We’re Hiring! – Artistic Director & Joint CEO (Maternity Cover)

The Poetry School are looking to hire an Artistic Director & Joint CEO for maternity cover to join our friendly team for a 12-month period.

Artistic Director & Joint CEO (Maternity Cover)

Fixed term, 12 months, Part-time – 3 or 3.5 days.

£60,000 – £65,000 per annum full-time equivalent (FTE) pro-rata for 3 or 3.5 days per week.

We are looking for someone with a proactive, dynamic, and strategic leadership style who is ready to take on a maternity position where delivering strategy is key to success.

You will be familiar with Arts Council reporting requirements, including the use of Illuminate, and wholly endorse, and are able to advocate for, the importance of the Investment Principles as part of the Let’s Create Strategy. You will also be someone with a passion for the work of The Poetry School and an understanding of the broader challenges within the poetry and wider cultural sectors. You will be someone who can build trust, lead, and inspire others through your communication skills and who can develop clear, robust, and creative narratives.

Location

At present the team work between home and the co-working space at 1 City Square in Leeds, or at Somerset House in central London, where we are members. We would expect this role to work at least 2 days a week from Somerset House or 1 City Square in Leeds (with at least one of those days to crossover with the Finance and Operations Director). If the candidate chooses 1 City Square as the main office, this role would visit Somerset House at least once a month; if the candidate chooses London for the main office, they would visit Leeds at least once a month. We are open to a conversation with interested candidates during the interview process about the best way to balance in-person/home working.

Please download the full job description here:

Artistic Director & Joint CEO (Maternity Cover)

How to apply

Please send a supporting statement (of no more than 2 pages) outlining why you want to work for The Poetry School and how you meet the requirement of the role along with your CV (of no more than 2 pages) to [email protected].

Please note applications will be initially reviewed by the Achates team before being shared with The Poetry School team.

If you would like an informal conversation about this role, please contact Vicki Grace at Achates Recruits, who are supporting us with this process. You can reach Vicki by email on [email protected]. These conversations will not influence our selection process.

Closing date for applications: Monday 22 September 2025, 9am.

The first round of interviews will take place online week commencing Monday 29 September.

The Poetry School is committed to embodying diversity and inclusion at every level of our organisation. We will take positive action around this by guaranteeing an interview to any applicant to self-identifies as having a protected characteristic (as outlined by the Equality Act 2010) and who has demonstrable senior creative programming and producing experience. If you self-identify as having this background and experience, please state so in your supporting statement.