Executive Assistant & Office Manager

About Darbar

Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust is one of the UK’s most dynamic Indian arts organisations. Established as a charity in 2006 and an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, we have helped shape the landscape of Indian classical music in the UK. We present the Darbar Festival at the Barbican Centre and deliver around 80 live events a year. We also widen access to the art form through digital content for streaming, social media and television, and through music education in schools and online.

We are opening a new chapter. Our new home, the Darbar Arts Lab in Hayes, is a multi-purpose creative venue. It houses two new trading arms, Darbar Coffee House and Darbar Studios, and all of their profits are reinvested into the charity. We are also finalising a strategic refresh that will set our direction for the next five years. It’s an exciting time to join us.

The Role

This is a newly created, full-time post at the heart of Darbar. You will be the trusted Executive Assistant to our Founder and Artistic Director, Sandeep Virdee OBE, and the person who keeps the Darbar Arts Lab running smoothly day to day. You will also be the hands-on support to our Finance & Accounts Officer.

The role is weighted as follows:

• Executive Assistant to the Artistic Director: approx. 3 days per week
• Programmes and office support: approx. 1 day per week
• Finance support: approx. 1 day per week

The balance will flex with the calendar. EA and office demands peak around the Darbar Festival in late October, and finance demands peak around month-end and year-end audit.

This role suits someone who moves easily between very different tasks. In a single week you might draft a confidential letter to a major funder, brief the Artistic Director before a Barbican meeting, deal with a broken door entry system, and reconcile a stack of supplier invoices in Xero. You will need judgement, discretion, warmth, numerical accuracy, and a calm, organised mind.

What You Will Do

1. Executive Assistant to the Artistic Director (approx. 3 days)

• Own the Artistic Director’s diary in full. This is a complex, fast-moving calendar of artist meetings, rehearsals, partner conversations, fundraising approaches, media commitments, festival delivery and travel. You will use judgement on what is accepted, declined, deferred or delegated.
• Spot scheduling conflicts early and resolve them before they become problems. Protect preparation and thinking time around intensive periods.
• Brief the Artistic Director clearly and concisely ahead of each commitment.
• Triage and manage the Artistic Director’s inbox. Draft, proof-read and respond to correspondence on his behalf.
• Act as a professional, courteous first point of contact for artists, agents, funders, broadcasters and venue partners worldwide.
• Prepare briefing notes, research summaries, board papers and presentations to a high standard.
• Coordinate domestic and international travel, including flights, accommodation, visas and itineraries.
• Support the Artistic Director’s media, broadcast and public-profile engagements, working with the marketing team. Keep his biography and speaker materials up to date.
• Provide confidential support to senior recruitment. This covers interview scheduling, candidate correspondence and recruitment packs. It also covers references, right-to-work checks and offer paperwork, which you will handle with the COO and our external HR adviser.
• Provide governance administration. Circulate Board papers, maintain trustee records and the conflict-of-interest and pro-bono registers, and support meetings with minute-taking.
• Track actions and keep the Artistic Director and COO informed of what needs to happen and by when.

2. Programmes and Office Support (approx. 1 day)

Running the Darbar Arts Lab

• Keep the Arts Lab office running smoothly. This includes the working environment, supplies, cleaning and maintenance contracts, permits, alarm and access systems, and supplier relationships.
• Coordinate day-to-day health and safety compliance. This covers risk assessments and first-aid and fire-marshal arrangements.
• Support insurance renewals.
• Act as a welcoming point of contact for visitors, artists and partners using the building.
• Support onboarding and offboarding administration. Keep digital filing in SharePoint orderly, and keep operational workflows moving in Monday.com and our HR systems.

Programme support

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