Jobs for the Arts, Culture and Heritage sector in norfolk

At Young Sounds UK our mission is to help musically talented young people from low-income families fulfil their potential. We're seeking our first Evaluation Director to join a small, thriving organisation and lead our evaluation strategy. Working collaboratively with colleagues, you will generate insights that strengthen programme delivery, and how we understand and share our impact.

For full information on this role, including key responsibilities and person specification, please view the job pack.

The closing date for applications is Monday 14 July 2025 at 12 noon.

About Young Sounds UK 

Young Sounds UK exists because musical talent is everywhere but opportunity isn’t: family finances and other obstacles too often get in the way. We’re here to change this in two key ways:

• We support young musicians from low-income families with funding and other help 
• We support music education through training, advocacy and research.

Established in 1998 we work across genres and across the UK. Our four programme areas are: 

• Discover: training teachers in how to spot young people’s musical potential 
• Connect: targeting and sustaining young people’s emerging talent through strategic support
• Thrive: funding young talent UK wide through annual grants and tailor-made help for individual musicians
• Innovate: leading new thinking and action on talent development

Role overview 

Young Sounds is a reflective organisation. We’ve always invested time and effort in seeking out, understanding and demonstrating the difference our programmes are making. We believe in learning from experience. This is what we mean by evaluation.

We have recently secured funding to build on our evaluation work to date, and it is a priority for us to more fully embed evaluation throughout our work – the Evaluation Director will be critical to us achieving this. The Evaluation Director is a new role and will lead the development and implementation of Young Sounds’ evaluation strategy, ensuring that our work is evidence-based and impactful.

Key areas of responsibility 

• Evaluation strategy and organisational learning 
• Programme evaluation 
• Organisational capacity and culture 
• Research and policy engagement 
• Quality assurance and reporting 

The Association for Cultural Enterprises (AfCE) supports over 500 member organisations across the UK and internationally, helping the cultural sector generate earned income through commercial activity. As an Arts Council England-funded organisation, AfCE delivers sector-leading training, benchmarking, data-led insights, events, and advocacy to drive financial resilience in arts, heritage, and culture.

AfCE runs a year-round programme of live training events around the UK and Europe, as well as its signature annual Cultural Enterprises Conference and Trade Show. We have ambitions to grow attendance at these events, as well as growing our membership.

The Association is a charitable organisation, which also has a trading company, Cultural Enterprises (Trading) Limited (CET).

We are looking for a new Finance Manager to join a small, friendly, and ambitious team, to review the day-to-day processes and policies and identify opportunities to improve reporting  and make operational efficiencies. The Association is growing, so now is an exciting time to join our team and work with our members across the cultural sector.

Job Summary

The purpose of this role is to provide sound financial management for the Association and CET through:

• Statutory financial reporting in line with Charity SORP/UK GAAP, including annual returns to Companies House and the Charity Commission

• Management accounting, reporting and analysis to funders, management, staff, and Trustees/Directors

• Preparation and maintenance of budgets, forecasts and plans, including cashflows and project budgets

• Supervision and control of day-to-day accounting transactions, including oversight of the finance aspects of the Apprentice role

• Oversight and implementation of robust financial systems, policies, and procedures

• Responsible for financial queries, working with the Apprentice as first point of contact for external contacts
   

Main Duties

• Supervise day-to-day accounting operations and ensure accurate financial record keeping, including coding, allocations, reconciliations, and tax accounting

• Oversee invoice generation and debt recovery processes

• Process payments and staff expenses for authorisation

• Produce regular management accounts on an accruals basis, providing interpretation and advice to the Executive Team, Finance & Risk Committee, Trustees/Directors, and funders

• Lead on budget preparation and forecasting, including project-specific budgets; monitor and reforecast as needed

• Prepare statutory accounts in compliance with charity SORP and liaise with external auditors and the Treasurer

• Manage contracts with financial services providers, including bookkeepers, auditors, banks, and investment managers

• Attend AfCE and CET Board meetings

• Fulfil company secretarial duties, including:

  • Filing confirmation statements and annual accounts for ACE and CET with Companies House and Charity Commission

  • Filing changes in Trustees/Directors

• Complete Arts Council England (ACE) returns, including provision of financial information for quarterly payment processes when required

• Negotiate and implement insurance policies including:

  • General insurance

  • Cyber security

  • Life assurance

  • Staff sickness policy

  • Trustees’ liability

  • Conference insurance

• Oversee monthly payroll, including statutory payments to HMRC and pension providers, and liaise with bookkeepers for payroll updates or changes

• Review VAT returns for accuracy before submission to HMRC
   

Note on External Bookkeepers
External bookkeepers currently provide support limited to payroll and VAT processing.

