Job Ad -Freelance Evaluator - Ensuring Equality, Diversity & Inclusion for Arts & Cultural Education

At Create Sheffield we believe that effective leadership and good decision-making are enabled through a culture of listening to, and acting on, diverse perspectives and having behaviours that embody respect, openness and constructive challenge. Create Sheffield is working towards having a diverse trustee and employee makeup and governance. We are committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce and our partners. Our aim is for the people we work and collaborate with to be truly representative of all sections of society and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. We actively encourage people from underrepresented communities and diverse backgrounds to apply. 

If you have any questions or need further support with your application please get in touch with Sophie Hunter, Creative Producer at sophie@createsheffield.co.uk or call her on 07803 611631.

FREELANCE EVALUATOR ROLE

Create Sheffield is seeking professional support from a freelance evaluator who will offer expert guidance and support in gathering data and information. This is in support of a newly funded programme focused on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion within the arts and culture sector for children and young people aged 0-24 in Sheffield.

The freelance evaluator will support the staff team and Trustees to guide their thinking and actions around the evaluation of this project and will support by feeding into the final evaluation report in December 2023.

The freelance evaluator will work closely with Create Sheffield staff supporting them to achieve the programme aims and objectives (see below).  The evaluation will tell the story of how engagement in this project has increased opportunities for both children and young people in Sheffield as well as arts, heritage and cultural partners.

Programme aims and objectives:

1. Through the expansion of the partner pool and advertising to schools and through HAF, more children and young people in Sheffield will have had the opportunity to engage with Create Sheffield’s more diverse and inclusive range of artists, culture and heritage partners.

1. The planning of arts & cultural activities and services in Sheffield will be informed by listening to the voices and experiences of minority groups in the city such as the Children in Care Council, Slambarz, Artworks and CYPF.

1. Create Sheffield’s partner pool will be 16% more diverse and inclusive (10 people/organisations) (16% to be representative of the ‘minority’ population in Sheffield)

1. Teachers and arts commissioners in the Voluntary and Community Sector will have learnt about and used the Create Sheffield partner pool (newsletters, Facebook group, Artsmark, CPD)

1. Access to Create Sheffield’s forum, steering group and work streams is inclusive and supports the wider arts ecology across the city (sign-up paperwork is simplified, videos made, ‘bring a friend’ scheme)

1. Adults who work with children and young people across the 3 sectors will have attended an event, sharing their experiences so that they can learn about how best to diversify their offer (forum and sharing event attendance)

1. Engagement with Create Sheffield as a partner will lead to opportunities to participate in funded city-wide strategies that improve access to arts and cultural experiences for children and young people (funding applications, opportunities shared in newsletters and comms)

1. The infrastructure of Create Sheffield is stable and now supports and listens to the voices of the growing wider partnership (terms of reference clear for all groups, high percentage of partnership say they are happy)

1. Create Sheffield will have used the forum, steering group and workstream infrastructure to research and gather the data and information required to put in funding bids to tackle strategic issues on behalf of the city.

1. The principles will be in place to ensure that ‘diversity and inclusion’ is considered as part of every workstream in the future. (evaluation report)

The evaluator outputs

Create Sheffield is seeking an evaluator to:

• Guide the staff team to ask the right questions, using appropriate language in each context (questionnaires, youth voice sessions, Forum development).
• Support the staff team by holding an overview of the programme’s aims and outcomes and ensuring that each person is clear how their work fits into the whole.
• Support the programme fundraiser by ensuring that information gathered can be used in fundraising bids.
• Support by feeding into the final evaluation report, due in December 2023.

Fee: £4000 (around 12 days work)

Timescale: w/c 13th February to December 2023

Application 

Please submit the following:

1. a short expression of interest indicating your expertise in this area, and what you feel you would bring to the role
2. Equality & Diversity Monitoring Form
3. a CV 
4. two references 

Send by email to Sophie Hunter, Create Sheffield Creative Producer at sophie@createsheffield.co.uk, and please also copy in contactus@createsheffield.co.uk 

Deadline 8am, Monday 23rd January

Interviews will be held online – Tuesday 31st January or Wednesday 1st February 

About the programme

Create Sheffield is delighted to have received continuation funding from IVE, Sheffield City Council and the Virtual School for Children Looked After, to support the development of a new strand of work for the arts and culture sector in Sheffield that will run from November 2022 – December 2023.

To sustain the strength of our cultural education partnership, the next step for Create Sheffield is to offer both support and opportunities to tackle city-wide strategic issues within the arts and culture sector for children and young people. 

The first focus will be equality, diversity & inclusion within the arts and cultural education sector in Sheffield - a topic that has already been identified by the partnership. By the end of the funding period, we aim to have a co-produced and co-owned city-wide strategy that all partners have a stake in.

Support and development from Create Sheffield will be offered in three ways: 

1. Through the development of a new cultural education partnership Forum, steering group, and work streams, which will ensure that the wider partnership is expanded and will move into active delivery on behalf of the city.
2. Through offering research, development, training and support linked to the topic.
3. Through offering topic-focused fundraising on behalf of the partnership. 

The work will be guided by baseline surveys, needs analysis report, exploratory meetings, input from steering group and work stream members. Based on previous conversations, we imagine the work might focus on looking at ways to expand the diversity of the arts and cultural education partner pool, and careers pathways and support for global majority artists who work with children and young people.

We know that addressing equality, diversity and inclusion needs to be tackled sensitively, with leadership and long-term strategy. 

The role of the evaluator on this project is integral in ensuring that we gather the right information, ask the right questions and have the information to ensure we are well positioned to raise ongoing funds for EDI work in Sheffield.

Outline of the programme 2022-23

About Create Sheffield

Create Sheffield is Sheffield’s Local Cultural Education Partnership (LCEP). Formed in 2017, Create Sheffield is one of 15 LCEPs established in Yorkshire and Humber by IVE, the Arts Council’s Bridge Organisation for the region, in response to the Cultural Education Challenge. Further information can be found here.

Create Sheffield aims to engage all children and young people across Sheffield with the arts and cultural industries, working to remove barriers to engagement where they exist.

We work strategically with various organisations operating in sectors ranging from theatre and dance to circus, coding and computer games. We’re here to facilitate and celebrate young peoples’ participation in arts and culture. 

From introducing young people to creative careers to collaborating with local artists, our adventures, stories and events make the quality and vibrancy of Sheffield available to all who want to get involved.

Questions or comments 

If you have any questions or comments about this role, please get in touch with Sophie Hunter, Creative Producer at sophie@createsheffield.co.uk or call her on 07803 611631.