Front page/Page 1:
Front page of candidate pack with image and title: CONNECT PRACTITIONER – CASUAL. Page includes CONNECT branding and our Living Wage employer and Good Work Pledge Advance Level accreditation logos. 
Image description: A colour image of a CONNECT training session in action with 11 participants stood up in a theatre space. 
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Visual graphic depicting Mortal Fools’ company values.
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Mortal Fools’ Values
1. CONTRIBUTING - Everyone Matters
2. GROWING - Becoming More
3. WITH OTHERS - Better Together
4. AS OURSELVES – Always Authentic
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Page consisting of an image and a message from Mortal Fools’ Artistic Director.
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
An Introduction to Mortal Fools
Thank you for your interest in joining our organisation. There’s no doubt that the last 2.5 years have been challenging for everyone in the cultural sector but for Mortal Fools, and many organisations like us, it’s also been a highly productive and rewarding time.
2022 has been a year of growth, creative experiments aplenty, coming together, engaging, enabling and empowering young people at a critical time and a new chapter for Mortal Fools.
The team here are amazing – dedicated, innovative, courageous, hard-working and committed to positively changing lives through the work we do. In the last 2.5 years, they have worked in new ways, engaged new participants and more diverse audiences, cultivated new partnerships and even won awards for their efforts.
Our staff team is made up of those people whose main focus is to keep the organisation functioning well and those working directly with beneficiaries to create brilliant things. For this to work well, cultivating a culture of belonging, support and shared goals for everyone is essential. 
We want everyone who works here to want to come to work every day and leave feeling satisfied that their efforts and their contribution matters. We want to work with people who want to play their part in improving lives through the co-creation of high quality, socially engaged and innovative theatre-based artworks with children, young people and communities.
2022 brings us to the 10th birthday of the organisation and while we have certainly grown considerably in size, scope and reach since our inception, there are many of our original values which remain in our DNA. We remain committed to working with young people as artists, prioritising those in under-served locations and circumstances and providing opportunities to collaborate with professional artists to make theatre which is relevant to their lives and of such quality that it delights, entertains, and challenges audiences. 
Establishing a new second base with YMCA in Ashington late last year marked the start of the next exciting and ambitious 10 years for us. It promises to be one of new partnerships, new innovations and possibilities, new scope and reach and a new community to meaningfully connect with and enable.
It’s a great time to join us.
We look forward to receiving your application - Kiz
Image description: A black & white image of Mortal Fools’ Artistic Director Kiz Crosbie, smiling. 
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Page consisting of image and organisational testimonial from Wendy Scott Cultural Development Manager at Northumberland County Council.
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“Without Mortal Fools, the young people of Northumberland they co-create their productions with would not be the confident and inspiring people they are. Mortal Fools are a vital arts organisation that have understood what young people need to thrive. Their impact is enormous.” - Wendy Scott Cultural Development Manager at Northumberland County Council
Image description: A colour image of an attendee smiling in a suit at a training event run by Mortal Fools.
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Page consisting of image and introduction to Mortal Fools and the purpose of the organisation. 
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Mortal Fools is a multi-award-winning theatre, drama and creative learning charity, based in Northumberland.
Our purpose is to support people to have better quality inter-personal relationships with one another and to use theatre and drama-based activities as the methodology to achieve this – helping people connect, have fun, learn and grow together.
We are a company of participatory artists, practitioners and support staff who are committed to co-creating compelling, dynamic, socially relevant and high-quality theatre-based work with children, young people and communities. We prioritise working with children and young people who need our work the most. This might be because they:
- Are socially isolated and need places to connect with others and make friends
- Are geographically isolated and don’t have ready access to other high quality drama and theatre provision
- Have specific social or emotional needs which can be addressed with a creative intervention
- Are excluded from other provision because of barriers like cost or accessibility
We work with 1,000s of children and young people every year, mostly in the North East of England. We advocate for theatre and film created for and by young people to be recognised and supported as an important art form in our sector. We do this through our youth theatre and young leaders groups, working in schools and community settings, and by touring our work nationally. 
Alongside quality artistic outputs, we pursue positive wellbeing outcomes across all our work.
We are a sector leader in the North-East in supporting professional theatre artists to develop their co-creation practice with, by and for children and young people.
As well as artist development, we also deliver training workshops for adults, with a range of multi-sector organisations through our CONNECT programme. The income from this work subsidises core costs and our young people’s programmes.
