Opportunity
Freelance Festival Producer for 2026
The Spark Festival is one of the UK’s leading children’s arts festivals, known for supporting, creating and showcasing work that reflects the city’s rich cultural landscape, while understanding and responding to the unique needs of the diverse communities we work with.
We now seek a Freelance Festival Producer, who understands our vision, to help shape and deliver Spark Festival 2026, which will take place in Leicester from 16 – 24 May 2026. Could this be you or someone that you know?
This exciting freelance opportunity, will involve working closely with the incredible Spark team, artists, venues, children and partners to plan, curate and deliver a vibrant programme of performances, workshops and events for children and families.
The Festival Producer will help organise the festival schedule, coordinate logistics and will also be on the ground during the festival to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Job description
Working closely with the Interim Director, the Freelance Festival Producer will be responsible for leading the planning, delivery and evaluation of Spark Festival 2026. Managing all aspects of festival operations and production, the producer will be responsible for pre-production, production and post-event, managing the budget, staffing, logistics, operations, and company and artist relationships. The producer will ensure that the festival is high-quality, safe and joyful for everyone taking part.
Responsible for the festival programme schedule, the Freelance Festival Producer will work in a small team with artist development, learning, communications and administration staff as well as freelance festival staff recruited to support the delivery of the festival from 16 to 24 May 2026
- Support the Interim Director to source new or diverse product for the festival.
- Work with the Interim Director, Vital Spark Lead and Creative Learning Lead to programme work and support the production of new work.
- Support the Interim Director and the team with negotiations, contracts, and liaison with presenting companies, venues and project partners in the festival.
- Work closely with the Interim Director and the team to produce the delegate programme and act as co-host.
- Work closely with the Creative Learning Lead to programme At Your School and family engagement activities.
- Be responsible for the operational logistics of festival delivery including budgeting, licensing, scheduling, risk assessment, staffing, equipment, and sales.
- Manage the festival budget and report on income and expenditure.
- Manage project deliverables, monitoring, evaluating and reporting progress on a regular basis.
- Work with the Interim Director and the team to ensure that companies and artists are supported through their tour with The Spark, including producing an artist/company welcome pack and acting as key contact during the tour.
- Work closely with the Company Administrator to recruit and induct volunteers.
- Build and maintain positive relationships with partners and advocate for the company and programme to create and develop future opportunities.
It’s an exciting time to join The Spark. Our Spark Festival themes have been chosen by children: Peace, Play and Equity. Our next Freelance Festival Producer will ensure effective and inclusive delivery of Spark Festival 2026!
Thank you for considering this exciting opportunity at The Spark Arts for Children!
Key dates
How to apply
You can apply by emailing a cover letter and your CV to jobs@thesparkarts.co.uk
All applications will be acknowledged by email. You will also need to fill in an Equal Opportunities Form which we will email to you when we acknowledge your application. This form is for monitoring purposes only and is not treated as part of your application.
We look forward to hearing from you.
