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Resident Assistant Director x 2, Chichester Festival Theatre

  •  South East
  •  Â£30k-40k
  •  Full time
  •  Closes December 11, 2025
  •  Gillian Watkins
  •  recruitment@cft.org.uk
  • #Theatre

Description

Job Summary

We are looking for two enthusiastic Resident Assistant Directors to join us for our Festival 2026 season. Each post will act as an Assistant Director on two of our Festival 2026 season productions produced in-house at CFT, one in the Minerva Theatre and one in the Festival Theatre.

Job Description

Resident Assistant Director

Post 1

Full time, Freelance Contract (18 weeks) Assistant Director on two plays 9 March-11 July 2026

Post 2

Full time, Freelance Contract (22 weeks) Assistant Director on two plays 13 April-12 September 2026

A weekly fee of £653.89, plus a weekly subsistence allowance of £235.00 will be paid when the Resident Assistant Director (RAD) is working more than 25 miles from their home address.

In your application please let us know which post/s you are interested in.

Full details about the roles can be found on our website https://www.cft.org.uk/jobs/resident-assistant-director-f26

Each post will act as an Assistant Director on two of our Festival 2026 season productions produced in-house at CFT, one in the Minerva Theatre and one in the Festival Theatre. The RADs will meaningfully integrate into the organisation learning and contributing to CFT's vision and mission whilst gaining understanding about the day to day running of a leading regional theatre.

Key Responsibilities

  • Act as Assistant Director on two productions during the 2026 Festival season.
  • Support other Festival 2026 season productions as required.
  • Work alongside the Development and LEAP departments on production-associated events during the season. To include Directors Talks; Post-show talks; and Theatre Days.
  • Support the Associate Director (Literary) and Producing team with script reading and reporting, and the planning and facilitating of rehearsed readings and development workshops.
  • Work with our Future Theatre-Maker cohort on scratch performances in The Nest.
  • Undertake production-associated research.
  • Assist the casting team and support audition processes as required.
  • Rehearse understudies, children and supernumeraries if applicable.
  • Watch and note season productions as required to ensure the quality of productions is maintained.
  • Lead workshops with Chichester Festival Youth Theatre (CFYT) and community groups.

Job Requirements

Proven experience as Assistant Director on a minimum of three professional productions - references will be requested.

Experience of directing own work professionally.

Demonstrable desire to pursue a career as a theatre director.

Well-developed written and verbal communication, interpersonal and IT skills.

Ability to manage a varied workload, prioritise appropriately and work well under pressure.

Ability to use own initiative and work independently.

Interest in, and commitment to, making theatre accessible to all community sectors, and to CFT's Equal Opportunities Policy.

Commitment to and be an active ambassador for CFT, its aims, objectives and values.

Desirable Criteria

Experience of script-reading.

Knowledge of working within a theatre building.

Experience of running workshops with young people and community groups.

Proven experience of using Microsoft Office (including Word, Excel, Access and Outlook).

An awareness of, and desire to work to Green Book sustainability requirements

Job Responsibilities

Full details can be found on our website https://www.cft.org.uk/jobs/resident-assistant-director-f26

Useful Links

How to Apply

To apply please send your CV and a covering letter, or video, to [email protected] by 10am Friday 12 December quoting job reference: 2511RAD in the subject line. In your covering letter or video, please let us know why you are applying for the role, what excites you about joining CFT and how your experience and skills match the person specification.

We'd love to hear about what makes you a great fit in your own words. We encourage candidates not to rely on AI for their applications, as a more personalised approach gives us a better sense of who you are.

Please put which role you are applying for at the top of your covering letter. If both please leave blank.

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