Programmes Planning and Administration Manager

Association Of British Orchestras

Hours
21 hours per week

About the Organisation

National Youth Orchestra is the UK’s leading organisation championing orchestral music as a powerful agent for teenage development. We are a welcoming community where every teenager can play their part in shaping their world through extraordinary music. It’s the greatest adventure a teenager can have in orchestral music, where young people develop much more than musical skills. Every year, we welcome over 10,000 teenagers of all backgrounds and different levels of musical ability into a national community to play and share orchestral music. At the centre of the organisation, our Orchestra, known as NYO, is acclaimed internationally as ‘the world’s greatest orchestra of teenagers’ for their dazzling performances.

Each NYO musician also plays their part as a leader and role model, sharing music and skills through NYO Inspire and our wider engagement programme. With music education all but disappearing in state schools, the free programmes provided by NYO are needed more than ever – to ensure all teenagers have the opportunity to develop their confidence and skills for life through sharing and playing music together. Joining the NYO community, they open up to new friends and possibilities. Stepping out to perform, they rise to new challenges. Sharing their passion with other young people, they learn to inspire and lead.

About the role

We are looking for a Programmes Planning & Administration Manager to lead the planning, scheduling and core administration that underpins delivery across NYO’s activity. This role is central to ensuring projects are well organised, well-resourced and joined up across teams, and will play a key part in helping colleagues deliver ambitious work for young people to a high standard.

You will lead on annual schedules, venue booking and contracting, freelance booking and coordination, and the maintenance of shared tools, systems and ways of working across the programmes team. Working closely with colleagues across NYO, you will help create the clarity, consistency and operational confidence needed to deliver complex projects well, while building strong relationships with venues, artists, tutors and delivery staff.

This role will suit someone who is highly organised, solutions-focused and confident in communicating with a wide range of internal and external partners. You will combine excellent administration and planning skills with strong judgement, attention to detail and the ability to keep multiple strands of work moving smoothly.

Responsibilities

Planning and Scheduling:

• Lead and maintain the central programme planning calendar, ensuring milestones, deadlines and dependencies are visible and up to date across programme strands.
• Coordinate planning timelines for residencies, concert tours and other project activity, working with programme leads to ensure realistic sequencing and readiness.
• Convene and support planning meetings as required, ensuring actions, decisions and follow-up points are clearly documented and progressed.
• Maintain planning templates and shared documentation that support consistency and efficiency across delivery.
• Work closely with programme leads and operational colleagues to ensure planning information is shared across the organisation in a clear and timely way.

Venues, Booking and Contracting:

• Lead on residency venue and concert hall booking and contracting processes, liaising with colleagues on requirements, availability and contractual progression.
• Support supplier research and the contracting of catering arrangements where these sit separately from accommodation.
• Research and assess the feasibility of residency venues, including attending recces where required.
• Maintain clear records of supplier agreements, bookings, contracts and related delivery information.
• Ensure procurement processes are in line with policy.

Artistic Planning:

• Support creative planning meetings and decision-making processes, ensuring decisions are recorded and actions are followed up.
• Progress artist availability checks and contracting processes.
• Support visa arrangements for international artists.

Freelance Team Booking:

• Coordinate the booking of artists, tutors, support team, stage managers and other freelance delivery staff across programme activity.
• Work with artistic and programme leads to gather requirements, manage timelines and ensure appointments are processed efficiently and accurately.
• Support the development of freelancer induction and training processes, ensuring logistical and procedural information is clear and well organised.
• Coordinate the booking of musicians and related personnel for ad hoc events.

Systems and Administration:

• Serve as a central coordinating lead for programme administration, helping align administrative practice across programme areas.
• Maintain and update programme playbooks, trackers, systems and procedural documentation.
• Support practical coordination around storage, logistics and other shared operational arrangements connected to delivery.
• Identify opportunities to improve workflows, reduce duplication and strengthen consistency across programme administration.
• Support colleagues to maintain clear, practical administrative systems that enable strong delivery across programme areas.

Other Duties:

• Undertake any other duties reasonably required within the scope of the role.

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Experience:

• Experience of programme planning, operations or administration in music, arts, education, youth, events or comparable delivery contexts.
• Experience coordinating complex schedules, bookings, contracts or logistical arrangements across multiple workstreams.
• Experience in maintaining systems, trackers or shared documentation that support team delivery.
• Experience of working with freelance artists, tutors or delivery staff.
• Experience in improving administrative processes or implementing more efficient ways of working.
• Experience of programme planning, operations or administration in arts, education, youth, events or comparable delivery contexts.
• Experience in venue liaison, contracting or supplier coordination.

Skills:

• Strong project and process management skills, with the ability to keep activity organised, on schedule and well communicated.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively with colleagues, freelancers and external contacts.
• Strong administrative and information management skills, including handling documentation accurately and appropriately.
• Good digital and data capability, including confidence in using shared systems, spreadsheets and databases.
• Ability to identify inefficiencies, anticipate issues and take practical steps to improve delivery systems.
• Awareness of safeguarding and the importance of safe, inclusive practice when supporting youth-facing delivery. 

Personal Attributes:

• Strong commitment to NYO’s mission and to supporting excellent, youth-centred programme delivery through high-quality planning and administration.
• Highly organised, methodical and detail-focused, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and maintain accuracy under pressure.
• Collaborative and relationship-focused, with a practical, solutions-oriented approach to working across teams.
• Enjoys communicating and negotiating effectively with a range of internal and external stakeholders
• Calm, dependable and proactive, with sound judgement and the confidence to follow issues through to resolution.
• Open to feedback and motivated to improve systems, processes and ways of working.

Compensation & Benefits

• Annual Leave: 27 days plus statutory bank holidays (prorata)
• NYO offers a season ticket loan scheme, cycle-to-work scheme, health cash plan, retail and entertainment discounts and a 24/7 counselling and support helpline.
• Probationary period: Six months
• Notice period: Two months

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely
• The role is not required to have a delivery role on residential projects; occasional visits to project activity and concerts/events will be expected. A TOIL policy is in place for weekend/statutory holiday working

How to apply

• To apply for the role, complete the online application form. The deadline for applications is Monday, 27th April 2026 at 10 am.
• If you have any questions about the role, please contact [email protected].

Policies

NYO is an Equal Opportunities employer. Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our work, and this extends to our recruitment practices. We want to ensure that no job applicant, employee or participant receives less favourable treatment on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation. Individuals will be selected, promoted and treated on the basis of their relevant merits and abilities. All employees are required to comply with and actively promote this policy.

NYO is committed to safeguarding and protecting the children and young people that we work with. We have a range of policies and procedures in place and aim to be a sector leader in good safeguarding practice. All employees, contractors, trustees and volunteers are committed to practices that establish and maintain an environment in which the welfare of the young person is paramount; ensure that policies and procedures protect young people from harm, and that all concerns and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to appropriately.

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