Performing Arts Recruitment

Performing arts organisations bring together creative practice, production, audiences and participation, often within organisations managing venues, touring programmes, commercial activity and education alongside their artistic work. Leaders need to create the conditions for ambitious work while building organisations with the people, resources and relationships to deliver it.

Funding pressures and changing audience behaviour continue to influence decisions about programming, pricing, touring and participation. Earned income, fundraising and public funding often sit alongside one another, while venues face their own questions around estates, accessibility, environmental responsibility and the experience they offer audiences and artists.

Leadership teams reflect this mix of artistic and organisational responsibilities. Artistic and creative leadership may sit alongside producing, operations, commercial activity, fundraising, marketing, learning and participation, with executive leaders and boards responsible for bringing these areas together around a clear purpose and direction.

Our searches begin with the organisation behind the performance. We explore its artistic ambitions, audiences, income model, governance and the responsibilities the appointment will carry, helping us identify the experience that matters and where candidates from elsewhere in the arts, cultural or wider purpose-led sectors could bring relevant perspective.

Our relationships across theatre, music, opera, dance and the wider performing arts have developed through years of recruiting executive, functional and board leaders across the sector. Targeted research extends that reach, helping us identify people with relevant experience from within performing arts and related sectors.