Concrete Youth, an award-winning charity dedicated to increasing cultural provision for people labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities, is seeking a skilled and passionate Assistant Production Manager & Support Worker for the research & development phase of our current major project, Blueprint.
About Concrete Youth
Concrete Youth is an award-winning charity dedicated to increasing cultural provision for people labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities. Since our formation in 2019, we have engaged over 10,500 audience members across five continents, creating inclusive and sensory experiences that champion accessibility and creativity. Our work is rooted in the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to engage with the arts in meaningful and empowering ways.
Our touring department specialises in delivering multi-sensory theatre productions that captivate and inspire audiences labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities. In 2024, we made history with the launch of Sensory Cinders, the first-ever West End production created specifically for audiences labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities, solidifying our reputation in inclusive theatre.
Our education department has been recognised as a leader in sensory education, winning two consecutive Education & Training Awards for Best Sensory Education. Our programmes are designed to provide inclusive, educational, and high-quality services to schools, organisations, and communities. We deliver impactful learning opportunities that nurture creativity and inclusion while empowering the next generation of theatre-makers and audiences.
As a research-led organisation, our senior management team are also academic researchers, combining their scholastic expertise with their roles at Concrete Youth to deliver work that is not only innovative but also deeply relevant to inclusive and sensory practice. This commitment to research underpins everything we do, ensuring that our artistic and educational outputs remain at the forefront of inclusive practice.
Concrete Youth is a four-day working week and Living Wage employer, and a PiPA Charter Partner.
About Blueprint
Blueprint is an ambitious, research-led project that reimagines how sensory theatre is made with and for audiences labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
Developed by Concrete Youth in collaboration with co-researchers labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their support networks, Blueprint sets out to build a bespoke, audience-led model of sensory theatre that adapts to everyone’s unique needs, preferences, and best ways of engaging. Drawing on years of acclaimed national touring and award-winning work, the project combines creative innovation with academic practice to place the audience at the heart of every decision.
Led by Concrete Youth’s Chief Executive and Artistic Director, Daniel Swift MBE, Blueprint forms part of his doctoral research at Rose Bruford College and the University of East London. This study informs the project’s inclusive methodology, centring co-authorship with people labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities to shape the work from within.
As Concrete Youth continues to pioneer new models of inclusive theatre, Blueprint represents a pivotal opportunity to explore bold ideas and redefine inclusive practice. The project is now moving towards a research and development phase, where its findings will begin to be implemented into the creation of a new sensory theatre production for the first time. Its findings will directly inform the company’s artistic direction and contribute to the wider conversation on accessibility and co-creation across the theatre sector.
Blueprint is supported by public funding from Arts Council England and Hull City Council.
Role Overview
As the Assistant Production Manager & Support Worker, you will play a crucial role in the success of Blueprint, working closely with the Production Manager during the production research and development phase. Your responsibilities will include supporting the Production Manager to:
· Support the Production Manager in the development of our new sensory theatre production.
· Advocating for the Production Manager’s access needs and seeking to implement support for them throughout the project.
· To assist with arranging and communicating design & production meetings, and collating invitations.
· To attend regular design and progress meetings and ensure good distribution of the information both internally to colleagues and externally to creative team and partners.
· Co-ordinating between the relevant production departments.
· To liaise with and assist other departments.
· To maintain excellent levels of communication between the Concrete Youth and the creative teams.
· To have active participation in upholding Concrete Youth’s Environmental Sustainability policies.
· To actively participate in the continuing development of Health & Safety.
· To work with the Production Manager on development & running of good data system for environmental reporting – using Theatre Green Book and other tools as a basis for representing theatre & environmental knowledge.
Essential Skills and Qualifications
· Proven experience as an Assistant Production Manager in a theatre setting.
· Proven experience as an access support worker.
· Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work under pressure.
· Strong communication and organisational skills.
· A commitment to inclusivity and enhancing cultural experiences for diverse audiences.
Desirable Skills
· Experience with sensory equipment.
· Proven knowledge and experience in access support.
· Proven experience as an Assistant Production Manager in a research and development setting.
· Experience in working in sensory and/or inclusive theatre.
· Some technical knowledge
· Strong understanding of sensory theatre and accessibility needs for
· Background in working with diverse and neurodiverse teams.
· Ability to innovate and adapt technical solutions to meet unique production needs.
· First aid certification or training in health and safety protocols for theatre settings.
Project Dates
This project will run 6th-23rd October in Hull, with our four-day-working-week pattern running Monday-Thursday each week. The candidate’s preparation time can be flexible to meet the needs of the successful candidate.
Fee
The fee for this project is £630 p/w for 3 weeks (3 weeks of delivery and 1 week of preparation) + travel, accommodation, holiday allowance, and per diems for candidates working away from home.
Further Contracts
Subject to the needs of the production upon completion of its development, there may be potential for renewal of the contract for the further development of the production and its eventual run.
How to Apply
If you are passionate about making a difference through sensory theatre and meet the qualifications, we would love to hear from you! Please add your CV and a cover letter in the application form to the right by midday on Monday 15th September. If you would prefer to submit your application via a method that is more accessible to you, please email it to jobs@concreteyouth.co.uk. Please do not send your application to this email address unless this is the case.
UPON SUBMISSION, THE FORM WILL INDICATE THAT THE APPLICATION HAS BEEN RECEIVED. IF YOU DO NOT SEE THIS MESSAGE, YOUR APPLICATION HAS NOT BEEN SUBMITTED. IN THE EVENT OF THIS, PLEASE EMAIL YOUR APPLICATION TO JOBS@CONCRETEYOUTH.CO.UK. Please do not send your application to this email address unless this is the case.
Our audience comes from all walks of life, and so do we. We work with great people from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes our company stronger. If you share our values and our enthusiasm for inclusive theatre, you will find a home at Concrete Youth.
Concrete Youth, an award-winning charity dedicated to increasing cultural provision for people labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities, is seeking a skilled and passionate Stage Manager for the research & development phase of our current major project, Blueprint.
Concrete Youth, an award-winning charity dedicated to increasing cultural provision for people labelled with profound and multiple learning disabilities, is seeking a skilled and passionate Set & Costume Designer for the research & development phase of our current major project, Blueprint.