Festivals Support Officer

Birr Festivals Collective is now inviting applications for the role of Festivals Support Officer to work with three of its festivals;

OFFline Film Festival
Birr Festival of Music and,
Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival

• Post: Festivals Support Officer
• Start Date: late-April 2023
• End Date: November 2023
• Fee: €15,000 (8 months/approx 80 days) (€48k pro rata).
• Possibility of additional paid work for individual festivals for specific tasks
• Hours approx: 2 days per week with additional days for the week prior to and during a festival including evening and weekend work
• Primarily Birr, Co Offaly based with a blend of remote and in-person engagement
• Contract for Services

Birr Festivals Collective arose from the report, Seeing The Beyond | Birr Festivals Planning for a Shared Future, commissioned by Birr 20:20 Vision Company, (with support from Offaly Local Development Company), that produced a set of recommendations to support sustainable festival development in Birr into the future.

One of the key opportunities identified was for all the Birr’s festivals to work collaboratively to address strategic goals in artistic development, audience engagement and strengthening Birr’s position as an attractive and accessible cultural destination.

Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival is one of the oldest community festivals in the country. It is a week-long event that celebrates the community, the heritage tradition, the arts and the hospitality of the town.

OFFline Film Festival is a 5-day Festival in October that promotes the exhibition of new films by Irish filmmakers and the festival aims to present new Irish work in a diversified international context that includes work by overseas filmmakers.

Birr Festival of Music is a four-day festival that takes place over the May Bank Holiday weekend, presenting recitals and concerts of classical music performed by renowned Irish and international artists.

The other two Collective Festivals are Hullabaloo! celebrating the creative and imaginative intelligence of children and young people and Scripts, Ireland’s Playwriting Festival was established in 2013 by Birr Theatre & Arts Centre and Jasango Theatre as a national event that creates opportunities for playwrights to have their work critically appraised and performed.​

Audience Development​

• Work with the Birr Festivals Collective Marketing Manager and individual Festival Managers and teams to develop relationships with established and emerging community groups and other key local, regional and national stakeholders and reach beyond the general public to engage target groups (in particular those experiencing disadvantage and who may be marginalised)
• Festival programme distribution
• Admin support for grant applications, reports and drawdowns
• Evaluations – audience surveys

Building relationships with patrons and sponsors

• Build relationships with and communicate with sponsors and coordinate gathering of sponsorship money
• Maintain an up-to-date record of pledges and money in
• Liaise with festival Directors, Treasurers and Chair
• Ensure acknowledgements for all sponsors and funders are in any printed materials and online
• Administration support (letter writing etc)

Volunteer Manager

• Build a Birr/Birr Hinterland Festival Volunteer database
• Working with BFC Marketing Manager to develop a Volunteer recruitment campaign
• Ensure sufficient number of volunteers are available for all events
• Volunteer induction and orientation
• Work closely with volunteers, maintaining clear communication and coordination
• Attending some committee meetings may be required in order to build better connections

• Strong interpersonal skills with excellent oral and written communication – essential
• Strong Project Management Skills – essential
• Third Level qualification in Event Management / Project Management or related subject an advantage
• Ability to complete a task accurately, on time and as requested
• Ability to prioritise and complete work under pressure
• Ability to work as a team and motivate volunteers
• Ability to communicate appropriately with sponsors and funders
• Excellent digital skills and record keeping; proficient in MS Word, mail merge, database management, MS Excel

• Knowledge of Birr, Offaly and surrounding region including local businesses
• Good working knowledge of the arts sector including the local and national landscape in relation to artists, arts organisations and local authorities

• Ability to get on well with a wide variety of people
• A commitment to the organisation’s aims and willingness to embrace the ethos of each festival
• An enthusiastic approach to work and willingness to work flexibly – especially in the lead up to and during the festival period