About the Role
Body Politic is looking to appoint a passionate and experienced Chair for the Board of Directors.
Supported by the Board and Artistic Team, the Chair will have a key role to play in ensuring the organisation is best placed to face challenges that lie ahead and can continue to enrich people’s lives through hip hop dance, while honouring its core values of creativity, excellence and inclusivity.
In March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic saw organisations across the UK, including the Body Politic impacted. This has had an unprecedented impact on Body Politic’s ability to deliver its core programme, create new work and fundraising capacity. Despite a period of sustained success and emergency funding granted from Arts Council England, the next few years will be highly challenging for the Body Politic and the sector more generally. With the impact of COVID-19, the ability of the Chair to be calm and resilient in this crisis is of great importance.
The incoming Chair is pivotal in creating the conditions for overall Board and individual effectiveness, both inside and outside the Boardroom. They should be a compelling communicator and advocate for the organisation’s activities, placing Hip Hop Theatre at the forefront of the cultural sector and communities it serves.
Initial Term Period 1st September 2020 – 31st August 2023
About Body Politic
Founded in Oxford in 2012, Body Politic is a not-for-profit hip hop theatre company, committed to creating issue-based work through performance and participation.
Our work targets young people and artists from priority groups including, Black Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, gender, young offenders, and those excluded from accessing high quality art due to inaccessibility or cost.
As well as our professional touring, Body Politic runs weekly street dance classes targeting vulnerable young people from deprived communities in Oxford. Whilst there is dance provision in Oxford for young people; many are excluded due to cost. These sessions are run in partnership with Dancin’ Oxford and funded through Access Sport, Public Health and Oxford City Council.
Key Responsibilities
• Chairing board meetings (approx. 4 a year)
• supporting and supervising the artistic voice of the organisation and acting as a channel of communication between board and staff.
• acting as a figurehead for the organisation and advocating wherever possible.
• leading on the development of the board and ensuring its decisions are implemented.
• taking urgent action (but not decision making unless authorised) between board meetings when it isn’t possible or practical to hold a meeting.
To apply
Please email Artistic Director Emma-Jane Greig at emj@bodypoliticdance.com
• A cover email detailing why you feel you are a suitable candidate for this post (please note, applications not submitted with a covering email will be rejected)
• A copy of your current CV