Salary: £34,696 - £39,219

Contract type: Temporary until January 2028

Reporting to: Head of Learning & Civic Partnerships

Department: Learning

Who are we?

We are Scotland’s design museum. Designed for everyone, firing imaginations and sparking curiosity in design across Scotland and around the world. At V&A Dundee we are on a mission to inspire and empower through design.

Design shapes our world, it's part of everyday life and it's everywhere. We are a museum with energy and have a vision of the future where everyone is inspired through design and recognizes its far-reaching impact in our lives.

We are a welcoming place for people of Dundee to explore design and to use as an everyday part of their city, as well as inviting visitors from around the world. We are part of the V&A family of museums that celebrate creativity in all its forms from across centuries, for everyone.

Role profile

The Learning Facilitator - Schools & Young People is responsible for the development, delivery, management and evaluation of V&A Dundee's learning programme and projects related to schools and young people.

The Learning Facilitator has line management responsibility for Learning Assistant, Young People’s Producer, and the Schools Development Officer (seconded form Dundee City Council), as well as shared line management of freelance designers, in collaboration with other producers in the Learning team.

The school programmes are informed by Curriculum for Excellence (CfE), collaborating with schools and teachers across Scotland and colleagues at a strategic level at Education Scotland and SQA.

The post holder will have significant experience of developing and delivering national outreach projects, including knowledge of developing and managing large scale projects for schools and educational visits in a museum, gallery or cultural context.

The post holder will have a background in design or the arts, a passion for design and an understanding of how it can have positive impact on our lives. Confidence in using digital platforms, creating content for both analogue and digital assets and active engagement with social media would be beneficial to this role.

This is a temporary appointment for a period of two years.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Play a role in developing the organisation strategically through the development of Schools, Young People and Learning Strategies. 

• Support with Learning administration across the department, including budgeting, KPIs, and coordination of freelancers.

• To develop, plan, coordinate and deliver an innovative national Schools programme for 3-18, focusing on design, innovation and enterprise in line with current government policy, CfE, National Qualifications and V&A Dundee strategies in consultation with the Head of Learning and Civic Partnerships.

• Design, curation, project management and delivery of projects relating to schools, young people, and learning visits, including (but not limited to) learning content for exhibitions and co-design projects, with the aim of engaging a wide range of schools and teachers locally and nationally with V&A at Dundee’s galleries and exhibitions.

• To monitor, evaluate, report and document the V&A Dundee schools and wider learning programme key performance indicators, working closely with Audiences and Media and the Head of Learning and Civic Partnerships.

• To line manage three members of staff, the Learning Assistant, Young People’s Producer and the Schools Development Officer (seconded from DCC) and their related programmes.

• When required, represent the learning team locally and nationally, providing introductory programme information for visitors, groups, and cultural organisations.

• Manage a delegated budget responsibility of approximately £90K per year and the monthly collation of statistics/KPIs for the schools, tours and workshops programme, in collaboration with other Learning Producers.

• To plan, oversee and monitor the day-to-day work of freelance designers, freelance educators and volunteers who work across learning programmes (including recruitment training, and administration).

• To support the planning, development, recruitment and delivery of young people’s programme, liaising directly with youth leaders and organisations to develop strong links and collaborations.

• To develop learning outcomes for the schools programmes linked to the Curriculum for Excellence, the new national qualifications and the MLA’s Inspiring Learning for All framework.

• To promote V&A Dundee’s schools programmes to schools across the nation and organise national V&A Dundee initiatives and special events or projects.

• To produce and distribute the annual schools programme publication and other learning resources for pupils and teachers and contribute to V&A Dundee Digital activities. including providing content for the V&A Dundee website, content of digital resources.

• To develop gallery or exhibition interpretation for schools and young people, and exhibitions of school projects as directed by the Head of Learning & Civic Partnerships and working closely with curatorial staff.

• Develop high-level strategic contacts for Schools and group visits, representing the organisation in discussions and presentations at a strategic level.

• To liaise on a regular basis with advisers, teachers and other education professionals, and with relevant organisations, such as Education Scotland, Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and Local Authorities.

• Jointly responsible with the Young People, Communities, and Families Producers for the upkeep, maintenance reporting and equipping of the Learning Studios and Learning areas, including learning related content in the Residency Studio.

• Undertake any other duties as reasonably required as directed by the Head of Learning & Civic Partnerships.

Person specification

Essential

• Educated to degree level in design/arts discipline, museum and gallery studies, events management, cultural management or similar 

• Experience of devising and delivering imaginative, stimulating and high-quality schools programmes and projects informed by CfE within a museum or gallery context

• In depth knowledge of the Curriculum for Excellence and Scottish Government initiatives relating to formal education

• Meticulous attention to detail and efficient time management and the ability to work on multiple projects effectively

• The ability to produce accurate, lively and informative test aimed at schools

• The ability to write project proposals and reports both for internal and external use, and a proven track record of producing innovative learning resources

• Experience of managing permanent and/or freelance staff

• Experience of managing and administering a budget

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

• Excellent IT skills, including experience of using databases

• Ability to work independently and creatively as part of a team

• Project management skills and effectivity time and work management and meticulous attention to detail

• Up to date knowledge of government policies and legislation relating to children and young people – including Child Protection, Health & Safety and The Equality Act

• An interest in design and the mission and vision of V&A Dundee

Desirable

• A teaching qualification or considerable experience as a freelance educator

• Willingness to work evenings, weekends and holiday periods as the programme demands and when required

• In depth knowledge of Scottish Government policy, current research and initiatives relating to schools

• In depth knowledge of Dundee and Tayside schools and related educational initiatives

• To deliver services effectively, a degree of flexibility is needed, and the post holder may be required to perform work not specifically referred to above

• Driving licence