Our work is supported by the likes of Arts Council England, Northumberland County Council, Paul Hamlyn, Garfield Weston, Kavli Trust, and more – including a range of Trusts, Foundations, and supporters.
Image description: A colour image of four Mortal Fools’ Youth Theatre members reacting during a performance of Say It Play It. 
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Page consisting of image, CONNECT testimonial from Nicola Leyden, Director of HR at Muckle LLP and introduction to Mortal Fools CONNECT programme and work with young people. 
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“Our experience with Mortal Fools has been amazing! They definitely deliver leadership training with a difference; it’s fun, impactful and delivers meaningful learning experiences in a very memorable way. We’ve never laughed and learnt so much at the same time” - Nicola Leyden Director of HR – Muckle LLP
With individuals, businesses and organisations: CONNECT
CONNECT is our training and professional development programme for organisations, teams, and individuals.
Our programme and delivery use a unique combination of practice from the creative sector, and theory, practice, and research from the social sciences to lead participants through a practical training process of identifying personal strengths, increasing knowledge, and developing new skills.
You can find out more about CONNECT and download our brochure via this link: https://www.mortalfools.org.uk/connect.html
It is delivered by experienced facilitators, directors and creative practitioners in environments which are genuinely supportive and accessible – both online and in-person. 
Our participants range from large corporate companies and public bodies to SMEs and sole traders. 
Current clients include: National Trust, Newcastle University, Muckle LLP, Ryder Architecture, South Tyneside Council, Sunderland Culture and many more.
The fundamental principles of the CONNECT content forms a huge part of how we work together as a staff team, and our approach to professional development with all our staff.
With Young People
We specialise in co-creation with children and young people aged 7-25, delivering a variety of activities and projects throughout the year.
Our sessions take place in various settings, including school and educational settings, out-of-school groups and youth work settings, and community events like Northumberland Pride. Through these sessions, young people connect with our work in a range of different ways:
We share the work we make through digital platforms and live performances, both locally and nationally through touring and sharing events. 
We advocate for theatre made with young people to be recognised as professional theatre. It is important to us that our staff team values and promotes the work we create with young people, and that our practitioners view it as a prolific part of their own artistic portfolio.
You can experience and get to know our work via:
Download our impact report to see what we got up to across 2021/22 via:  https://www.mortalfools.org.uk/news
Visit our Melva website via www.melva.org.uk to find out about this award-winning digital programme, which supports children aged 7-11 and the adults in their lives to talk openly about – and better understand – their mental health, emotions and wellbeing.
Experience our work online:
Watch our short film series My People via: https://www.mortalfools.org.uk/mypeople.html
Listen to When The World Is Loud via: https://www.mortalfools.org.uk/when-the-world-is-loud.html
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Page consisting of text describing the role. 
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We are delighted to be recruiting CONNECT Practitioners to join our casual pool of facilitators to support the delivery of our CONNECT programme. We are looking for skilled and enthusiastic practitioners, who want to specialise in the type of training Mortal Fools’ has created and who are passionate about personal growth and developing their practice in order to deliver our high-quality CONNECT programme.
The role will primarily focus on the delivery and facilitation of pre-planned CONNECT session content to clients, but as confidence and knowledge grows you will also contribute to creating session plans from our bank of activities and skeleton delivery plans. 
As a Mortal Fools CONNECT Casual Practitioner, you will provide delivery support to two strands of work:
- CONNECT – our training programme to organisations, teams, businesses big and small, leaders and freelancers.
- Young CONNECT – young people’s skills development sessions focused on enhancing youth leadership skills, employability and confidence.
Our CONNECT Casual Practitioners deliver training online and in person to clients – these consist of freelancers, business leaders, project teams, community groups and different sized businesses from a range of sectors including creative, cultural, education, legal, architecture/design, health etc. 
Currently, we have a high demand for our in person training in the North East, therefore we are looking for practitioners that can support the delivery of our training in the region, alongside supporting our online delivery. Our training covers key themes such as: Communication; Digital Facilitation; Resilience; Leadership and Presentation. More information can be found in our CONNECT Brochure via: https://www.mortalfools.org.uk/connect.html
This role is a great opportunity for someone with a portfolio career; if you are passionate about the type of work Mortal Fools do, passionate about enabling folks to unlock their potential and want to use your facilitation skills to help us grow our CONNECT offer, then we want to hear from you.
