Vacancies
A great organisation in which to share your skills and creativity
Would you like to come and work for the North’s leading literature development agency and play a part in supporting great projects such as the Northern Writers’ Awards, Durham Book Festival and our award-winning work with young people? We’d love to hear from you.
About New Writing North
Recognised as a leader in our field, New Writing North has produced nationally significant work from a base in Newcastle upon Tyne since 1996. We have steadily grown from a team of two to a skilled and expert team of 16.
We lead the development of new writing and creative reading in the North of England, working with writers in the North East, Yorkshire and the North West and connecting them to opportunities. We are proud to be a charity and an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation. We have a turnover of £1m, with 65% of that generated from earned and fundraised income.
We believe that talent is everywhere, but that opportunities are not, and that it is our job to create opportunities. We develop programmes and activities that support individuals and communities to engage with creative reading and writing both professionally and for pleasure. We help good writing find local, regional, national, and international audiences.
Our annual programme includes the management of major international literary prizes and awards; open-access and targeted talent development programmes; the production of festivals and events; international writing and translation projects; our young writers and community-based programmes; writing for wellbeing activities and the commissioning of new writing.
We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities that we serve. We encourage people from all sections of our community to apply for jobs with us. We particularly welcome Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, disabled, and LGBTQI applicants and those from lower socio-economic and working-class backgrounds.
Information for Candidates
Work at New Writing North
At its core, New Writing North’s work has two main goals: to encourage people to develop their own creativity through reading and writing, and to identify talent and support writers to fulfil their creative ambitions.
Please download our Work at NWN pack to learn more about:
- what we do at New Writing North
- our mission, vision and values
- our programme of work
- our organisational culture
Download the Work at NWN document here:
Work at NWN: PDF
Organisational structure
We’re a small organisation with a dedicated, creative team, supported by a great board of trustees.
Our Organisational Chart shows the current structure of New Writing North. Download it here.
Location
New Writing North is based in central Newcastle upon Tyne.
We are currently operating a hybrid working model, with staff generally spending 60% of their working week in the office and 40% working from home.
Holidays and benefits
Staff at New Writing North benefit from the following terms:
• 25 days’ holiday allowance, plus statutory bank holidays (pro
rata’d for part-time posts)
• Flexible working
• Contributory pension scheme
• Training and professional development opportunities
• Access to free, confidential practical and emotional support
via The Printing Charity
• Cycle to work scheme
• Corporate Metro Season Ticket.
Current Vacancies
Director of Communications and Development
THE ROLE
£41,600 – £46,800 plus company pension and benefits
We are excited to be recruiting for a new Director to join our award-winning team in Newcastle upon Tyne. The Director of Communications and Development will support us to grow the work of New Writing North across our core creative programmes and our capital ambitions.
We are looking for someone with a great track record of success in managing communications, development, and fundraising, who can thrive in a small, ambitious team. We feel that great communications drive relationships and development, so are keen to bring those roles together in our team.
The appointed person will represent our interests in a range of public and private sector contexts. They will be a confident and proactive verbal and written communicator and a skilled networker with a strong track record of relationship building.
Key Dates
Meet the Team session (optional session on Zoom): 1 – 2pm, Tuesday 21 March 2023
Deadline for applications: 12 noon, Friday 14 April 2023
Candidates notified of interview: by end of day on Friday 21 April 2023
Interviews: Friday 28 April 2023 in central Newcastle
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for the post you will be asked to upload:
• A covering letter of no more than 2 sides of A4 which
details how your skills and experience meet the job description and which details your achievements
• A CV of no more than 3 sides of A4 detailing your professional skills and experience
• Two references who can speak to your ability to perform the role (we will take up references if we offer you the post).
Please note that New Writing North uses a blind shortlisting process, so you will need to make sure your name does not appear on these documents.
Programme Manager (Young People and Communities)
THE ROLE
£23,920 to £29,120 (please note appointments are usually made at the start of the pay band), full-time
We are looking for a Programme Manager to join our award-winning team. Supported by the Senior Programme Manager (Young People and Communities) you will manage a specific slate of place-based programmes which engage young people and communities. You will ensure the work is of the highest quality, that the work builds trust and confidence amongst participants, that progression routes are identified and that the impact of the work is well understood and celebrated. You will have ongoing relationships with freelance writers and producers who lead the work, managing them on a day to day basis. You will also be a key point of contact for the partners we work with to produce the work, managing those relationships on a day to day basis.
The overarching goal of our young people’s programme is that ‘as a result of our work people have increased capacity to make informed choices about their lives and can fulfil their potential’ and of our work with communities ‘to support people in statistically disadvantaged communities to thrive by engaging in reading, writing and generating new ideas’.
In order to achieve this, we run a portfolio of programmes following a human-centred design approach. Find out more about this area of work in the Programme Manager job pack.
KEY DATES
Meet the team event (optional): 12.30-1.30pm, Thursday 30 March on Zoom
Deadline for applications: 12 noon, Monday 17 April 2023
Candidates notified of interview: by end of day Wednesday 19 April 2023
Interviews: Wednesday 26 April 2023 in central Newcastle
HOW TO APPLY
To apply for the post you will be asked to upload:
• A covering letter of no more than 2 sides of A4 which
details how your skills and experience meet the job description and which details your achievements
• A CV of no more than 2 sides of A4 detailing your professional skills and experience
• Two references who can speak to your ability to perform the role (we will take up references if we offer you the post).
Please note that New Writing North uses a blind shortlisting process, so you will need to make sure your name does not appear on these documents.
Call for Expressions of interest – freelance writer facilitators of colour
New Writing North’s Young Writers and Communities programme includes in-depth schools’ work, open access creative writing groups, summer sessions and short-term projects, including community-based work. As our work has expanded, we are putting out a call for creative writing facilitators of colour to add to our list of contacts in the North East. If you are interested, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
