Welcome
Thank you for your interest in the role of Director of Musicians’ Services at Help Musicians. We hope this pack provides all the information you might need to consider whether this opportunity is the right one for you.
Help Musicians (formerly The Musicians Benevolent Fund) has been working hard for 101 years to make a meaningful difference to the lives of musicians across the UK. We are passionate about music and ambitious to create a world where musicians thrive.
Music plays a huge role in our society. But we can take for granted the people behind the music; the performers, composers, teachers and all those who work so hard to create the soundtrack to our lives. Musicians deploy their talent, creativity and skill to enrich and enhance our lives, inspiring us and lifting our spirits when we need it most.
Life as a musician can be challenging, and therefore musicians need a broad range of support to assist them during their careers. This is why Help Musicians has a broad programme of services to assist professional musicians of all genres across the UK, in times of crisis and opportunity. We are constantly adapting our range of services and support to ensure that our help creates a positive and lasting impact for musicians’ lives and careers. We do this through continued innovation and research, and by putting musicians and their needs at the heart of everything we do.
The Covid-19 pandemic was catastrophic for musicians, with tens of thousands effectively unemployed overnight (most musicians are low-paid freelancers) and facing significant financial hardship and uncertainty. We spent nearly £19m to help nearly 20,000 musicians survive the 2-year period where there was little opportunity to perform live. And in response to an exponential growth in demand, we have subsequently launched our mental health service, Music Minds Matter, as a single-focus charity.
We are committed to doing all we can to help musicians re-build their careers in the months and years ahead, and are ambitious about how future innovation in our offer to musicians can ensure the charity remains distinctive and impactful for our next decade. The Director of Musicians’ Services will play a pivotal role in the dynamic evolution of Help Musicians.
This is a truly exciting time to join Help Musicians; with a new Chairman in post, a committed board of Trustees and an Executive and staff team determined to grow our support and to engage more music lovers right across the UK in the work of the charity as we head into our second century.
Thank you for your interest and we look forward to hearing from you.
James Ainscough
Chief Executive