Reporting to:
Communications and Audience Development Manager
Contract:
Casual Worker
Work is offered on an assignment basis (see hours of work for more details) 
Salary:
Starting at £15 per hour + 12.07% holiday (depending on experience)
Minimum 4 hours per client assignment, with no hidden hours – all training, planning, prep and evaluation is paid for.
Location:
Delivery will take place in various locations across the North-East of England, including hybrid working for online delivery and prep/planning. We offer car sharing opportunities wherever possible and reimburse all excess travel costs.
Hours of Work:
CONNECT delivery usually falls between 9am-5pm, but occasional early morning and evening work is to be expected.
How are assignments allocated? :
Mortal Fools do regular availability checks with our pool of Casual CONNECT practitioners, and once a training date has been confirmed with the client, practitioners can put themselves forward to accept the assignment.
We expect this role to focus on in-person delivery, as this is where we are currently lacking capacity.
To Apply:
Send the following documents to admin@mortalfools.org.uk with the subject: Application: CONNECT Casual Practitioner
* Please ensure they are sent as separate attachments
• Application Form Part 1
• Application Form Part 2
• Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form
Application Deadline: 
8th August, 10am
Successful candidates will be invited to interview week beginning 22nd August, with a projected start date of week beginning 19th or 26th September.
You will undergo a period of paid induction and training across Autumn, to be equipped to deliver from January 2023.
Application:
Application Form (if you prefer, you can complete Part 2 of your application form via video submission instead)
Note: These appointments will be made on merit, but we believe that diversity strengthens and enriches us, and that it is the responsibility of all arts organisations to make the arts and cultural sector a more diverse and equal place. Black, South Asian, South-East Asian, and East Asian people, people from or connected to ethnically diverse communities, and disabled people are currently under-represented at Mortal Fools, so we particularly encourage and welcome applications from these people.
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Page consisting of image, CONNECT testimonial from Mortal Fools Creative Producer and CONNECT Practitioner Helen Ferguson and information about how the role might evolve. 
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CONNECT Casual Practitioner Role
We believe that when it comes to job roles, it’s not helpful to try fit people into boxes.
We want all our staff members to feel that their individual needs, interests and development goals are being met, whilst also ensuring the purpose of their role benefits the company and its growth. 
Whilst we have outlined the role of the CONNECT Casual Practitioner Role, it does have the potential to increase in size and scope. We are looking for folks who want to be with us for the long term and this role will evolve based on:
l Existing skills and experience of successfully appointed candidates
l Demands and the needs of the business and our CONNECT clients
l Confidence and capability in areas of work as employment progresses
We would like this role to adapt and develop over time, as we get to know our successful candidates better - shaping the role so they can step into their full personal potential.
“Delivering CONNECT training has enabled me to better understand theories and models from the social sciences. I have had the hugely rewarding experience of working with participants from different businesses and sectors to impact the way they work as individuals and teams. I have also developed my own skills, which have been life changing. I am now better able to lead others and deal with challenging situations. Most of all, I better understand how to connect with people and value difference.” - Helen Ferguson Mortal Fools Creative Producer and CONNECT Practitioner
Image description: A colour image of an attendee feeding back to the group during a training event.
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Page consisting of text describing the key responsibilities and activities of the CONNECT casual practitioners and a testimonial from Rachael Walsh - CONNECT Casual Practitioner.
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This role will support the delivery of the CONNECT training programme to organisations, teams, and individuals in person in the North East and digitally to anywhere in the world. This role will support the delivery of the CONNECT training programme to organisations, teams, and individuals in person in the North East and digitally to anywhere in the world.
Activities and responsibilities:
l Undertake training and learning with Mortal Fools to develop the knowledgeand ability to deliver pre-prepared CONNECT training content.
l Deliver CONNECT training sessions online and in-person to a range of clients with the aim of improving their skills and capabilities. 
l Maintain high standards - this training is a commercial product bought in by businesses and clients.
l Support experienced CONNECT practitioners in their session preparation and delivery, working together as a team, to provide a high quality and safe space for folks to learn, grow and challenge themselves.
l Support less confident training participants.
l Adapt to the intersectional needs of participants.
l Write up session notes post session.
l Feedback to line manager.
l Attend practitioner meetings and actively engage in induction and continuous training process.
l Support the running of CONNECT advocacy events.
l To work as an effective member of the team, contributing insights and ideas as and when required.
l Engage with and act upon feedback and coaching from Mortal Fools.
