Head of Audiences & Community

Interested applicants should submit a CV with covering letter addressed to Annie Lydford at annielydford@asmf.org
The deadline for applications is 10Am Monday 23  June, with interviews expected to take place w/c 30 June.

This new Head of Audiences and Community role is a 12-month fixed-term contract combining a new strategic, senior marketing position (0.5) with maternity cover for the responsibilities of ASMF’s Marketing Manager (0.5). The person in this position will tell the story of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, one of the world’s great orchestras, developing the profile, community and audiences which will see the orchestra continue to thrive for years to come.

About the Academy of St Martin in the Fields: Founded in 1958 by Sir Neville Marriner, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields has evolved into a musical powerhouse, an orchestra renowned across the world for its commitment to the musical freedom of its players and the sharing of joyful, inspiring performances. Our player-led approach empowers every member of the orchestra. This creates a direct line and electrifying connection between the orchestra and our audiences, resulting in ambitious and collaborative performances that transcend a more traditional conductor-led model.

Beyond the concert hall, our commitment to a social purpose manifests in impactful projects that harness the power of music to empower people. We have a longstanding history of work which connects with people experiencing homelessness, and our education projects encourage autonomy and creativity among emerging musicians worldwide. Our collective artistic responsibility fosters enduring collaborations with world-renowned soloists, exemplified by our 15-year partnership with Music Director and virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell. These collaborations showcase the benefits of trust and true artistic collaboration developed over time.

Building on its rich global legacy, the Academy of St Martin in the Fields remains one of the world’s most-recorded orchestras, igniting a love for classical music in people around the world through live performance and digital initiatives. Today, we continue a busy international touring programme alongside a significant presence in the UK – making us one of the country’s most celebrated cultural exports.

About our company culture: We believe that we get the best results by involving our musicians in the planning and delivery of our work, and by being open and transparent about the opportunities and challenges faced by the orchestra. Our office team is agile, committed and friendly - we believe in ensuring that people have the opportunities to develop their skills and grow in their roles. The culture is non-hierarchical, and we encourage everyone to share ideas and suggestions for the future of the orchestra. We trust the individuals in our team to deliver their work and to shape their working days in the way that best suits them, with a genuinely flexible approach to office vs home working. We believe that working in our industry should be rewarding and enjoyable, and work hard to ensure our working practices empower our team members so that they can do great work in an environment that is genuinely supportive and fulfilling.

The Head of Audiences and Community would work closely with the orchestra’s Marketing and Development Coordinator and agency support (current a freelance designer and digital marketing agency) to design and deliver a strategy to measurably increase the orchestra’s profile; community; and ticket sales. Organic social media for the orchestra is currently managed by the Development Manager (US Friends), who was previously the Marketing and Development Coordinator. The ASMF management team works closely with the Members of the orchestra, and this role presents an opportunity to develop creative ideas in collaboration some of the UK’s greatest musicians as well as international soloists and ASMF’s Music Director, globally-renowned violinist Joshua Bell.
 

Why this role? As part of an ambitious and successful post-pandemic period delivering high-profile concerts and initiatives around the world, ASMF has focused throughout on building its audience across its social media channels, database, and in the concert hall – seeing steady and consistent growth.

This builds upon wider work the organisation has undertaken on its strategy, mission/vision, identity and a brand refresh. We are confident about our direction of travel, and see this moment as a unique opportunity to take advantage of a refreshed energy and ambition within the orchestra.

Historically, the marketing function at ASMF has been delivered by just one person total (a Manager and Coordinator at 0.5 each) and at this important moment for the orchestra, we are increasing the resourcing of this area with a new full-time Head of Audiences and Community position alongside the 0.5 Coordinator to scale up our marketing efforts and to increase our reach more significantly beyond the growth we are currently seeing.

What would you be expected to do? This new, senior position would be expected to work with the Marketing and Development Coordinator and agency support to design and deliver a strategy which will significantly and measurably increase:

PROFILE – ASMF’s profile and reputation in the UK and in the territories to which the orchestra regularly tours (particularly, the US; Germany; Spain; China; Korea). We are a vibrant, energetic orchestra with a distinctive performing style, and want to find relevant and dynamic ways to tell our story to a wider audience. We want to ensure that our brand and our values are communicated effectively and dynamically in everything that we do.

COMMUNITY – The size and engagement of the community of people with whom the orchestra engages. Taking a data-first approach to the audiences with whom we engage around the world, we want to build an active and passionate community of classical music enthusiasts and ensure they are engaged with the work of the orchestra and its players, however and wherever they want to engage. As a part of this community-building, we will be launching a new Membership scheme (a benefits-led version of ASMF’s existing Friends programme).

TICKET SALES – We want to increase our ticket sales both for our own concert promotions, and where we are being promoted by a third party who is taking on the box office risk. We have seen strong growth in audience numbers for the concerts we promote at the Church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and our ambition is to ensure that these concerts sell out each time.  We want to make the most of all appropriate channels and platforms and maximise both capacity and yield.  Similarly, we must be more proactive in providing promoters around the world with the materials, stories and support they need to ensure full halls for our concerts while on tour.

The person in this role would work closely with the board and senior leadership team to establish clear KPIs for each of these priorities and regularly report on progress.

They would be expected to establish an active content and engagement schedule to deliver on the priorities above, and to combine excellent understand and strategic oversight with delivery and implementation.

Some of the challenges which we are seeking to address:

Although ASMF performs to c.100,000 people around the world each year, the fact that we usually work through a promoter or venue means that we have not been able to gather audience data effectively over the years. Therefore the number of people with whom we regularly connect online is far, far smaller than the number who know about the orchestra and come to see our concerts. The nature of a touring orchestra means that we may visit a territory or city only one every few years. We must ensure that we have means and projects to keep in touch with and engage audience members digitally even if we are only seeing them sporadically in person. For many decades, ASMF with Sir Neville Marriner was one of the most recorded orchestra/conductor combinations in the world. This means that audiences across the globe got to know the orchestra through plays on radio stations as well as through CDs and recordings. With the way people consuming music having changed significantly, what is the modern-day equivalent to this phenomenon? How can we achieve a similar reach in a different age?  And how can honour our past while also looking to the future? We are a lean organisation with limited resources. While we believe in investing properly in our work, we must be creative in our response to challenges and rigorous in using our budget efficiently. What are we looking for?

The ideal candidate will:

Be skilled in creation and implementation of marketing strategies which measurable increase profile, community and sales Have an in-depth understanding of different platforms and their restrictions/opportunities Demonstrate strong creative judgment with a deep understanding of brand positioning and standards Have a proven track record of driving digital innovation, creating personalized supporter experiences, and leveraging digital channels to maximize engagement and brand impact Demonstrate significant experience creating digital projects and content which engage a large audience Have a strong strategic acumen whilst focussing on delivery and results Have experience or understanding of grass-roots sales Be ambitious, energetic, curious and creative with a desire to try new things, measure their impact, and seek continuous improvement Be able to combine a strategic approach with the ability to “get things done”, recognising that in a small organisation the role will comprise a mix of overseeing/direction-setting and doing While we do not expect applicants for the role to have an in-depth knowledge of classical music, the ideal applicant would be curious to find out more and excited by the opportunity to tell the story of some of the world’s greatest musicians.  

Interested applicants should submit a CV with covering letter addressed to Annie Lydford at annielydford@asmf.org
The deadline for applications is 10Am Monday 23  June, with interviews expected to take place w/c 30 June.