Shubbak is seeking a Head of Finance & Operations — a pivotal role managing our finances and organisational operations, ensuring the smooth delivery of the festival and year-round programme.

Deadline: Friday 8 May 2026, 8:00am BST

About Shubbak

Shubbak is a UNESCO award-winning festival of contemporary Arab & SWANA culture and the largest of its kind in Europe. Since 2011, we’ve delivered eight biennial multi-artform festivals, bringing together artists, communities, and audiences across London and beyond. Our programme spans multiple art forms, including theatre, music, dance, literature, visual art, and interdisciplinary performance, showcasing bold new work from across the region and its diasporas. 

Shubbak Festival 2025 marked our most ambitious and far-reaching edition to date, presenting over 50 unique events across three vibrant weeks of contemporary Arab & SWANA arts in London and beyond. Of these, 15 were world premieres and 10 UK premieres, reaching an audience of more than 200,000 and cementing our position as a leading international platform for showcasing and commissioning Arab and SWANA artists. Just under half of these events sold out, reflecting an unprecedented level of audience demand and engagement. 

Outside of the festival years, we run a rich year-round programme of community engagement, artist development, residencies, and touring work. Examples include artist residencies with Tunis-based light projection artists Interference, place-making activation Shubbak Corner, digital commission An Artist’s Manual Against Apartheid and commission of Poems of Consumption by Hamed Sinno. 

Shubbak is a National Portfolio Organisation supported by Arts Council England. This post is supported by a combination of funders.

The Role

The Head of Finance & Operations must adhere to the organisational values, policies and
procedures. The Head of Finance & Operations is accountable for all of Shubbak’s operating
affairs, financial management and will make timely reports to the CEO&Artistic Director and
Executive Director and the Board of Trustees. Together with the CEO&Artistic Director and
Executive Director, the Head of Finance & Operations fosters a positive environment that
encourages the best from staff.

KEY TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1.Finance

  • Manage budgets; organisational, festival and overheads budgets
  • Take responsibility for project budgets, ensuring they feed into the organisation budget and maintaining oversight over the producing team to ensure finance systems and policies are followed and implemented.
  • Take responsibility for financial reporting and liaison with funders and stakeholders, ensuring Shubbak’s producers are fulfilling their role in this area
  • Manage day-to-day financial operations and ensure effective financial controls are in place, including petty cash, credit cards and bank reconciliation
  • Oversee payroll management by the bookkeeper, as appropriate, as well as pension scheme, employee benefits and organisational insurance
  • Ensure that accounting requests are resolved and communicated in a timely manner to internal and external parties
  • Act as bank signatory and credit card holder
  • Reconcile monthly activity, generating year-end reports
  • Fulfil tax related requirements including Cultural tax relief e.g. Theatre Tax Relief, Foreign Entertainer Tax applications and reporting, EU/EEA tax waiver applications, as appropriate
  • Advise on financial modelling of the organisation Work with the bookkeeper to draft audit accounts and be a liaison with the externally appointed auditor
  • Maintain oversight of financial processes from day-to-day bookkeeping through to high level strategy and forecasting
  • Maintain the financial system document and the finance policy up to date.

2. Operations

  •  Ensure the festival’s logistics are planned and implemented, including visa applications.
  • Ensure compliance with legal obligations and requirements including: Companies Act, Insurance, Charity Commission, Equality Act, Charity law, Employment Law, General Data Protection Regulations, Companies House, Health and Safety etc. 
  • Lead on compliance including monitoring and data collection for Arts Council England and other funders and stakeholders 
  • Lead on reviewing and updating internal policies, processes and systems to ensure the organisation is operating efficiently. 
  • Assist and collaborate with the CEO and Executive Director on fundraising initiatives and applications 
  • Ensure the smooth day-to-day running of the office and facilities
  • Create and review all necessary health and safety documentation (project related risk assessments, etc.) 
  • Oversee the organisation’s insurance policies. 
  • Maintain and review the organisation's risk register. 
  • Lead on evaluation planning and reports 
  • Manage the administration of individual giving and donors 

3. HR 

  •  Managing recruitment and hiring of staff and freelance contractors. 
  • Act as level 1 user of the UK Border Agency Sponsorship Management System in relation to issuing, monitoring, reporting of tier 5 or other certificates. Produce sponsor-related documentation as required by the UK Border Agency in relation to NON-EU workers 
  • Report back to the Home Office regarding our Permit Free Festival status as well as reapplying to be added to the list annually. 
  • Oversee and manage Shubbak’s support and engagement in visa applications of artists. 

