Dear Applicant

LIVERPOOL BIENNIAL 2016 MEDIATOR

Thank you for expressing an interest in the Mediator vacancy at Liverpool Biennial. Please find attached a job information pack, which includes a job description and person specification, together with some background information about the Biennial. It also includes an application form and an equal opportunities monitoring form. Please note that you must apply using the application form, and CV’s alone will not be considered.

The job will be offered as a fixed term contract from approximately 16 June until 14 November 2016, on either a full-time or part-time basis at £6.70 per hour (living wage of £7.20 will apply if you are over 25), and will include some evening and weekend working.

We hope that you feel that you have the knowledge and skills to apply for the position, and are looking forward to hearing from you. If you would like to apply you should include:

A completed application form, in which you demonstrate how you meet the knowledge, skills and experience requirements of the role. The application form asks for names of referees, but be assured that we will not approach referees without your prior agreement.

A completed equal opportunities monitoring form, which must be returned as a separate attachment to your application.

Application forms should be returned by e-mail to: jane@biennial.com no later than noon on 30 May 2016 and it is expected that interviews will be held in Liverpool on 6/7/8 June 2016.

If you have any queries about the application process please do not hesitate to e-mail me. If you have any queries about Liverpool Biennial please visit our website at www.biennial.com

Yours sincerely

Jane HowardHR Consultant to Liverpool Biennial

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Mediator

Salary Band: National Minimum/living wage according to age

Location: Liverpool Biennial 2016 venues throughout the city

And at:Liverpool Biennial55 Jordan Street Liverpool L1 0BW

Primary Purpose of the job: Mediators provide the vital resource for a meaningful and enjoyable experience for all visitors by being knowledgeable, motivated and proactive. Through The City is a School, the Biennial’s research and development programme, Mediators become experts in the Liverpool Biennial 2016 exhibitions and our interpretation pedagogy. Liverpool Biennial’s Mediation Programme supports the world-class contemporary art on offer, thereby furthering the Biennial’s position as the UK Biennial.

Directly Responsible to: VIP and Mediation Coordinator, Front of House Coordinator

Terms: A temporary appointment from 20 July to 19 October, on a full-time basis (37.5 hours per week) or part-time basis. Shifts will involve weekends and evenings.

Main Responsibility:

The Mediators are responsible for ensuring the day-to-day provision of a high quality mediation and interpretation service for Liverpool Biennial 2016. The

mediation team interacts with audiences across the Biennial platforms, including face to face and through other media. Alongside the VIP and Mediation Coordinator and the Front of House Coordinator, as well as the Liverpool Biennial Production Team, Mediators will ensure that all visitors to Liverpool Biennial 2016 are warmly welcomed and group or education visits are well prepared for. Each Mediator will assist with the facilitation of The City is a School, Liverpool Biennial’s learning programme. Mediators will have some responsibility for maintaining the venues, reporting issues and checking all equipment and facilities are adequate.

Overall the 2016 Mediation Programme develops new structures of mediation and interpretation for contemporary art audiences and is integral to the success of the festival.

Main Duties:

Delivery of Outstanding Visitor Experience:

Fully take part in The City Is a School, Liverpool Biennial’s research and learning programme for the 2016 festival.

Inspire and support a research team as part of the Mediation Programme. Lead by example by proactively engaging and supporting visitor and team members alike.

Support the VIP and Mediation Coordinator and the Front of House Coordinator to ensure that all invigilation positions are covered and tours prepared for, through forward planning and flexibility.

Liaise with colleagues and partners to ensure effective communication of Mediator and visitor information.

Support induction, continuous training and development of the Mediation Team.

Ensure open communication and co-ordination with Biennial and partner organisations’ staff, artists and volunteers.

Support the Mediation Team by engaging with all available development opportunities and relevant social aspects of Mediation Team life.

Support the documentation and evaluation of Mediation Team activities and assist team members with the monitoring of their activities.

Attend training and professional development opportunities as required.

Be the first point of contact to warmly welcome all visitors and arts professionals. Ensure that key sponsors, patrons and affiliates receive support in developing hospitality for their VIP guests, supported by the Front of House Manager/Mediation Coordinator and Participation Coordinator.

