Can you create an environment that encourages participation, collaboration, and creativity? We are looking for an enthusiastic and experienced facilitator to help plan, deliver, and lead our next staff development away day with a focus on team building, working relationships, and effective communications.

To download a PDF version of this brief, click here. (PDF File, 334kb).

About Open Doors 

Open Doors is a National Portfolio Organisation, funded by Arts Council England, based in the National Civil War Centre and the Palace Theatre, Newark. Open Doors is part of Newark and Sherwood District Council’s Heritage and Culture team.

Our theatre programme offers live entertainment including music, comedy, drama, and panto, and The National Civil War Centre offers an exploration of 17th Century life and local history. We also offer inclusive, cultural experiences that inspire people and communities with opportunities to grow, learn, and think differently. We do this in our cultural venues and across the district.

We continually provide opportunities for our staff, volunteers, and our business to grow, including regular days for training and teambuilding. We see the positive impacts of such activities on the work we’re doing today, along with our future plans.  

The Role

Our next Staff Development Day will be on Monday 8th September, and we’re looking for someone to work with us in the lead up to the event. The Facilitator will work closely with our Staff Development Working Group to co-plan and organise an engaging staff development day. The event must promote positive relationships, effective communication, and be fully accessible and inclusive.

On the day of the event the facilitator will: 
•    Create a welcoming and engaging environment which encourages collaboration
•    Be the compère for the day, facilitating the event so the day runs smoothly and effectively
•    Manage the logistics of the day. This includes setting up and taking down the day’s activities, acting as the point of contact for workshop leaders, organising different groups and their movement throughout the day, time management of the day’s sessions, and dealing with any issues as they arise
•    Prepare and transport materials and resources to and from the venue
•    Guide and coordinate group discussions, promote participant engagement, and support team building activities 
•    Collect participant feedback at the end of day.

Schedule

Planning will take place from July to September 2025 and the event will take place on Monday 8 September 2025. The Facilitator will be invited to join our Staff Development Working Group meetings between July and September.

Fees and Budget

A fixed fee of £1500 + VAT is available for this work. We anticipate this equating to approximately five days of work, depending on rates. This fee covers transport costs to attend meetings and the event, which will be in the East Midlands. A separate budget is available to cover all other event costs, including venue hire, catering, staff transport, etc. 

Expressions of Interest

Please submit a short, written expression of interest, outlining why you are interested in this role and how your previous experience would be relevant.

Alternatively, your expression of interest can be a video file (MP4) or audio file (MP3) up to three minutes in length. If submitting a video or audio file, please send this via a file-sharing service such as WeTransfer or Dropbox.

Please email your Expression of Interest to: visitorinformationcentre@newark-sherwooddc.gov.uk

Deadline: 12:00pm on Monday 21 July 2025.

Informal interviews will take place the week commencing 21 July 2025.