Access Coordinator

The Access Coordinator will lead on the design, coordination, and delivery of an integrated access framework across all strands of Y Bont International Festival.

They will work closely with the Creative Producer of Communities, artistic leadership, production teams, freelance access practitioners, and The Place hub to ensure that access and inclusion are embedded into rehearsal processes, workshops, community engagement activity, artistic development, and public event delivery.

This is both a strategic and practical role, responsible for identifying barriers to participation and implementing effective solutions. The postholder will act as the key point of contact for access requirements, ensuring appropriate adjustments, support mechanisms, and accessible communications are in place throughout participant and audience journeys.

The role ensures that participation is not only available, but meaningfully accessible—supporting equitable engagement across diverse physical, sensory, cognitive, communication, and cultural needs.

Key Responsibilities

Access Coordination & Inclusion

• Develop and coordinate an integrated access framework ensuring inclusive participation across all project activity.

• Work closely with the freelance access team and specialist practitioners to ensure consistent and high-quality access provision across workshops, rehearsals, performances, and public events.

• Collaborate with creative and production teams to embed access into artistic development, staging, audience experience, and participation design.

• Ensure access needs are identified early and supported through appropriate reasonable adjustments across all stages of engagement.

• Translate access requirements into practical solutions across indoor, outdoor, and site-responsive environments.

• Coordinate access provision including, where appropriate, BSL interpretation, captioning, audio description, relaxed performance approaches, accessible communications, and other support mechanisms.

• Support accessible audience experience planning, including communication formats, booking journeys, entry points, signage, wayfinding, and on-site support provision.

• Ensure access considerations are embedded within risk assessments, safeguarding processes, and delivery planning.

• Act as a coordination point between creative teams, production, community teams, participants, and external access providers.

• Support artists and participants to identify and communicate access requirements throughout the project lifecycle.

• Work with marketing and communications teams to ensure audience-facing information is clear, accurate, and accessible.

• Contribute to the development of inclusive policies, procedures, and best practice across Tin Shed Theatre Co. and The Place.

  
  

Cross-Project Responsibilities

• Work across Tin Shed Theatre Co. and The Place to embed access and inclusion into daily operations and creative processes.

• Monitor barriers to participation and work proactively to remove or reduce them.

• Liaise with external support services, access providers, and community organisations where appropriate.

• Maintain clear communication systems for access support across the project.

• Support evaluation, reflection, and learning processes to improve future inclusive practice.

• Contribute to reporting requirements relating to equality, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility.

• Advocate for access as a creative and organisational priority across the festival and wider programme activity.
  

Essential Criteria

• Significant experience in access coordination, inclusive practice, disability arts, or accessibility-focused roles within creative industries, cultural organisations, festivals, or community settings.

• Enhanced DBS check (or willingness to obtain prior to appointment).

• Strong understanding of equality, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility frameworks.

• Demonstrable experience supporting disabled artists, participants, audiences, or communities.

• Understanding of access requirements across physical, sensory, neurodivergent, cognitive, and communication-based needs.

• Experience coordinating access provision and working with specialist practitioners or support providers.

• Knowledge of reasonable adjustments and inclusive approaches to participation and audience engagement.

• Experience working with artists, young people, and/or community participants within participatory or production contexts.

• Strong understanding of safeguarding, child protection, and duty of care responsibilities.

• Experience working in creative environments such as theatre, festivals, outdoor arts, participatory projects, or community-led cultural programmes.

• Excellent communication, relationship-building, and coordination skills.

• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and stakeholders.

• Awareness of Newport’s communities and context, or ability to develop this understanding quickly.

Desirable Criteria

• Lived experience of disability.

• Training and understanding of the social model of disability and its application within arts and cultural settings.

• Experience working in outdoor arts, large-scale festivals, or international cultural projects.

• Knowledge of local disability, access, and community support services in Newport.

• Experience supporting accessible audience development and event design.

• Experience working within placemaking, regeneration, or heritage-led cultural projects.

• Experience working in co-creation or participatory performance contexts.

• Welsh language skills.

• Knowledge of current accessibility standards and best practice within arts and cultural sectors.