Ensure the accessibility and provision of information and advice to visitors and guests to enable them to make the most of their visit, which will encourage repeat visits and visits to other Biennial venues.

Day-to-day running of the exhibitions and the public programme, including supporting tours and group visits as well as maintenance of space and resources.

Delivery of tours of the exhibition for all groups as required.

Support the development of resources and activities for visitors, such as worksheets and itineraries with programme and communications staff.

Support celebrations, launch events and exhibition activities with relevant stakeholders both internally and with partners, e.g. weekend programmes.

To ensure that all enquiries made in person, by telephone, e-mail, or in writing are handled professionally, courteously, promptly and effectively. Assist visitors or guests with specialist enquiries, either transferring them to someone who can help or taking their details and contacting them when the information is found.

Operational

Ensure that Liverpool Biennial 2016 venues are health and safety compliant: clean, free of clutter, all equipment in working order. Report any issues to the Front of House Manager/Mediation Coordinator.

Liaise with our partner organisations’ front of house teams to ensure excellent and consistent services are offered throughout all exhibition venues.

To fully understand and implement health and safety guidelines for exhibition and information sites.

To be knowledgeable on all operating procedures and report any issues to the Front of House Manager/Mediation Coordinator.

Promote and provide information on opening hours, exhibitions, events, facilities and services relevant to information points.

Provide verbal and written visitor/customer feedback and ideas for improvement to the Visitor Services Team and the Production Team.

Be knowledgeable of Liverpool Biennial 2016 exhibits and activities, local geography, transport services, shops and other relevant public information.

Administrative

Support the Front of House Manager/Mediation Coordinator to ensure that the information kept in directories and information files is accurate, available, up to date and easy to navigate.

Support the Front of House Manager/Mediation Coordinator to ensure that the briefing sheets are completed and accurately circulated to all relevant parties.

Respond to feedback and correspondence as and when required.

Work within the context of Liverpool Biennial's Equal Opportunities, Health and Safety and Safeguarding Policies in delivery of internal and external service and treatment of employees alongside all other Company policies as detailed in the Staff Handbook.

Other duties which are commensurate with the nature and responsibility level of the post

Internal and External Lines of Communication

The Mediator works in close collaboration to support the VIP Coordinator, Front of House Manager/Mediation Coordinator, the Head of Production and International Projects, the Education Curator and other staff to provide high quality Mediator and visitor experiences of Liverpool Biennial 2016.

The role of Mediator will be a link between Liverpool Biennial Exhibition Venue and the Liverpool Biennial main office at 55, New Bird Street.

The Mediator has weekly line management meetings with the Front of House Manager/Mediation Coordinator and will be expected to attend all key meetings.

Expectations – It is expected that the post holder will fully participate in:

(i) Staff development(ii) Training opportunities which are made available as part of the Learning

Network, The City is a School, for Liverpool Biennial 2016

The Fellow will work irregular hours and may be assigned other duties commensurate with the nature of the post.

Health and Safety

To take all reasonable steps to ensure that the working environment conforms to current Health and Safety at Work regulations e.g. by undertaking risk assessments and reporting hazards according to Biennial Health & Safety Policy and procedures. The core full time role will be 37.5 hours but additional hours may be required, for which TOIL will be offered, however all scheduling will be in accordance with the prevailing working time regulations.

Basic Systems

To report as appropriate any deficiencies in the basic systems, which you either use, or for which you have some responsibility.

Sickness Absence

To assist the effective management of sickness absence in accordance with the current policies and procedures of Liverpool Biennial.

Review

This job description will be regularly reviewed as part of the Biennial Performance Management Programme. Other duties may be assigned that are consistent with the nature and responsibility level of the post.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Liverpool Biennial is the UK Biennial of Contemporary Art, the leading festival of visual arts in the UK, every 2 years. The Biennial Festival is underpinned by a programme of research, education, residencies and commissions.

Liverpool has more national museums and galleries than any other city in the UK, outside London.

Liverpool’s confidence in its culture of visual arts owes much to an inheritance from its early architects, whose legacy of neoclassical buildings forms the backdrop of Liverpool Biennial 2016. The Biennial’s mission to constantly broaden the boundaries of visual arts creates a cultural hub for artists from all over the world. 42 artists, representing five continents, will contribute newly commissioned works to Liverpool Biennial 2016.

