SPILL IS SEARCHING FOR A NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

SPILL Festival is seeking to recruit a new Executive Director to support Artistic Director & CEO Robin Deacon and the SPILL team as we enter a new phase that emphasises our investment in placemaking, collaboration, research and artist development. As Executive Director, you will join a small, friendly team working with innovative artists from around the globe, commissioning and producing ambitious and groundbreaking work for the people of Ipswich, Suffolk and further afield. You will be part of an ongoing strategic shift that has seen SPILL make a gradual movement away from biennial festival cycles to annual programmes of activity which provide more regular and consistent engagement opportunities. We are incredibly excited about this new direction and the Executive Director will be a key figure in helping realise this new iteration of SPILL.

PURPOSE OF THE ROLE

With the Artistic Director focusing on all creative aspects of SPILL, the Executive Director oversees delivery of all aspects of the organisation’s business plan and operations strategies that support and contribute to that artistic vision. They have primary responsibility for finance, fundraising, development, legal, management, HR and governance matters. An interface between the artistic and the organisational aspects of the company, the Executive Director role is designed to provide oversight and facilitation to realise and implement SPILL’s mission.

SALARY: £45,000 - £50,000 pa (full time)

REPORTING TO: Artistic Director & CEO, Board of Trustees

LINE-MANAGING: General Manager, Marketing & Communications Officer, other temporary staff as appropriate

HOURS: Full time 37.5 per week, usually worked over 5 days, Mon-Fri, with Time Off In Lieu available when out-of-hours working is required. A 0.8 FTE contract may be negotiable for the right candidate.

LOCATION: SPILL Think Tank, High Street, Ipswich, IP1 3QH (remote working is available when company activities allow)

NOTICE PERIOD: Three months

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Noon, Monday 23 February 2026