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The RBSA

The Royal Birmingham Society of Artists (RBSA) is an artist-led charity which supports artists and promotes public engagement with the visual arts through a range of inclusive exhibitions and learning programmes. It can trace its origins back to 1814 and is the oldest cultural institution in Birmingham. Currently, the Society has about 180 members who pay an annual subscription. At the AGM the members elect the Officers including the President, two Vice Presidents, Hon Secretary, Hon Treasurer and Hon Curator as well as member representatives to the governing body, the Council. They are the Trustees and all are volunteers.

The Society owns the freehold of, and runs, the RBSA Gallery, in Brook Street, located just off St Pauls Square in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter. It is both a charity (no 528894) and a company limited by guarantee and receives no core funding from its local authority or statutory bodies. The Building was extensively refurbished in 2022 to bring it up to modern standards as a contemporary gallery space.

RBSA Director

The RBSA Director is a new post. We expect the post-holder to work in close conjunction with the Officers and the Council as they set the Society’s charitable and cultural agenda and to drive that forward with enthusiasm through activities to improve access, inclusion and diversity. The post-holder will be responsible for fundraising and income generation and delivering the exhibition and events programme (see below) as well as the day-to-day running of the Gallery. The viability of the Society and its Gallery are at the core of this post.

This role would suit a highly-motivated individual who has venue and team management experience and an enthusiasm for fundraising and revenue generation, together with an understanding of the challenges and opportunities of the arts generally. Experience in the visual arts is desirable but not essential.

The successful candidate will have excellent communication and inter-personal skills. They will work with the Officers and members in a collaborative culture in planning and ensuring the execution of agreed plans, harnessing all the resources of the Society. Used to external networking and project management, the post-holder will have to handle confidential information with care and sensitivity, as well as being able to evidence a history of working independently whilst managing multiple priorities and deadlines.

The post-holder would attend the bi-monthly meetings of the Council and would act as its key advisor. The current priorities of the Council are to develop our income streams, raising our visibility as a Gallery and Society, extending the diversity of the artists and artworks represented in the Gallery and re-thinking our exhibition programme. This post would be involved in these key areas. They would help the Hon Secretary compile the Council agenda in consultation with the President as Chair of the Trustees.

The successful candidate will be expected to encourage and support volunteer involvement. The post demands a flexible approach, recognising the realities of working in a small but complex organisation with a very tight budget.

Exhibitions

The Exhibition and Events Programme for the galleries will be drawn up by a small group including some Council members together with the RBSA Director and a current staff member, the Exhibitions Coordinator. They plan the future programme, arrange judges where necessary, approve gallery hire proposals from artists or external organisations and monitor the progress of entries for the exhibitions on a regular basis.

Shop and Museum

The Ground Floor of the Gallery building houses a retail area, the purpose of which is to highlight the work of members and there are three exhibition spaces for members’ work. The shop also sells craft as well as cards. In the Basement of the building is the RBSA Collection which is an Accredited Museum and contains over 1,000 pictures, sculpture and other ephemera. It is not open to the public. The Society has its own Hon Archivist who looks after the Collection in conjunction with the RBSA Professor of Art History.

Salary

Salary range £34,000-£38,000 per annum for a four day week. The role is salaried and the starting point would be negotiable dependant on experience and track record. We are not averse to considering alternative working patterns of fulfilling this role. There is no paid overtime but a time off in-lieu system is available to compensate for evening working at eg a Private View.

Working hours

This is a four day a week post (30 hours per week). Standard working hours are Tuesday to Friday inclusive, from 9.00am to 5.15 pm. The team take 30 minutes for a lunch break (working hours are negotiable on a pro-rata basis). We would require the post-holder normally to work from the RBSA office. Some evening and very occasional weekend work is required.

To apply

To apply please complete and return the application form included in this pack and return it, by email only, by 8am on Wednesday 12 July, to the RBSA Hon Secretary, at [email protected]. If you wish to speak to one of the Trustees about this post or have a guided visit to the Gallery before applying please email [email protected].

Long listed interviews will be held from 5.30pm on the evening of Wednesday 8 August 2023 and those shortlisted will be invited to make a presentation to the RBSA Council on Tuesday 15 August from 5.30pm at the Gallery.

Role: RBSA Director Main Activities:

• To be one of the public facing representatives of the Society in conjunction with the President and other senior officers

• Advising RBSA’s Trustees on the strategic vision for sustaining the gallery as a business and the Society as an entity

• Working with committed Trustees to deliver ongoing creative fundraising and revenue generating initiatives to support its business and cultural agenda

• Manage the day to day running of the Gallery and team

• Advising on and maintaining control over the Society’s finances

• Produce and present management reports for the Council

• Responsible for the maintenance of the building and commissioning appropriate repair works

• Responsible for the maintenance and improvement of the IT infrastructure

Key Skills:

• Team working with both employees and volunteers

• Financial management including preparing forward budgets and cash flow forecasts

• Entrepreneurial flair e.g. monitoring the economic environment to identify and exploit income sources and other opportunities

• Experience of fundraising including research, cultivation, budgeting, writing applications, project delivery and reporting across all aspects of arts fundraising, including fundraising from statutory bodies, trusts and foundations, corporate members and individuals.

• Project management

• Experience of managing tight budgets

• Experience managing a small team and being hands on

• Experience in sales and customer services, preferably in the visual arts

• Delivering objectives on time and within budget

• An understanding of marketing and social media

• Working with artists and cultural professionals to build relationships and network in the arts community

• Competent in IT

Personal Qualities:

• Positive attitude

• Excellent inter-personal skills

• Honesty, reliability, integrity and discretion

• Attention to detail

• Energetic

• Ability to work unsupervised

• Initiative

Desirable Skills:

• Experience of dealing with stakeholders and trustees

• Experience in arts, heritage or creative industries

• Knowledge of Collection management and Accreditation Returns

• Anti-fraud policy and procedures

• Health & Safety/Safeguarding

• Security/IT security

• Writing and updating policies

• Experience developing private and corporate supporters

Lines of Accountability:

This role will report directly to the President and to the Council as the governing body. A progress review process including personal development will be discussed and agreed with the successful candidate.

Our Team:

The Society currently employs a full time Gallery Director (vacant from 12 July 2023), part-time Exhibitions Coordinator, part time Marketing Manager, two part time Front of House staff, a cleaning contractor and an Accounts contractor.