The Place, London’s creative powerhouse for contemporary dance, has been leading the way in dance education, research, creation and performance for over 50 years. As both a world-leading Higher Education Provider and a boundary-pushing arts organisation, we are looking for outstanding people to join our governing body and help us achieve our vision of a world with more dance.

You can find out more about our current Board of Governors HERE.

ABOUT THE BOARD

Our work across the entire ecology of dance is unrivalled, uniting research, education and training with the creative processes that lead to the conception, production and consumption of inspiring new work. With a dynamic programme spanning theatre, artist development, pioneering dance research, and a new focus on dance for health and wellbeing, The Place remains at the forefront of innovation in dance.

Our Board of Governors helps us to shape the future of dance education, performance, and artistic development, and to support innovation, accessibility, and sustainability in the arts. Governors work closely with the Chief Executive and senior leadership team and are responsible for setting the overall strategy and for enabling The Place to fulfil its artistic and educational objectives in the context of a sustainable business model. Governors also act as important advocates and ambassadors for our work across the dance ecology.

For further information about the structure and governance of The Place, please see our Governor/Trustee Department Page.

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PAST FIVE YEARS

In the past five years we have:

• Stewarded in a new artistic model which invests in a plurality of diverse artists and audiences locally, nationally, and internationally.
• Grown income by 35% from £6,912,641 (2017-18) to £9,363,886 (2022-23).
• Sustained and enriched our hyperlocal dance activity in schools and community settings in Euston, the Somers Town area, and in Camden.
• Registered as an independent Higher Education Provider (HEP) and redesigned our undergraduate and postgraduate courses with a new focus on creative pedagogy and accessibility, in a new validating partnership with University of the Arts London (UAL).
• Been awarded world-leading specialist provider status alongside Higher Education Innovation Funding, which has enabled us to significantly improve the student experience.
• In January 2025, His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh became our Royal Patron.

We believe that dance makes lives better and is vital to improving people's health and well-being, and that there are wider socioeconomic benefits to be gained. In pursuit of a world with more dance we strive to: increase public understanding of the benefits of dance and movement, improve access to dance education and employment, increase dance experiences and engagement locally, nationally, and globally, and promote excellence in dance, movement and choreography through practice research with the transfer of knowledge to commercial and health sectors.

We have recently initiated a new Creative Health project exploring the unique and powerful role that dance has to play in public health by connecting people with activities that address their social and emotional needs. We are proud to part of Angel Rippon's national Let's Dance! Project promoting dance for well-being.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

In pursuit of our vision, mission and five-year strategic plan and in preparation for the retirement of three of our longstanding Governors, we are looking to recruit new members to our Board of Governors.

We are particularly looking to recruit:

• One new Governor with expertise in accounting/audit or a legal qualification, who is willing to take on the responsibility of chairing the Audit Committee.
• Additional Governors with skills and experience in any of arts production at a senior level within the performing arts, leadership in healthcare, commercial property development, or Higher Education in academic and non-academic roles.

We have a strong and diverse Board, but we are working to deepen this further to reflect the levels of diversity that we see amongst our students, staff, artists and audiences. As disabled and LGBTQ+ individuals are currently underrepresented on the Board, people from those communities are particularly encouraged to apply.

ROLE OVERVIEW

The Place is looking fro outstanding people to join the governing body of work with the Senior Executive Team to achieve the ambitions set out in our 2-24-29 strategic plan and beyond. Governors are expected to engage fully in and support all aspects of the organisation in the context of an increasingly challenging financial climate and greater responsibilities for reporting and compliance.

The role of all Governors includes:

• Supporting the Chair and the Board to ensure that The Place is continuously driving the next era of innovation in dance by approving and overseeing strategy, policy, and procedures.
• Reviewing the performance of The Place in meeting its goals and objectives.
• Providing leadership experience to input to Board deliberations and decision-making. 
• Ensuring that The Place meets its legal and financial responsibilities as a registered charity, Arts Council England NPO (National Portfolio Organisation) client, and Higher Education Provider.
• Offering advice, guidance and support to the Senior Management Team.
• Contributing to successful relationships with stakeholders.
• Being committed members to The Place's team, keeping up to date with its activities and plans.
• Acting as passionate advocates for the work of The Place in all its diversity.
• Helping to attract funding, individual support and sponsorship in order to support The Place and its work.
• Appointing and setting pay and conditions for the Chief Executive.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

