This is a co-artistic leadership role within The Extant Hive. At a time of significant and exciting change at Extant, as Performing Arts Lead, your main responsibilities are artistic direction and delivery, artistic partnerships and positioning, and collaboration to ensure that Extant delivers against its organisational priorities.

• Strategically design, plan and co-lead the artistic direction of the company over multiple years, in keeping with Extant values and an access-first approach
• Stimulate, lead and create ideas for new artistic projects centring visual impairment, in tandem or independent of external partners
• Lead on consultations and commissions with external companies and collaborators with regard access, producing and other creative provision
• Oversee the artistic implementation of all Extant projects, whether directly or in the recruitment and management of project managers
• Artistically direct or co-artistically direct projects from conception, planning, research and development to completion and review
• Co-lead on external networking, positioning and profiling for the company.
• Keep up to date with current UK and international trends in the arts, access and leadership fields to inform and progress the company’s organisational development.
• Research the current performing arts industry landscape to identify changes and current needs, including developing links with arts and visually impaired people’s organisations, as well as national sector support agencies and employers
• Lead conversations with national industry partners on the recruitment and sustained careers of visually impaired performing artists, influencing them to adopt visually impaired accessible models

About

Founded in 1997, Extant will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2027 and as part of this journey, we are transforming. Our new leadership team which will be called The Extant Hive.

We are recruiting: two Performing Arts Leads, a Strategic Lead and an Innovation and Partnerships Lead (non-arts experience required) and have been an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) since 2010. We are currently in receipt of NPO extension funding for 2026/27 which is expected to continue in 2027/28.

Extant has made a commitment to working towards all its internal roles being held by visually impaired* people by 2033. The Extant Hive will begin this process.

Requirements For All Roles

We support flexible working, but we expect you to work from our Brixton office (London) at least one day per two weeks, to collaborate with the rest of the team.

We recognise that The Extant Hive is a new structure and will need time at the start to work out and establish modes of agreement, discussion and reflection to establish a sense of inter-relatedness at its core. This time will be built into a full and robust collaborative induction from October 2026-March 2027.

Whilst each member of The Extant Hive will have a formal line management relationship with one of the co-chairs, we want them to create a mutual peer management and pastoral support system that ensures mutuality and care sit at the heart of the organisation.

Prior to confirming any offer of employment we will undertake certain checks including references, confirmation of the right to work in the UK, willingness to undertake an enhanced DBS check and that you are comfortable working in an environment where guide and other assistance dogs may be present.

Salary and Benefits

These are permanent (subject to securing new ACE NPO funding from April 2028) part-time PAYE contracts paid at £38,000 pa / FTE starting on 5th October 2026.

Performing Arts Lead (2 positions) – 0.6 FTE
Strategic Lead (1 position) – 0.6 FTE
Non-Arts Lead (1 position) – 0.4 FTE

* We support the University of Oxford’s definition of visual impairment as a ‘loss of sight that cannot be corrected using lenses.’

How To Apply

We are holding 2 online x1hr Zoom FAQ sessions where you will have a chance to ask any questions about the role.

FAQ1: Date TBC

FAQ2: Date TBC

To sign up for the FAQ sessions please email admin@extant.org.uk and the Zoom link will be emailed on the day.

Access

We will endeavour to support any access requirements you may have during the recruitment process and make reasonable adjustments where required.

If you have any access requirements that you would like to discuss, please do not hesitate to let us know at any stage of the application process.

For more information on how to apply, please view the job pack below:

The Extant Hive Recruitment Pack

The Extant Hive Recruitment Pack Large Print

The ideal candidate is someone who has experience of working within the publicly subsidised arts sector, understands disability arts in the UK, and is interested in supporting ethical, radical and inclusive models of working. You will have a strong access-led creative arts practice, especially with regards performance, theatre, participation and production, have led arts projects from inception through to evaluation, have a wide network of arts partners to bring to Extant, and have a strong understanding of how arts organisations work.