Note: The activities and responsibilities in this job description are not exhaustive and are subject to change in accordance with the needs of the company.
“Being a CONNECT Practitioner has allowed me to build my own skills in leadership and digital communication and connect with other people at a difficult time. It’s thrilling to be part of the team.” - Rachael Walsh CONNECT Casual Practitioner
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Page consisting of text listing the essential requirements and desirable requirements of the role. 
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You will be scored in your application based on how strongly you demonstrate these skills, knowledge and experience in your application, therefore please explicitly reference the below requirements in your application, including how you can demonstrate the personal and professional attributes.
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS:
EXPERIENCE
l Relevant experience in a related field (e.g. teaching, arts/culture, training delivery, health/social sciences, business) and/or a degree in a related subject
l Experience of facilitating workshops or learning environments, or relevant transferable skills
l Experience in a role that involves communicating with others digitally and in person, and building meaningful relationships
PERSONAL & PROFESSIONAL ATTRIBUTES
l The courage to step out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself
l Willing to work hard and commit
l Motivated to support others to unlock their potential
l Passionate about accessibility and inclusion
l Keen to develop your own practice and learn alongside others via personal development, and coaching / feedback
l Able to contribute to a team and contribute your expertise and experience
l Able to maintain high standards in your work
l A confident and professional demeanour when working with colleagues, clients and other stakeholders
l Skill in building rapport with people quickly and putting people at ease (this role often requires practitioners to support participants who are anxious about participating)
l Able to draw on knowledge and theory from different sources and apply this to training delivery (via experience and/or relevant transferable skills)
l Able to work with pre-prepared material
PRACTICALITIES
l Availability for session delivery during the daytime and/or evenings
l Access to an appropriate, uninterrupted home working space to lead online training sessions
l Based in the North East and willing to travel to North East locations
DESIRABLE REQUIREMENTS:
l Experience of facilitating in an online context
l Experience of facilitating adults
l Experience of working with businesses and corporate contexts
l Experience of delivering personal and professional development training
l Access to your own IT equipment (including a reliable Wi-Fi connection)
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Page consists of image and two CONNECT testimonials, one from a client and another from a session participant. 
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“This leadership workshop introduced us to a lot of new, useful techniques and was practical. There were plenty of opportunities to ask questions and participate in group discussion. The session was well presented with a good pace. Mortal Fools were very engaging and were also willing to answer queries that came up after the session, which was incredibly kind and useful.” Ryder Architecture 
“The workshop was a great opportunity to hear from others in a similar professional space. It was great to take a step back from the work routines we are accustomed to and reflect on what is really happening around us at a work! It was quite liberating, but also simultaneously unnerving! The session was a great platform to allow us to face the things we have made a habit of allowing slide/avoid and to take control within the uncertainty - as opposed to finding ourselves years later in positions we cannot fully make sense of.” - Session Participant
Image description: A colour image of eight attendees sat down watching a screening of Sparked– our Co-Creation practice sharing films. 
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Page consists of image and text stating Mortal Fools promises to prospective candidates.
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Recruitment is often a person’s first contact with our organisation and we want to make that as positive an experience as possible, even for those people who don’t go on to get a job with us.
For that reason, we have a series of recruitment promises...
We issue recruitment information in a range of formats
Our organisation is richer if it includes people with a range of lived experiences. No-one should miss out on a job because the information provided didn’t meet their needs. We recognise we still have things to learn in this area and are committed to continuing to get better at this. 
We support the positive recruitment action in the Equality Act by offering all disabled candidates who score at least 2 on all person specifications an interview.
We accept written and video application formats - Sometimes written applications are not the most suitable way for a person to effectively apply for a job. If that’s you, this alternative means you’re not excluded.
We clearly explain what we expect to see demonstrated and evidenced in an application - There’s too much of “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” that dictates success in the world, so all our applicants are assessed against the same criteria and without bias or favouritism. We provide a detailed recruitment pack and application form and explain specifically what we need you to reference and demonstrate in your application e.g. with reference to the job description and person specification.
Image description: A colour image of 12 CONNECT training participants during a skills development exercise, with 11 people sat down on chairs in a circle and one person stood up in the middle engaging with the group. 
