of the Trustees, the Chair’s role is therefore to oversee an effective and energised fundraising function. Though it’s likely you’ll have gained a good grounding in another charitable fundraising role, it’s critical that you haven’t exhausted your contact book. It’s vital you understand the scale of the proposition when building a donor relationship with one of the UK’s major artistic institutions, and how to use its outstanding programming and an international reputation to attract support.

As the cultural oasis at the heart of the City of London, we have the potential to build relationships with a wide range of professional service, financial and other corporate firms. Decision-makers from many of these companies make up a significant proportion of our audiences and supporters and strong candidates will understand how to identify the philanthropic motivations of this group, and how to translate this into a compelling case for support that demonstrates excellent alignment with what they want to achieve. You’ll be the kind of person who looks forward to the idea of spending an hour with a new prospect, sharing your own enthusiasm and passion for the Barbican’s work, and finding out what could encourage someone to contribute.

One of the greatest assets to our incoming Chair is the support of our expert Development team, led by Director of Development Natasha Harris. The highly sophisticated advice and support provided by the team makes all the difference – and you’ll be able to draw upon their interpersonal skills, experience and passion for the job. Most importantly, the team really appreciates the huge trust you’ll place in them as you make personal introductions to valued friends, colleagues and business contacts; they understand the sensitivities of this process, and are able to manage the subsequent relationships with great skill.

The Trust’s primary role is to generate opportunities to secure income of all types – individual giving, trusts and foundations, and corporate support. We currently meet six times a year (under review), and as one of our Trustees, you’ll support the Chair and Development Team, playing your part in an active, energised fundraising function. You may not have extensive experience in charitable fundraising, but it will be a great help if you’ve had some experience of making ‘the ask’ in another context. The task is greatly helped by the Barbican’s outstanding programming and international reputation – for those with philanthropic inclinations, the opportunity to become affiliated with one of the UK’s major artistic institutions is very attractive.

As the cultural oasis at the heart of the City of London, we have the potential to build relationships with a wide range of professional service, financial and other corporate firms. Decision-makers from many of these companies make up a significant proportion of our audiences and supporters. Trustees are likely to be trusted colleagues and friends of this group, able to open a conversation about support. They may also identify particular areas of interest for individuals so we can create positive introductions to others, such as one of our Art Form heads. Whether it’s showing a potential supporter around the Centre, joining a learning project in school in Barking or visiting an off-site community-powered festival in Waltham Forest, you’ll relish sharing your own enthusiasm and passion for our work (including our outreach, education and learning), and finding out what could encourage someone to contribute.

You will have the unstinting support of our expert Development team, led by Director of Development Natasha Harris. Their highly sophisticated advice makes all the difference – and you’ll be able to draw upon their interpersonal skills, experience and passion for the job. The team really appreciates the huge trust you’ll place in them as you make personal introductions to valued friends, colleagues and business contacts; they understand the sensitivities of this process, and are able to manage the subsequent relationships with great skill.

There is no fixed term for Trustees, although each year one-third of the Trustees stand for re-election. Most Trustees enjoy the role so much they serve for several years and we hope to find candidates who will be happy to do the same. Our Board is constantly evolving to make sure we have the best collective skills to serve our mission, and each Trustee has an annual appraisal with the Trust’s Chair, with the Chair being appraised by a fellow Trustee.

The Barbican Centre Trust is being supported in this process by Cadence Partners, who can be contacted for an informal discussion at any time. Please contact the Cadence team on +44 20 7947 4960, or email [email protected] or [email protected].

If you require the candidate briefing materials in an alternative format, please submit a request to the same email address.

If you wish to apply, you will be required to submit the following:

• A comprehensive CV setting out your career history and including relevant details of any professional qualifications.
• A short supporting statement (maximum two sides A4, minimum size 11 font) giving evidence of your ability to meet the essential criteria for the role. Please provide specific examples to demonstrate how you meet each of the areas identified in the person specification.
• In addition, please also complete and return our EDI monitoring form.

These documents must be emailed to either:

[email protected] (subject line: Application for Chair, BCT) by no later than the closing date of 9am, Monday 25th January 2021

or

[email protected] (subject line: Application for Trustee, BCT) by no later than the closing date of 9am, Monday 15th February 2021.