4. IT

  • Lead on IT including: reviewing systems, annual maintenance and liaison with external IT consultant 
  • Lead on digital archiving to include: monitoring data storage, capacity and security, ensuring information can be readily accessed and ensuring systems and protocols and used consistently 

5. Board and Governance

  • Prepare with the help of the bookkeeper the quarterly management accounts, including balance sheet reconciliations and cashflow, for the Finance sub-Committee and Board
  • Attend and minute all regular and special meetings of the Shubbak Board of Trustees
  • Support all Board of Trustees’ committees 
  • Keep Board of Trustees informed by timely reports deemed necessary by ED & CEO/AD , required by the Board, required by the by-laws, and/or required by law 
  • Plan and execute the operations of Shubbak in accordance with the by-laws and policies of the Board. 
  • Ensure the charity commission and companies house registery of directors is up to date

6. Other

  • Assist and collaborate with Marketing and Communications Manager to ensure the successful delivery of the marketing and communications plan 
  • Act as an ambassador for the Festival and its representatives. 
  • Support with identifying partnership opportunities for the organisation. 
  • At all times carry out duties and responsibilities with regard to Equal Opportunities, diversity and dignity at work in the delivery of services and the treatment of others 
  • Comply with the company’s policies and practices to reduce environmental impact.
  • Identify areas for personal development, and undertake training necessary to fulfil the job description 
  • Carry out any other duties as may be reasonably required by the Company’s management

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION:

Candidates should be able to demonstrate the following:

ESSENTIAL

  • Significant experience in sound financial management and reporting 
  • Significant experience of working in a similar operational role within a creative organisation
  • Experience in festival and/or event management 
  • Significant experience in contract management including but not limited to employee and freelance HR, project and service contracts with venues, co-commissioning and co-presenting contracts, external producers and funder contracts 
  • Experience and understanding of marketing and PR in the creative sector
  • Commitment to diversity and equal opportunities 
  • Experience of successfully recruiting, managing and motivating staff 
  • Experience in working with Arts Council England NPO and associated compliance
  • Ability to manage a broad and complex workload with multiple deadlines
  • A versatile and adaptable approach to work with excellent problem solving abilities
  • An interest and passion for Shubbak’s aims and programmes and understanding of the festival’s place in the wider cultural sphere 
  • The focus and tenacity to push through complex procedures 
  • Due to the tight turnaround of this appointment, all candidates must have the right to live and the right to work in the UK. 

Desirable 

  •  HR qualification 
  • Experience preparing management and annual accounts 
  • Experience and knowledge of contemporary Arab Culture 

We encourage those who self-identify as Black, Arab, Afro-Arab, Indigenous or Person of Global Majority Heritage to apply; as these groups are underrepresented within our industry nationally. Candidates who have faced access barriers to the arts (whether due to socio-economic background or other) are also especially encouraged to apply for this role. 

Disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the position are guaranteed an interview.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

  1. This is a part-time post of 32 hours per week (4 days). 
  2. This role is presented on PAYE terms. 
  3. Salary is pro rata of £35,000–£40,000 per annum. (dependent on experience)
  4. Holiday entitlement is 25 days per annum pro-rata plus public holidays during that period. 
  5. The post-holder will be automatically brought into the NEST pension scheme.
  6. The post-holder must be eligible to work in the UK. 
  7. The post is hybrid, normally 2 days a week based at Shubbak’s office in Arab British Centre, 1 Gough Square. Shubbak regularly reviews its working practice in line with government guidance and negotiating with the team.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE 

Please send your application to recruitment@shubbak.co.uk with the following information:

  • Covering letter of no more than 2 A4 pages outlining why you would like to work with Shubbak and how you meet the person specification. 
  • C.V. (2 pages maximum) 
  • Contact details of 2 referees 
  • Complete Equal Opportunities Monitoring form HERE
  • Application Deadline: Friday 8th May 2026 at 8:00 am BST 
  • First interview stage: 14th May in the afternoon, online 
  • Second interview stage: 21st May in the afternoon, in person at the Arab British Centre 

The post starts from the week commencing as soon as possible for the successful candidate, ideally no later than 1st of June. 

If you have any questions about the role, email recruitment@shubbak.co.uk 

Please indicate alternative availability in your application if these dates do not match your current availability.