Organizer Information
20 Stories High is a Liverpool-based theatre company founded in 2006 by Julia Samuels and Keith Saha to make theatre with working-class, culturally diverse young people, emerging artists, and world-class professionals. It is a National Portfolio Organisation of Arts Council England and has built a national reputation for co-creation, innovation, and activism, working with culturally diverse, working-class, disabled, neurodivergent, d/Deaf, and LGBTQIA+ young people (13–30) and community groups of all ages. The company, based at Toxteth TV in Liverpool's L8 community, is celebrating its 20th anniversary and is now entering its third decade, having previously received recognition including the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Award, the Brian Way Award, and a listing in The Stage 100 and the Achates Philanthropy Prize for its community work during the Covid-19 pandemic. The organisation is an ITC Fair Work Approved Manager, a Disability Confident Employer, and an Accredited Living Wage Employer.
Title & Description
Artistic Director
20 Stories High is seeking a bold artistic leader to shape the company's next chapter in partnership with Executive Director Leanne Jones. The organisation reports that it chose not to appoint anyone to this role last year, using its 20th-anniversary year instead to listen, reflect, and experiment with new ways of making work before opening this search. The Artistic Director will jointly lead the organisation's artistic vision, champion new voices, and help define what 20 Stories High becomes over its next decade, working across theatre, music, film, digital storytelling, artist development, and community participation with young people (13–30) and community groups of all ages.
The Role Overview
- Position Type: Full-time, part-time, or job share arrangements will be considered
- Salary: £40,000–£45,000 (full-time equivalent), depending on experience
- Reports To: Chair of the Board
- Department / Programme: Artistic leadership, working in partnership with the Executive Director and Associate Director
- Working Hours: 37.5 hours per week; primarily office-based with some flexibility for home working; evening and weekend work occasionally required, with time off in lieu provided
- Direct Reports: Associate Director and freelance creative teams
- Start Date: Ideally from Winter 2026, with opportunities to meet the team and experience the company's work beforehand
Position & Tasks
- Shape our artistic future
- Develop and deliver an ambitious and young-person-led artistic vision for the company
- Commission, create, and curate exceptional theatre and creative experiences
- Ensure artistic excellence across productions, projects, and partnerships
- Lead creative programmes
- Oversee productions, participatory projects, and artist development programmes
- Assemble and support staff, creative teams, collaborators, and guest artists
- Champion new voices and create opportunities for underrepresented artists
- Lead the organisation
- Provide strategic leadership and help deliver the company's long-term vision
- Foster an inclusive, ambitious, and supportive organisational culture
- Build partnerships that strengthen artistic and organisational impact
- Contribute to fundraising, advocacy, and organisational sustainability
- Represent and champion 20 Stories High locally, nationally, and digitally
- Set future annual budgets and create an ambitious yet realistic business plan for future years
Categories
- Theatre
- Artistic Direction
- Arts Leadership
- Curatorial
- Community Arts
- Performing Arts Administration
Eligibility
- No formal qualifications or fixed career-stage requirement stated; the organisation states "there is no single route to artistic leadership" and encourages applicants who don't meet every point in the person specification to apply
- Should live in, or be willing to relocate to within a reasonable daily commute of, the Liverpool City Region (financial relocation support is available)
- Must have experience of making work with young people and/or communities
- Must be able to evidence the legal right to work in the UK (checked at offer stage)
- Subject to satisfactory references and an Enhanced DBS check
- Applications particularly welcomed from people from African, Caribbean, South Asian, East or Southeast Asian, mixed heritage, or other Global Majority backgrounds (including but not limited to Middle Eastern, Arab, Latin American, Jewish, Romany, and Irish Traveller heritage), d/Deaf, disabled, and/or neurodivergent people, people from working-class backgrounds, and LGBTQIA+ people
- Deaf and disabled applicants who meet the core criteria in the person specification are guaranteed an interview under the organisation's Disability Confident commitment
Program Benefits
- Salary: £40,000–£45,000 (full-time equivalent), depending on experience
- Pension: enrolled with NEST pensions, with a 3% employer contribution
- Annual Leave: 25 days plus bank holidays
- Additional paid time off between Christmas and New Year, when the offices close
- Comprehensive wellbeing offer, including occupational health support and access to tailored wellbeing services
- Family-friendly policies, including maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave
- Financial support available for relocation
- Time off in lieu for occasional evening/weekend work
- Ongoing professional development, with resource available for training, coaching, and mentoring
- Opportunity to continue elements of the postholder's own artistic practice, where it complements the role
Application Fee
None
How to Apply?
Submit application documents by email to recruitment@20storieshigh.org.uk
Key Dates
- Application Deadline: 5 October 2026
- Initial interviews: 14 or 15 October 2026 (approx. 45 minutes, with the Executive Director, a 20 Stories High team member, and a young participant)
- Second-stage in-person day ("Exploring the Future Together"): 22 or 23 October 2026 (interview, workshop, and presentation)
- Ideal start date: Winter 2026
Location
Liverpool City Region, United Kingdom
Additional Details
- Pre-application options include a confidential conversation with independent recruitment associate Sue Emmas at RTYDS (sueemmas@rtyds.co.uk; unavailable until Friday 28 August), or contacting Amy (Office Manager) at amy@20storieshigh.org.uk for practical advice and information-session bookings
- The recruitment process has four steps: an optional pre-application connection stage, written application, an initial interview, and a half-day in-person second stage including a 45-minute interview, a 60-minute workshop facilitated with the Youth Theatre and Creative Community, and a 15-minute presentation (plus 15 minutes of questions) on the candidate's artistic vision
- A £100 honorarium is offered to each candidate attending the in-person second-stage day, plus travel expenses for anyone travelling over 25 miles
- Feedback will be provided to any candidate who attends the in-person day
- Safeguarding: the organisation is committed to safeguarding children, young people, and adults at risk; the successful candidate must complete pre-employment and DBS checks and will receive a safeguarding induction
- Data from the recruitment process is handled under the organisation's Data Protection Policy and GDPR, shared only with those involved in recruitment (20SH staff, Trustees, community members, and Sue Emmas of RTYDS); equality monitoring data is collected separately and never seen by the selection panel
- Access and wellbeing accommodations are available throughout the process, including BSL interpretation, step-free access, wheelchair-accessible spaces, additional breaks, adjusted lighting, specific seating, access support workers, and other reasonable adjustments; applicants may share an Access Rider or complete an Access Questionnaire, and the organisation supports Access to Work applications
- The recruitment pack, application form, and related materials are available in accessible formats, including large print, screen-reader-compatible versions, and a format based on the British Dyslexia Association style guide