Cultural Officer

About the Institut

The Institut français d’Ecosse has been a well-known Edinburgh cultural institution since 1946. The Scottish outpost of the French Embassy in the United Kingdom, it promotes French language and culture, produces events, nurtures Franco-Scottish partnerships, and aims at being an open and stimulating meeting place for the French community, their friends, and all those interested in French language and culture in every dimension.

About the Team

We are a small team of no more than a dozen, working across the areas of education, culture, and—because of the Institut’s very close relationship with the Consulate General of France in Edinburgh—consular services and diplomacy. The post holder will work closely with the Institut Director and other colleagues who have lead roles in planning and delivering cultural events, in Edinburgh as well as in London (IFRU).’

About our Mission

The Institut’s mission is to promote French language and culture. As such, our main outputs are our French language classes, which run year round; our programme of cultural events; and the services and resources that our library and front of house operations provide to Institut students and members. Strengthening diplomatic ties between France and Scotland (as well as other countries with a diplomatic presence in Edinburgh); developing meaningful partnerships with cultural institutions (meaning that they lead to an outcome such as a co-produced event, a reputational gain that increases our profile, or increased revenue).

About our Financial Goals

On a final note, as a public institution operating in an increasingly competitive funding environment, we have a responsibility to be as financially autonomous as possible. The Institut must deliver its learning and cultural programmes, while actively prioritising actions that feed into our revenue streams, such as selling French classes, producing well attended ticketed events, increasing non-student membership sales, hiring out our venue for private events, and developing relations with sponsors, donors, and trusts.

The Cultural Development Officer will define, sustain, and develop the cultural offer of the Institut français d’Ecosse and its underlying partnerships and membership base. Much of this cultural offer, and the strategy that directs it, is already defined by institutional tradition (for example, it would be difficult to imagine the Institut not participating in the Edinburgh Fringe) and, more importantly, by the Director of the Institut français d’Ecosse, who is at the same time the Consul General of France in Edinburgh and Glasgow. To that end, this job’s purpose is to work in close cooperation with the Director to deliver the Institut’s cultural programme, which plays an important role in France’s cultural diplomacy strategy in Scotland.

Primary (Essential)

• To anticipate and plan a full portfolio of cultural events, including film screenings, live dance and theatre performances, concerts, art exhibitions
• To plan and promote the Institut’s participation in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
• To perform event manager duties during events
• To build partnerships across the culture, government, and business sectors
• To draw up and review contracts with visiting artists, service providers, and contractors

Secondary (Desirable)

• To recruit and coordinate volunteers throughout the year, but especially in August for the Edinburgh Festivals
• To work alongside the Communications Officer to define and implement the Institut’s communication strategy and to produce marketing and press materials

Either a relevant undergraduate degree or equivalent professional experience in terms of the intellectual, reasoning and analytical requirements of the job.

Experience & Knowledge (Essential)

• Experience in the educational, cultural, or diplomatic sectors
• Experience in a client-facing or front of house role
• Experience developing meaningful partnerships
• A track record producing revenue-generating events
• Knowledge of French, Scottish, and British cultural life and institutions

Experience & Knowledge (Desirable)

• Experience in a communications, marketing, or sales role
• Knowledge of technical equipment for cinemas and performance spaces

Skills & Attributes (Essential)

• Advanced level of written and spoken English (C1 minimum)
• Advanced level of written and spoken French (C1 minimum)
• Excellent event planning skills, including the delivery of large-scale events
• Excellent organisations skills and an ability to set and stick to priorities
• A collaborative team player

Please note that only applications from people residing in the United Kingdom (settled status, pre-settled status or present in the territory before 01/01/2021) or having British nationality or dual Franco-British nationality will be examined.

Please apply by sending a CV and covering letter to julia.bregeron@institut-francais.org.uk clearly indicating Cultural Officer in the subject line.

Your CV and covering letter should highlight your suitability for the role, your work experience, and your interest in joining the Institut français d’Ecosse team. Although the tried and true method of doing this is to address the areas outlined in the above job description, we are mostly interested in finding out about you and why we would want to work with you.

If you think you might be a good fit for this role, but are unsure of whether or not you should apply, please feel free to write to us at julia.bregeron@institut-francais.org.uk indicating Recruitment Chat in the subject line, and a member of our communications and culture team will arrange a time to have a relaxed phone call to discuss the role and answer your questions.

The deadline for applications is 28 January at noon.

Interviews will take place the week starting on Monday 10 February

The successful candidate will be able to start this role on Monday 17 February 2025.