Apply to join ‘Collective’, an ambitious cultural sector leadership programme for the West Midlands

Culture Central x people make it work x Collective

Culture Central x people make it work x Collective is a leadership programme for those traditionally excluded from senior roles in the cultural sector.

This is an invitation for you to join us to explore and support how we make change for ourselves, our peers, the cultural sector and the people and places of the West Midlands.

Collective is an annual programme, that builds on our approach and ambitions for culture in the West Midlands with space for ten people to learn with us and to help shape the future of place based cultural leadership.

What is ‘Collective’?

Here at Culture Central, we want to see change within the cultural sector in the West Midlands. We recognise this happens through a plurality of experiences and a climate of inclusivity which leads to a dynamic, ambitious and innovative cultural sector. With Collective we want to work with those aspiring to make change for the benefit of the people and places of the region.

Collective is leadership programme, that explores collaborative and collective approaches to sector change for those traditionally excluded from senior roles in the cultural sector. Collective takes an intersectional approach and aims to avoid working in a deficit model, focusing instead on the structures that limit and exclude.

As a programme, Collective accumulates and builds each year, with the cohort maintaining a relationship with Culture Central to embed, share and support change. Through this iterative and collaborative programme, we want to make strategies and actions together for change. Collective, alongside Culture Central’s other programmes, activities and networks is integral to our role and commitment in supporting change.

Who we are

Culture Central convene, challenge and connect to create opportunities through Culture for the people and places of the West Midlands. As part of our work, we run ‘Collective’ a programme that builds on the changes we have been making as an organisation and ​as ​a sector to deepen and widen the way that culture works in the region.  

​​We are bringing together the approaches that we have taken and co-created as an organisation, such as Transforming Narratives, More than A Moment, The West Midlands Culture Response Unit, and Convene, Challenge, Connect to support those traditionally excluded from senior roles in the cultural sector. ​​​ 

​We are also collaborating with people make it work; an organisation with over 20 years of experience across the ecology of the cultural, voluntary and higher education sectors of the UK. 

​people make it work helps individuals and teams at all levels of cultural organisations to build leadership skills, strength and resilience, to eliminate individual and structural barriers and, to work together to create the conditions for effective, strategic, systemic change.​​

What type of person are we looking for?  

  • Someone who is ambitious for culture in the West Midlands and wants to support a shared climate of innovation for the people and places of the region

  • Traditionally excluded from careers in the cultural sector and under-represented in ‘leadership’ positions in creative and cultural work

  • Working in the West Midlands, or working with organisations delivering work in the West Midlands

  • Employee within an organisation with the support and time to be part of this programme

  • Interested in collective leadership, and wanting to develop an understanding of making change within the West Midlands

  • Wanting to explore how the cultural sector works ‘behind the scenes’, to enable ways to deconstruct and make the sector a more conducive place for all

  • Started on their leadership journey or an aspiring and ambitious future sector leader

The characteristics or identities that we welcome applications from include: 

  • people from racialised identities

  • people that are (d)Deaf, Disabled and/or Neurodiverse

  • those who are care-experienced*

  • people from a refugee or disadvantaged migrant community

  • those from a Gypsy, Roma or Traveller community

  • people from a working class/low-income background (or if you have identified as such in the past)

We recognise this is not an exhaustive list, and we encourage applications from people that may have faced barriers to working in the cultural sector (this may be because of age, unpaid caring responsibilities, or being LGBTQ+ for example).

*A care-experienced person is defined as anyone who has been, or is currently in care, or is from a looked-after background at any stage in their life, no matter how short, including adopted children who were previously looked-after.

How will the Collective programme work?

Programme leaders

As programme partners, the people make it work team bring extensive experience in developing and delivering tried and tested, cohort-based, collaborative learning programmes and communities of mutual support which empower and enable individuals to come together to realise the real and lasting transformation they wish to see in themselves, in their organisations and across the sector.  

Approach

people make it work create learning programmes that are practice and people focused, approaching leadership transformation from a holistic, non-hierarchical, inclusive perspective, guided by the following set of principles:

  • Human-centred, developmental, collaborative practice 

  • Building consensus, ownership and agency 

  • Durational, non-transactional engagement  

  • Disruption, momentum and action orientation 

  • Care, inclusion and trust 

  • Parity and equity  

Through our approach, we aim to build positive communities of trust based on shared leadership values, ensuring all participants are well-resourced, purposeful, focused and connected. We create holistic frameworks of support that allow leaders to work from a place of action and empowerment to implement their change goals both individually and collectively.