Person Specification

Personal Qualities

• Self-disciplined, organised, proactive and self-motivating

• Logical and methodical approach to finance and administration

• Trustworthy, honest, reliable and conscientious

• Confident, professional, and personable, able to communicate easily within a small team and with external stakeholders
   

Professional Competencies

Essential

• Professional accounting qualification such as ACA, ACCA, or CIMA

• Strong knowledge of charity SORP and charity finance regulations, including VAT and Gift Aid

• Experience with Xero or equivalent cloud-based accounting systems

• Strong reporting skills

• Team player with excellent interpersonal skills

• High level of accuracy and attention to detail

• Experience producing management accounts and supporting senior leadership and boards

• Ability to interpret financial data for non-financial colleagues
   

Desirable

• Experience working in a small charity or business

• Understanding of the cultural or charitable sector

• Experience of remote working
   

Benefits

• Unlimited holiday policy

• 5% employer pension contribution

• Life insurance

• Flexible working arrangements by agreement with the CEO

We are an inclusive, equal opportunity employer and value diversity. All employment is decided on the basis of experience, merit and organisational need.

Are you passionate about music, inclusion and making a real difference?  The OHMI Trust is looking for someone to lead our Instrument Development programmes.  The heart of our mission is to make music truly inclusive for people with physical impairments and in this role you will be driving forward the development and delivery of adapted musical instruments.  It is creative, purposeful work and we are looking for someone who cares deeply about the impact that music can have.

Our team is looking for someone who lives and breathes our passion as much as we do and will put the work (and the miles) into bringing our mission to life. You will do this through:

• Developing a strategic approach in how we can increase the range of instruments and supportive apparatus available, working with instrument makers and technologists where necessary. 
• Identifying potential entrants for our OHMI Competition, which is where we challenge developers and instrument makers to adapt or create instruments that can be played without the use of one hand and arm.
• Supporting our OHMI Music-makers, a project that works with partner organisations to bring music lessons to individual students or a whole class by providing adapted instruments.
• Making sure we are communicating with our funders and Board of Trustees about our progress and impact.

And as a key member of the team, you will support us in promoting our great work at various key conferences and workshops.

No two days look the same here at the OHMI Trust, but a week could look like this:

· Arranging meetings with student groups working on instrument related engineering projects.

· Joining an online meeting to develop the strategy for overcoming a specific instrument production challenge.

· Writing an application for funding towards the next instrument/piece of equipment that is needed.

Hours: 18.75 per week, but flexible. Some weekend and evening work will be expected, as circumstances and opportunities require. This post is subject to a 6-month probation period.

Location: flexible within the UK – this is a home/remote working role but there will be travel throughout the UK and there is an advantage in being located within easy commuting distance of the West Midlands, where the rest of the staff are currently based.

Deadline for application: 5pm 4th July.  Interview date: 23rd July in person.

Accountable to: OHMI's General Manager and, through her, the Board of Trustees

What we are looking for:

Essential

• A passion for improving inclusion in music-making, including an understanding of the barriers to participation for those with physical disabilities
• Strong organisational skills, including an ability to prioritise workloads effectively, manage multiple tasks and work flexibly as part of a team
• Excellent communication skills, written and verbal, with the ability to adapt style and content to a range of different audiences and contexts
• Familiarity with standard office software (e.g. Microsoft Word and Excel) and an ability to build knowledge of new systems effectively
• Willingness and ability to travel throughout the UK as required for the job (travel expenses covered)

Desirable

• Technical skills - experience of working with instrument makers, designers or manufacturers
• Disability confident - experience of working with people with physical disabilities

If this role sounds like a great fit for you, we would love to hear all about it!  Tell us why you are interested and what skills you can bring to this position by sending a written statement along with your CV to Rachel Wolffsohn.  We will be holding in person interviews on 23rd July in Birmingham so please hold that date in your diary. 

You can find out more about us and our work on our website and if you have any questions about the position, please get in touch with Rachel.

We are a Disability Confident Committed employer and as such commit to offer an interview to all disabled candidates who meet the Essential criteria.

The Director of Finance and Resources is responsible for managing the charity’s finances efficiently and accurately, ensuring that all financial activities are carried out in compliance with statutory, regulatory and contractual requirements. Playing a key role in strategic planning, including planning for future budgets and allocation of resources in collaboration with the CEO and Board, the Director of Finance & Resources also leads on HR and IT for the Trust and supports the implementation of good governance practices. The role oversees the production of monthly management accounts, line-managing the Finance Officer who takes care of day-to-day financial functions. You will provide financial recommendations to the Finance & Audit Committee (which meets quarterly), ensuring that the Trust’s financial practices adhere to statutory regulations and legislation. The Director of Finance & Resources also leads on the Trust’s annual audit and production of Annual accounts, filed with the Charity Commission. For this role you will need to have strong experience in finance, accounting or a related field, demonstrating excellent analytical skills and numerical proficiency alongside capability to think strategically and facility to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.

Everyone associated with the Trust works remotely and has always done so. Our team, Board, volunteers and partners are UK-wide and so meetings and events are held regularly in London and across the country. You will report to the CEO and line manage the Finance Officer. As a member of the Senior Management Team, you will regularly collaborate with our Board of trustees and, particularly, the Chair and members of the Finance & Audit Committee.

Some core hours will be required but a degree of flexible working will be possible. Some travel will be expected in order to attend in-person meetings. The Trust is committed to each team member’s professional development and offers regular opportunities to undertake formal and informal training.