Independent Chair Independent Chair

Surrey Arts is seeking to appoint an Independent Chair for Culture Box Surrey (the Local Cultural Education Partnership for Surrey)
This is a voluntary position with an allowance of up to £2,000 for expenses.
You will be passionate about ensuring that children and young people in Surrey are provided with high-quality, inspiring arts and cultural learning experiences both in and out of school. We are committed to ensuring that every child and young person in Surrey has the opportunity to participate in these experiences and that their voices are heard when planning the future artistic and cultural landscape of the county.
You will chair the Culture Box Surrey (CBS) Steering Board, working alongside the lead organisation, Surrey Arts, and Steering Board members.
The chair role will run for a term of 2 years with an opportunity to be reappointed.
Commitment: Four board meetings plus preparation per year; at least one meeting per year will be in-person. Other meetings as advised., Culture Box Surrey (CBS) serves the local authority area of Surrey County Council with a total school population of around 200,000 children. We work to bring cultural organisations and children and young people together and work strategically with cultural partners to ensure we are an essential and sustainable feature of the cultural landscape in Surrey. This work includes sustainable governance, consultation with stakeholders, communication strategy, programme facilitation, project management and steering groups for the LCEP. Since early 2019 Culture Box Surrey has been instrumental in drawing down substantial external funding, almost all of which has been used for direct delivery of cultural learning in schools.
Our Vision - To empower all young people and those who work with them to be creative
Our mission - Working together with young people, schools, community, arts and cultural organisations and others to facilitate a vibrant cultural offer that all children and young people can access.
Our strategic priorities - Our three strategic priorities are 1) building teacher confidence to deliver creative and cultural approaches to learning 2) activities that support mental health and wellbeing and c) pathways to careers in the creative arts and cultural industries in Surrey (ages 11 - 18 and primary).
Approach - We will support these key priorities by ensuring that all planned activities will: a) be driven by the needs and interests of children and young people b) focus on developing autonomy and empowerment c) develop creative digital skills d) be inclusive of all children and young people and e) collect evidence of impact on learning outcomes.

The Independent Chair will need to have significant experience and expertise in partnership working and strategic thinking, business and budget monitoring and management. The chair will commit to developing a thorough knowledge and understanding of the needs of, and challenges for, children and young people, issues affecting Local Authorities and schools, Arts Council England/Department for Education policy relating to the arts and the breadth of arts and cultural providers working in Surrey.
Experience in arts education/delivery isn't a pre-requisite requirement for this role although you must be able to demonstrate an understanding of the sector and share our passion for the arts in order to help drive forward the development of the partnership.

Surrey Arts, the Arts Service for Surrey County Council and lead partner of CBS, is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and would especially welcome applications from the 'global majority', the LGBTQ+ community and people who are disabled.