Education Manager (Maternity Cover)

Department/Team: Education & Community Responsible to: Head of Education & Community Contract:

Fixed term for 9 months starting Monday 24 August 2026

Location: Mix of home working and from The Old Vic, 103 The Cut, London, SE1 8NB (min 3 office days)

Hours: We're open to Part-Time (0.8) or Full-Time candidates (32-40 hours / 4 or 5 days per week). Usual working hours are Monday-Friday, 9.30am-5.30pm with some occasional out-of-hour work (e.g. evenings and weekends) The Old Vic offers the ability to work these flexibly under the guidelines in our Hybrid Working policy. Additional hours may be necessary in order to fulfil the requirements of the post

Salary: £32,000 to £35,000 per annum, depending on experience

Role Summary

As one of three Education Managers within the Education & Community team, you will lead on the administration and delivery of The Old Vic's flagship school’s employability programme, Take the Lead. Take the Lead works with 40 London secondary schools each year, using theatre skills to support key employability skills through a series of workshops. We strive to be as inclusive as possible, with c. 25% of participating schools being SEND or Alternative Provision settings. Our programmes are funding dependent and as such you will also support other Old Vic Education projects as required. These projects will serve particular strategic objectives as defined in The Old Vic Business Plan (as updated annually). You will also contribute to organisation-wide initiatives from an Education and Community perspective.

Your Team

The Education & Community department is led by the Education & Community Director and includes the Head of Education & Community, two other Education Managers, the Community Manager, the Education & Community Coordinator, the Participation Manager and the Participation Coordinator. This team is supported by a group of Education Associates and a network of freelance artists.

Areas of responsibility

The Education Manager will be responsible for: To project manage, develop and oversee Take the Lead activity, ensuring that it is meeting objectives, reviewing this regularly and ensuring it is evaluated thoroughly.

To manage the budget for Take the Lead

To maintain and develop strong relationships with schools across Take the Lead and other Education projects

To support the creation of workshop content, ensuring that feedback is taken on board and making changes to continually improve

To collaborate with the other Education Managers in running the Student Forum, delivering the Work Experience programme, developing plans for a Careers Day and managing the Teacher Advisory Group

To work with the other Education Managers and the marketing department to develop and maintain an active schools mailing list

To build and maintain relationships with partner organisations who can promote The Old Vic's schools’ programmes to their networks To contribute to external careers-focused events, representing The Old Vic’s Education and Community department To maintain strong relationships with all stakeholders from participants to supporters to professionals involved in the department's activities

To support The Old Vic's Development department to ensure a good relationship with supporters, that their needs are met, information is available in a timely and appropriate fashion and that projects meet their targets

To recruit, supervise and train appropriate freelancers to deliver Take the Lead, ensuring they are contracted and paid accordingly

To lead facilitator training sessions to ensure the freelance team are fully equipped to deliver workshops and are knowledgeable about the content and The Old Vic ways of working, and to visit schools to observe workshops as part of our quality assurance.

To contribute to the development and content of wider Education and Community initiatives.

Operational Activity To work closely with the Marketing team and Development team to create marketing material for Take the Lead including copy, images, promotional material and evaluation booklets, in line with The Old Vic branding guidelines and funder crediting Work closely with the Development team to coordinate volunteering opportunities for supporters across the programme

To support annual reporting through provision of data, interpreted evaluation reports and attending quarterly reporting meetings with supporters

To evaluate our schools' projects activity throughout the year, gathering requisite data, producing evaluation materials independently and in conjunction with external evaluators

To maintain an awareness of best practice in Education arts settings To maintain a detailed knowledge of changes to the current education system and practical understanding of the effects on schools Champion and adhere to The Old Vic's Belonging and Inclusion strategy

To comply with The Old Vic's Equal Opportunities, Health & Safety, Sustainability and all other Staff Handbook policies at all times Company-wide Activity

To attend Development and wider Old Vic events as requested

To contribute to regular all-staff meetings, sharing information and connecting staff with activity across our projects

To represent The Old Vic at various events, both internal and external, and ensure its reputation is maintained

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and the Theatre's management may, at any time, allocate other tasks which are of a similar nature or level.

How to Apply

We understand that everyone is different and we want you to apply in whichever way you feel best shows your skills and experience. There are a range of ways that you can apply with us:

• 1. Sending a short video file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you.

• 2. Sending a short audio file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you.

• 3. Completing our application form.

• 4. Uploading your CV and covering letter, explaining why you are interested in the role and working at the Old Vic.

The Old Vic has made a commitment that all applicants with disabilities who meet the essential criteria for this job will be invited to interview. 

All appointments are made subject to satisfactory references and proof of eligibility to work in the UK.

The Process

The recruitment process for this role will be two stages:

• 1st stage virtual/in person conversation

• 2nd stage virtual/in person conversation

• You may be asked to complete a work based skills assessment

The closing date for this role is 11th May 2026. First conversations are likely to take place w/c 18th May 2026.

Equal Opportunities

We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people of the global majority, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse and disabled candidates.

We may take positive action, in cases where candidates are equally qualified, to increase the employment of under-represented groups at The Old Vic.

In the event that we ask you to attend the theatre for a conversation and you are struggling financially, we may be able to reimburse you for any reasonable travel costs.

We partner with a range of inclusive organisations, to find out more please read our FAQs. 

FAQs

Read our recruitment and selection and equal opportunities FAQs here.