The ninth edition of the Biennial stretches the boundaries for these artists to create works across the city, permeating its landscape and narrating a story in a series of episodes.

Venues for Liverpool Biennial 2016 include:

Tate Liverpool is the home of the national collection of modern and contemporary art in the North of England.

FACT (Foundation for Art and Creative Technology) is a media arts centre which hosts a year-round programme of exhibitions, film, research and engagement projects. When the FACT building opened in 2003, it was the first purpose-built arts centre in Liverpool for more than 60 years, and features three gallery spaces, four cinema screens, and workshop spaces.

Open Eye Gallery was founded in 1977 and is the only gallery dedicated to photography and related media in the North West.

Bluecoat is the oldest building in Liverpool city centre, showcasing contemporary visual and performing arts, and has provided space, support and a public platform for artists for over 100 years.

The Walker Art Gallery boasts an internationally renowned collection of paintings, sculpture and decorative art including one of the best collections of Victorian and

Pre-Raphaelite art in the country and an outstanding collection of modern and contemporary works. Part of the Walker Art Gallery is the Oratory – a venue in Liverpool Biennial 2016 – which houses a collection of nineteenth century sculpture and significant funerary monuments, located close to Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral.

This year the Biennial will also be spreading its reach to Manchester, working with Centre for Chinese Contemporary Art (CFCCA), which celebrates its 30th anniversary of leading the UK in exploring a changing international dynamic through Chinese contemporary art.

The Biennial extends across the city to include pubs, restaurants, supermarkets, cinemas, outdoor spaces and even functioning Arriva city buses.

Most significantly in 2016, the heart of the Liverpool Biennial exhibition will be in the spectacular setting of the historic Cain’s Brewery. The building dates from 1887, and functioned as a brewery until 2013, having brewed over half a million barrels of beer per annum.

A significant part of the Biennial’s output will be digital, exploiting the virtual world and all its creative potential to deliver new art forms for the twenty-first century.

Liverpool Biennial 2016 will be underpinned by a programme of live performance events, film screenings, talks, tours and workshops. There will also be a publication bringing together contributions from artists, writers and practitioners across disciplines.

Also showing during the festival are the Liverpool Biennial Associate Artists, John Moores Painting Prize, Bloomberg New Contemporaries, and the Biennial Fringe.

APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT

Title of post applied for:

Before completing this form, please read the accompanying job description, person specification and briefing note.

Confidential

1. PERSONAL DETAILS Surname: Initials: Former surnames if different:

Preferred Name or Title (Optional):

Address:

Tel No (home): Tel No (work):

Tel No (mobile): E-Mail address:

Nationality: If you are not a British passport holder or a European Citizen, or you do not have the permanent right to remain in the UK, you will require a work permit.

Do you need a work permit to be employed in the UK?

Yes No

If you already have a work permit, when does it expire? (Please note that your current work permit may not be valid for this post.)

Where did you learn of the post?

Preferred work arrangements: Full-time Part-time

2. EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS (Original documents as proof of qualification will be required upon appointment.)

Secondary School / College / University

Dates Examinations taken Date ResultFrom To

Professional Qualifications currently held: how obtained, grade and date

Other relevant Educational or in-work Training Courses, with dates

3. CURRENT OR MOST RECENT EMPLOYMENT

Title of Post: Salary/Grade: Name of Employer:

Address:

Date Commenced: Date Ended (if applicable):

Please outline your responsibilities, to whom you are responsible and staff responsible to you (if applicable):

Reason for leaving or wishing to leave:

Period of notice required to terminate present employment:

Please notify us of any dates when you are unavailable for interview:

4. PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT (Please use continuation sheet if necessary.)

Name and Name and address o Address of Employ Employer

Position Held Dates of Employment, and reason for leaving. Final grade/salary

Description of duties:

Description of duties:

Description of duties:

Description of duties:

5. Bearing in mind the detailed job description and person specification, please tell us in your own words why you believe you are a suitable candidate: the particular qualities, experience and vision you would bring to the post if appointed. Please continue on a separate sheet if necessary. (You can insert a new sheet by pressing ctrl and enter)