Governor/Trustee appointments will be made on merit. Candidates for all governor posts must demonstrate the following:

• A strong interest and empathy for The place and its mission and vision.
• Good judgement with strong leadership and interpersonal skills.
• Willingness and capacity to attend regular Board and committee meetings as required.
• The ability to contribute in a collaborative manner to ensure productive discussion and debate.
• A commitment to ensuring diversity throughout the organisation.
• Appreciation of the non-executive nature of the role but readiness to support and mention the Senior Management Team as appropriate.
• Understanding that out organisation has multiple stakeholders, including Arts Council England and the Office for Students.
• An interest in performing arts.
• A willingness to engage in fundraising.
• Fluent communication skills with the ability to represent the organisation externally.

We are particularly keen to hear from people with experience of:

• Arts Production - at a senior level with the performing arts.
• Health Sector - senior leaders with significant experience in fundraising and leading partnerships.
  
• Commercial Property Development - experts with proven experience of planing and delivery.
  
• Higher Education - senior leadership in academic and non-academic roles.
  

To build the diversity of our Board of Governors, for all roles we are particularly interested to hear from people who identify as disabled and/or LGBTQ+.

AUDIT COMMITTEE CHAIR

In addition to the skills and interests outlined in the section above, The Place is looking for one new Governor with specific, specialist skills in audit. This will include people with:

• Either an accounting or legal qualification.
• Leadership experience at an accounting firm, or in senior positions within a finance/audit function.
• Experience on charitable boards or in stakeholder management.
• Appreciation of the balance of risks and issues affecting charities and Higher Education organisations.
• The ability to chair discussions in a balanced and collegiate manner.
• Willingness to take on the responsibility of chairing the Audit Committee.

Candidates for the position of Audit Committee Chair will have experience of selecting and appointing both internal and external auditors and a sold understanding of internal financial controls and wider risk management. This understanding may come from professional experience at an accounting firm, or in senior positions within a finance/audit function in another sector. Candidates may also demonstrate audit-related professional skills with an accountancy or legal qualification.

For the role of Audit Committee Chair, previous Board experience is highly desirable.

TIME COMMITMENT

Board meetings take place four times a year, usually in November, February, April, and July. In addition, Governors are expected to sit on at least one other committee:

• Our Audit Committee meets three times per year.
• Our Finance and General Purposes Committee meetings four times per year.
• Our Nominations Committee normally meets two times per year.

Board and committee meetings usually commence in the late afternoon and are held in person at The Place. The is always an option to join these meetings online.

All Governors are expected to engage with the diverse work of The Place which includes attending performances and fundraising events. During the first six months a comprehensive governor induction programme will be offered which will be an additional time commitment.

The overall time commitment for these roles is likely to be in the region of 12-15 days per annum. The role of Governor is offered for a period of three years. Following this, a Governor may be reelected and service a maximum of nine years.

REMUNERATION

This is a voluntary position and so governors are not remunerated for their time, but reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed.

CLOSING DATE

The application closing date is Mon 05 May 2025 at 12:00pm (noon).We reserve the right to close applications early depending on the volume of applications we receive and so we advise it is better to apply early.

For an informal chat about this role to answer any questions you may have before applying, please email Lise Smith, Head of Governance and Chief Executive's Office.

INTERVIEW DATES

We anticipate that interviews will be conducted during the weeks commencing 12 and 19 May 2025 either in person at The Place or remotely via Microsoft Teams (or similar platform as necessary). Interview dates may be subject to change.

TIMESCALE FOR APPOINTMENTS

We hope to appoint new governors in the summer of 2025 to join the Board from autumn 2025 onwards.

For the role of Audit Committee Chair, we would like to appoint the chair-elect by 31 Aug 2025 to join as a governor in autumn 2025. The chair-elect would then attend meetings as a member of the Board and Audit Committee from autumn 2025 to spring 2026, before taking over the role of Committee Chair in summer 2026.

We would expect other newly appointed governors to start by the end of December 2025.

HEADER PHOTO CREDIT

Korean National Dance Company at The Place Korean Dance Festival | 2024 | Photo by Joel C Fildes