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Page consists of image, a testimonial from Mortal Fools practitioner and text stating the rest of Mortal Fools promises to prospective candidates.
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“Mortal Fools challenge me as a practitioner to do my best work and grow in my skill as a facilitator and artist. They have supported me as an early-career practitioner and continue to do so as I become more established and grow my practice.” Zoe Lamming - Mortal Fools Practitioner
We assess all applications anonymously against the same criteria - We want to have as equitable a recruitment process as possible. Your application is anonymised when it arrives, by someone not involved in shortlisting (including removing the names of any educational establishments attended). The applications are assessed using a numeric scoring system, based on how well you have demonstrated the qualities listed in the person specification. 
The scoring system is: 
0 = no evidence
1 = little evidence
2 = some evidence
3 = strong evidence

We reply to everyone who applies, providing all applicants with concise, personalised feedback - We respect that it’s taken you time and effort to submit a job application. In recognition of the time spent applying to us, we make sure to give our time in return by giving you a personalised response. 

We provide interview questions in advance to support preparation - For those jobs where having the ability to think on the spot is a requirement, we’ll ask some direct questions in our interviews. For all other situations, we want you to be enabled to give responses that are considered and that present what you want to say in a way that you’re happy with. Knowing what you’re going to be asked is even more important for supporting neurodivergent people appropriately.

We provide expenses to attend interviews - We can’t pay everyone for the time they’ve taken applying to us, but we can recognise that it does take time with this small recompense.
We provide detailed feedback to all interviewed unsuccessful candidates - You’ve put in all that time and effort to applying to work with us. There’s likely been some stress and some disappointment. Even though you weren’t offered a job, we want to support your learning and development and be transparent about why you weren’t the fit for the role we were looking for.
Image description: A colour image of 12 CONNECT training participants with their hands on one another’s shoulders during a skills development exercise.
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Page consists of image and reasons why to work a testimonial from Mortal Fools practitioner and text stating the rest of Mortal Fools promises to prospective candidates.
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Professional Development:
We want everyone who works with us to feel that they belong at Mortal Fools and that their efforts and skills are appreciated. Staff members are supported in their development through:
l One-to-one feedback and mentoring
l Peer-to-peer support
l An environment where they are able to bring ideas, enthusiasm and talents to fruition
l The chance to work with a cross-sector network of national partners, expanding their professional networks and experience
l Training by external providers to meet their personal development goals relevant to this post
l A safe, supportive, inclusive, and fun company culture
l Opportunities to help shape the growth and development plans of the wider company
Staff Benefits:
l Casual Worker hourly rate well above National Living Wage, with holiday on top
l We pay holiday on top of hourly rate
l Office equipment allowance
l Wellbeing support
l Training and professional development opportunities
l Opportunities to progress and grow with the Company
l Flexibility to continue portfolio career
l Opportunities to come and see theatre by Mortal Fools and our regional partners
In addition: 
By joining Mortal Fools and working on the CONNECT programme, you are directly supporting young people in the North East and beyond, at a time they need it most. Mortal Fools is a registered charity. Our CONNECT training programme income is used to subsidise our work with children and young people. This includes using drama and theatre to support the skills development, group working and wellbeing of some highly vulnerable and isolated young people.
Image description: A colour image of a Mortal Fools’ practitioner looking to the side and laughing at work.
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Page consists of image and information to support prospective candidates with their application.
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Please make sure you read this pack carefully, before completing your application.
If you’re able to, check out our website www.mortalfools.org.uk or visit our social media channels (all @mortalfoolsuk).
This will give you a sense of the sort of work we do and type of company we are.
If you have any questions, please check the FAQs listed on our Work With Us page before getting in touch directly.
On Wednesday 20th July, you can book a 30minute phone call or Zoom slot with a member of the Mortal Fools team. This will not impact your application, but it will give you an opportunity to ask any questions you might have and meet some of the team.
If you have any questions about the role, your application or this recruitment pack, feel free to drop admin@mortalfools.org.uk an email or give us a call 0191 580 1250.
Funder logos on page include Arts Council England, Here For Culture, Northumberland County Council, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Community Foundation and Garfield Weston. 
Image description: A colour image of 16 CONNECT training participants and a CONNECT practitioner sat down in a circle on chairs, on stage in a theatre space.