Fixed-term contract until 31 December 2023: 28 days, between March – Dec 2023, homeworking
Line Manager: Kenny McGlashan, Chair of CYAA and CEO of YTAS
Children’s and Youth Arts Advocacy (CYAA) is a collective of nineteen national and specialist youth arts organisations who advocate for all children and young people in Scotland to be able to access their right to arts which are inclusive, diverse, and transformative.
The group is now seeking an experienced Coordinator to support the renewed focus and ambitions of the group in 2023.
The CYAA Coordinator is a strategic new arts development role which would suit someone who is an organised, confident and persuasive communicator, and who is motivated by the opportunity to help improve arts policy for Scotland’s children and young people.
Person Specification
- Experience: of managing advocacy or communications campaigns.
- Experience: of working with multi-partner groups or projects.
- Knowledge: of the key policy and infrastructure which exists around Scotland’s arts and education sectors.
- Influencing others: proven ability to ‘sell’ ideas, bring others on board and win them over.
- Communication: skilled and confident at presenting information clearly.
- Self-management: proven ability to independently plan and schedule workload, prioritise objectives and tasks, and set and work to deadlines.
- Strategic thinking: capacity to scan the horizon and plan ahead, making strategic connections and decisions which mean that things fit into a bigger picture.
How to apply
Before applying for this post, please download the job pack below, which contains more information on the contract brief and about working for YTAS.
To apply, please send a cover letter and CV to recruitment@ytas.org.uk outlining your relevant skills and experience for the post. The cover letter and CV should both be no longer than two pages, each.
Application deadline and Interview date
The closing date for applications is 1pm, Monday 16 January 2023 and interviews will be conducted online via Zoom on Monday 30 January 2023. We will contact you after the application deadline to let you know whether or not you have been selected for interview.
Equal Opportunities
You are also invited to complete our anonymous Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/EQRecruitment. Filling in this questionnaire is voluntary and the anonymous information we collect will be used for the sole purpose of ensuring that our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policy is fully and fairly implemented and monitored, and for no other reason.
If you have any questions
If you have any questions, or would like to speak to us informally about this post, please contact Kenny McGlashan, CEO, Youth Theatre Arts Scotland at kenny@ytas.org.uk or on 07779 646550.
About Children’s and Youth Arts Advocacy (CYAA)
Background
CYAA was initially formed as an informal advisory group by Creative Scotland in July 2020. A cross-sector, multi-artform network of national and specialist youth arts organisations was brought together to help steer a response to the Scottish Government on the role of arts organisations and artists in education recovery following the impact of COVID-19.
The group continued to meet as the Arts in Education Recovery Group (AiERG) and established its terms of reference in 2021. Together the group has undertaken several pieces of successful collaborative national youth arts research and advocacy.
As the group’s work developed, its role and aims evolved beyond COVID recovery and into the diverse range of settings where children and young people in Scotland experience learning, arts and culture. In November 2022, new activity and management plans were established, as well as a new name, Children’s and Youth Arts Advocacy (CYAA), which better reflects the group’s renewed focus and ambitions, outlined below.
CYAA has an appointed Chair and Vice-Chair and receives administrative support from Creative Scotland for our meetings. Throughout 2023, CYAA members will meet every two months to review and progress the group’s current Delivery Plan. Members also meet in working groups between meetings, as required to complete actions. The majority of CYAA meetings and related work is conducted online.
As the group is not constituted, one of its members, ourselves at Youth Theatre Arts Scotland (YTAS), currently acts as the project budget holder for any funding awarded to CYAA. YTAS will also act as the employer for any fixed-term contracts, such as this CYAA Coordinator role.
Purpose
- To collectively influence and advocate for all children and young people in Scotland to access their right to arts which are inclusive, diverse, and transformative.
Values
- Leadership: we commit to advocating for and influencing transformational change.
- Ambition: we use our collective passion to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people in Scotland.
- Generosity: we work collaboratively with open minds to share and develop learning and knowledge.
- Integrity: we commit to advancing equality and diversity through our collective strengths and challenges.
- Curiosity: we look to other sectors and stakeholders to inform our thinking.
Principal Activities
- To advocate and influence Scottish Government, Education Scotland and other key stakeholders to support access to cultural experiences and the arts for children and young people nationally.
- To advocate for the vital role of arts, culture and creativity within learning and educational settings.
- To develop a shared long-term vision for children and young people to access the arts and creative activities across Scotland and shape future youth arts strategy.
Targeted Outcomes
- Improve stakeholders’ understanding and value of the arts for children and young people to increase dedicated resources.
- A better understanding, appreciation and use of creative arts in formal and informal learning settings and with system change to existing policy
CYAA Members
- Articulate Cultural Trust
- Benedetti Foundation
- Catherine Wheels
- Craft Scotland
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe
- Engage Scotland
- Imaginate
- Music Education Partnership Group
- National Galleries Scotland
- National Youth Choir of Scotland
- Royal Scottish National Orchestra
- Scottish Book Trust
- Scottish Chamber Orchestra
- Scottish Youth Theatre
- Sistema Scotland
- Starcatchers
- Station House Media Unit
- YDance
- Youth Theatre Arts Scotland
The group is also supported by the following organisations in either an administrative or advisory capacity:
- Creative Scotland
- Education Scotland
- Culture Counts
- The National Parents’ Forum of Scotland