The organisation

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Based in the heart of Covent Garden, Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre are the membership bodies for the theatre sector, representing theatre producers, managers, owners, and operators. We have a shared staff team working together to deliver our joint vision and mission for our two organisations.

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As not-for-profit organisations, we champion theatre and support our members to thrive. We support them by offering specialist advice, sharing good practice, collective bargaining, networking, advocacy, audience development and raising the profile of theatre through major events and campaigns.

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The opportunity

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Negotiating terms and conditions with our trade union partners, and supporting our members to apply the agreements to their buildings and productions, is core to the work of SOLT & UK Theatre. It will be your job to steer the negotiating committees through these agreements working proactively with our members and partner unions. In this role, you will provide strategic and operational support and advice to our Industrial Relations Committee, our member-led negotiating teams, and to our members more broadly. You will maintain constructive relationships with our union partners, collaborating on issues and projects of mutual concern; effectively responding to case work; and representing the views and positions of our members in a clear and evidenced way.

You will have a solid understanding of trade union and employment law and will have experiencing of negotiating agreements with union partners. You will support the development of an experienced and knowledgeable Employment Relations and HR Services team, ensuring you collectively provide a first-class service to members.  Key to this role will be continuing to develop the new HR/EDI service for our members, this service has been identified as a key priority to increase engagement while also increasing knowledge & awareness within our membership.

Main responsibilities include:

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• Establishing relationships with stakeholders, including senior Union officials to facilitate negotiations and settlement of disputes as well as long term strategic projects or working groups. Acting as a facilitator to drive outcomes/solutions through to fruition, comfortable to push for unpopular solutions and be resilient against conflicting view points and positions.
• Developing a balanced and robust strategy for negotiations, preparing information and working with the Policy, Research and Advocacy team to commission research as required.  Provide high quality support to the negotiating committees for each union, leading the analysis of claims, determining implications for our members and develop our arguments.
• Keeping members informed of progress on key negotiations (via members’ meetings, circulations, updates etc.) and advise details of proposed settlements. Prioritise claim items, identifying who is best to present/respond to specific claims and proactively engage with members to identify the key issues.
• Continue the development of the ER and HR service to ensure that members receive support in a range of formats including one to one, forums, guidance and workshops. Ensure members receive first class support and advice on all aspects of ER & HR, championing a culture of continuous improvement.  

Requirements include:

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• Excellent experience of managing negotiations with unions.
• Current and in depth understanding of HR policies/principles and employment law.
• Previous experience of working within an arts-related field, with a knowledge of theatre/production processes and structures.
• Experience of Line Management.
• Effective communication, facilitation, influencing and persuasion skills, together with evidence of success in building and forming working relationships.
• Able to develop and maintain strong credibility and productive relationships with members and senior union officials.

This is an exciting opportunity to take up a new and critical role working across two membership organisations which support and represent one of the UK’s most vibrant and creative industries: Theatre.

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How to apply:

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For more information, please see the candidate pack. To apply, please submit the form below and include your CV and supporting statement (please merge these into one document). 

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Our purpose is to create important and enduring relationships. We are an equal opportunities employer and promote diversity across our profession to ensure every individual has the opportunity to perform at their best. If you have not done so already, please let us know if you require any support so we can make the right adjustments and considerations should they be required.

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