Vacancy: Torbay Schools Programme: Freelance Project Officer

Part time, freelance position, 12-month fixed term contract working to various dates between March 2026 & March 2027, fee £5,240 inclusive (approx 30 days).

Agatha Christie Festival Limited is a registered charity. We programme and deliver an annual festival designed to celebrate the life, legacy and provenance of world best-selling author, Torquay-born, Agatha Christie. We welcome 8,000 residents, national and international visitors to our festival each year.

Building upon the Christie provenance and Integral to our work is a bespoke creative learning programme open to all Torbay schoolchildren, designed to advance literacy and a love of reading. Our schools programme this year is supported through public funding from National Lottery Arts Council England. We also benefit from the patronage of the UK National Commission of UNESCO.

To help us achieve the goals of our creative learning programme for Torbay schools in 2026/7, we are seeking a part-time, freelance Schools Programme Project Officer.

Job Description

Agatha Christie Festival is looking for a versatile, highly motivated &
reliable Project Officer to work with our festival team to deliver & project-manage the Festival’s programme of creative education for primary and secondary school age young people in Torbay (Torquay, Paignton and Brixham) across 2026. The framework and timeline for the programme are already established.

The Project Manager will work with the Festival team and its creative education partners The Writers Block, MED Theatre and Doorstep Arts to ensure:

1. Timely communications planning: schools in Torbay, particularly state schools in the more deprived areas of Torbay, are contacted in good time through appropriate channels and the programme opportunity is understood and shared with each.
2. Liaison with Festival’s educational partners, ensuring partnership agreements are in place.
3. Each workshop session is booked to capacity
4. Careful administration of bookings, liaison with teachers and TA’s as appropriate, noting and fulfilling any special needs at the sessions
5. Careful administration of compliance, such as risk management, health & safety
6. Liaison with Torbay cultural venues where the workshops sessions will take place, administration of booking forms.
7. Attendance at workshop sessions to ensure smooth operation and Festival representation.
8. Administration of invoices.
9. Assisting with information throughout, evaluation planning, data collection and reporting in association with the Festival team and partners.

The Project Manager will have the following skills:

• At least three years’ experience & knowledge of developing & delivering creative education projects, ideally on a freelance basis
• Proven experience of working with Torbay schools
• Detailed knowledge & understanding of community engagement
• Experience of managing funded projects to set budgets
• Excellent project management skills
• Excellent written and verbal presentation ability
• Excellent interpersonal skills & the ability to work effectively with a small, friendly team.

Preferred:

• Able to start immediately if selected.
• DBS check
• Torbay-based
• Clean driving license

Please send your CV & a cover letter outlining your interest in the position addressed to Matt Newbury, Creative Director, Agatha Christie Festival to info@iacf-uk.org by Monday, 16 March 2026. Please write Schools Programme Project Officer in the title line.