15 Feb 2021
Client: The Brathay Trust
Brief: The Brathay Trust, a charitable organisation based in The Lake District, exists to improve the life chances of children, young people and families by inspiring them to engage positively in their communities. They work with partnership organisations to deliver Engagement, Development & Leadership Programmes. Key partners in the Changing Culture Programme and the Aspiring Leaders Programme, they commissioned me to help with the promotion and recruitment to each course, with a specific focus on individuals who may ordinarily experience barriers to access.
Description: In order to transform leadership in the arts and cultural sector and find the next creative leaders, Brathay teamed up with key partners, The University of Cumbria and Theatre by the Lake to launch the Changing Culture Programme (CCP). The fully funded blended degree course aims to attract young talented people (aged 19-32) to progress their careers and achieve leadership positions within arts and culture, providing opportunities for young people from all sorts of backgrounds to realise their potential, gain new skills and position themselves as the next creative leaders. Due to my networks in the region, previous experience of working with individuals and groups who face socio-economic barriers to engagement and existing relationships with partner organisations, Brathay commissioned me to promote the course and recruit suitable candidates. I worked alongside their inhouse marketing department to create engaging content for their existing digital channels (website and social media campaigns) and then designed and managed a focused campaign of direct contact with groups and networks within the geographic footprint.
We faced many challenges in the process, having strict parameters and criteria to meet the funding requirements, as well as an incredibly short turnaround time. Despite the tight timeframes, we were able to successfully recruit the necessary candidates and the cohort is currently on Y2 of the 3 year programme. Watch this space!
Due to the success of CCP, I was then commissioned to recruit for their Aspiring Leaders Programme, working alongside course leaders to recruit for the new cohort. We based the recruitment model on CCP and despite being derailed by COVID-19, we quickly adapted and again managed to recruit the necessary number of suitable candidates.
Client Testimonial:
Rachel provided fantastic support for us in recruiting two cohorts onto programmes in short timeframes. She effectively used her extensive experience to help design our marketing campaign, produce supporting materials, and target recruitment to help us find the perfect participants from places that we would have struggled to reach. She brought great professionalism, passion and energy to the role, as well as working with huge flexibility; it was like she was an extension to our team. We would love to work with Rachel again, and highly recommend her to other organisations.
Andy Woodhead, Brathay Trust