Session dates

4pm Monday 13th January to 4pm Thursday 16th January inclusive

Programme format and structure

The Collective programme will begin with a residential starting at 4pm on Monday 13th January, finishing at 4pm on Thursday 16th January. All accomodation and meals will be included. The residential will be held at a small hotel and venue with outdoor space in the countryside, located in Solihull. The hotel has step-free access, accessible rooms and spaces, and is a short drive from Birmingham International, Solihull and Dorridge railway stations. Please see the Access Statement at the bottom of this page for more access information.

At the end of the residential we will be working with members of Collective to shape what their next steps and support might be; this could be for individuals or for a group. We’ll base this on the needs and ambitions of those taking part in the programme, but this might look like coaching support, shadowing opportunities, shared events or advocacy. We envisage this might be for 3-6 months after the residential; with further ongoing opportunities to be involved with the previous cohort of Collective and Culture Central.

The programme will be facilitated by culture sector experts and change-makers who reflect the identities and experiences of the participants; and celebrate and platform individuals in other regions and stages in their careers. To see some of the content generated from last years cohort you can visit the online whiteboard space here:

How to apply

We are happy to receive applications from individuals as well as partnerships or groups of people – please make an individual application but reference this in your application if you are applying with others. You can either apply yourself or nominate another person to join Collective.

If you require additional support to write your application or would value talking through your experiences to structure them into an application with a member of the Culture Central team, please get in touch with us: info@culturecentral.co.uk 

To apply – we are asking people to respond to the following three questions either via written or video application: 

Application questions

  1. Tell us about you! Outline your career so far, including any challenges that you have faced, and what you are most proud of to date.  (Max 500 words or 5 minutes)  

  2. Tell us why you’d like this to be on this programme. We’d like to understand more about what motivated you to apply.  (Max 300 words or 2 minutes)  

  3. Lastly, why is now the right time for you to be on this programme and how will your organisation support you to take part in it?  (Max 300 words or 2 minutes) 

Application deadline:

Tuesday 10th December  - 11:00am – Application Deadline

Monday 16th December – Applicants notified of decision

Need more time? We know that many people will be interested in this new programme for the region, but are not yet ready to commit to the programme. If you are considering applying to Collective in later years; you can join as a ‘Connective’.

Being part of Connective will give you access to all of the learning and content that is created, this content will be exclusively available to those interested and will include opportunities to connect with the Collective as it develops.

Access statement

We aim to facilitate and accommodate all accessibility needs, including but not limited to wheelchair access, hearing loops, quiet rooms, child-care and material support for low-waged participants. Please do let us know below if you have any specific questions, needs or comments and we will do our best to meet them.

Collective is supported using public funding by Arts Council England and is part of Culture Central’s 2023-26 Investment Principles Support Organisation offer for the West Midlands.

The residential venue has the following access support in place, but please do let us know if you have any questions or requirements to make the residential accessible for you:

  • Public areas – including hotel reception, bar, lounges, restaurants, are all situated on the ground floor and fully accessible, without steps.

  • The hotel offers a choice of wet rooms in designated accessible bedrooms as well as the option of twin or double beds.

  • Accesible toilets are situated on the ground floor, close to hotel reception, with vertical rails and an emergency alarm cord.

  • Assistance dogs are welcomed into the hotels

  • Restaurant menus offer special dietary requirements as standard, such as gluten free, dairy free, lactose free, nut free, vegetarian, vegan etc. Additional specific dietary requirements can be arranged in advance.

  • Through continued staff training, our team is committed to meeting the communication needs of our guests and visitors. Upon booking and on arrival at the hotel, we establish any specific guest and visitor requirements.

  • Assist all hotel guests with their luggage and offer to show them to their room.

  • Where possible, we will offer a quieter table in our restaurant, upon request for those who struggle with a noisier environment.

  • Room service offering the full A La Carte menu is available for those guests who may wish to dine away from a busy restaurant.

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