6. Disabilities

If selected for interview, do you require any special arrangements to be made on account of a disability? Yes No

If “yes”, please give brief details of the effects of your disability on your day-to-day activities, and any other information that you feel would help us to accommodate your needs during your interview and fulfil our obligations under the Equality Act 2010:

7. Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975

Have you any convictions that are not spent under Rehabilitation of Offenders Act? Yes No

If Yes, please provide further details: [Spent convictions do not have to be declared]

8. REFERENCES

Referee 1 Referee 2Title: Title: Full Name: Full Name: Job Title: Job Title: Organisation: Organisation: Address: Address:

Tel No: Tel No: E-mail address: E-mail address:      Mobile No: Mobile No: Please state if we may obtain this reference prior to interview.

Yes

No

Please state if we may obtain this reference prior to interview.

Yes

No

9. DECLARATION

I declare that the information given in this application form is true and complete. I understand that if I have given any misleading information on this form or made any omissions, this will be sufficient grounds for terminating my employment.

Signature:: Date: Name: The information provided by you on this form as an applicant will be stored either on paper records or a computer system in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and will be processed solely in connection with recruitment, in accordance with Liverpool Biennial’s Recruitment and Selection and Data Protection Policies.

PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM TO Jane@biennial.com by the closing date of noon on Monday 30 May 2016

Liverpool Biennial equality and diversity monitoring

Liverpool Biennial is committed to ensuring that its services are accessible to everyone regardless of race, gender, ability, religion, sexual orientation or age. The information you give on this form will help us comply with our policy of ensuring that we meet our obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

We recognise that some people may regard some of this information as personal and we have, therefore, included an option in most questions for ‘prefer not to say’. You do not have to complete all of this form but it will help us improve our services if you can complete as much as possible and return the form.

All information Liverpool Biennial collects around equality and diversity will be treated and stored confidentially in accordance with the Data Protection Act, and our own Data Protection Policy. Access to this information will be restricted to staff involved in the processing and monitoring of this data. It will be used to provide statistical information only.

Please return this form to monitoring@biennial.com.

Please give your consent below for your information to be stored and used in this way.

Signed: Date:

A. Your age

What is your date of birth?

Prefer not to say

B. Disability

DD/MM/YYYY

The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) defines a person as disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long term effect (i.e. has lasted or is expected to last at least 12 months) on the person’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.

Do you consider yourself to have a disability according to the terms given in the DDA?

Yes No Prefer not to say

If you have answered yes, please indicate the type of impairment which applies to you. If your experience more than one type of impairment, please tick all the types that apply. If your disability does not fit any of these types, please mark Other and specify.

Physical/mobility impairment, such as a difficulty using your arms or mobility issues which require you to use a wheelchair or crutchesVisual impairment, such as being blind or having a serious visual impairment

Hearing impairment, such as being deaf or having a serious hearing impairmentMental health condition, such as depression or schizophrenia

Learning disability/difficulty, such as Down’s syndrome or dyslexia or a cognitive impairment such as autistic spectrum disorderInvisible disability

Long-standing illness or health condition, such as cancer, HIV, diabetes, chronic heart disease or epilepsyOther (Please specify below)

C. Your ethnic group

(These are based on the Census 2001 categories, and are listed alphabetically)

Asian, Asian British, Asian English, Asian Scottish, Asian Welsh or Asian Irish

Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi

Other Asian

Background

Black, Black British, Black English, Black Scottish, Black, Welsh or Black Irish

Caribbean African Other Black Background

Chinese, Chinese British, Chinese English, Chinese Scottish, Chinese Welsh or Chinese Irish

Chinese Other Chinese Background

MixedWhite & Black African

White & Black Caribbean

White & Asian

Other Mixed Background

Other

Other Please state:

Prefer not to say

White

White-British White-Irish Gypsy or Irish traveller

Other White background

D. Your gender

Male Female Prefer not to say

Do you identify as transgender?For the purpose of this question ‘transgender’ is defined as an individual who lives, or wants to live, in the gender opposite to that they were assigned at birth.

Yes No Prefer not to say

E. Your sexual orientation

Bi-sexual Gay/Lesbian Heterosexual

Other (specify if you wish)

Prefer not to say

Please return this form as a standalone attachment to your application to jane@biennial.com