Breakthrough is a 6‑month employability programme from arts charity, Artswork. It's designed as a stepping stone to get you workplace experience and all-important employment skills. This short placement gives insight into a future career in the Creative Industry, supporting your confidence and professionalism in the workplace, and helping you to break through into a career that matters to you.
You must apply via the Artswork website, otherwise your application will not be accepted - https://artswork.org.uk/opportunities/breakthrough-projects-assistant-canterbury-and-herne-bay
Eligibility criteria:
To be eligible to apply for a Breakthrough training programme role, applicants must:
- Be aged 18-25 on the 28 September 2026
- Have the right to work and be usually resident in the UK
- Available to start work on the 28 September 2026 and available for the duration of the placement (until 28 March 2027)
- Have no or little (less than one month) previous experience of working in an arts, creative or voluntary sector organisation
We particularly welcome applications from applicants who:
- Are currently not in employment, education or training
- Are disabled and/or neurodivergent
- Have experienced barriers to employment due to current or prior mental health issues
- Have experienced barriers because of racism, homophobic or transgender discrimination
- Are recent school or sixth form college leavers
- Are struggling to find work due to lack of training or employment experience
Please note that this programme is not suitable for those on a degree placement year or an MA programme.
Job Description:
Your role will be to assist in the development and delivery of People United’s creative programme. You will help with administrative and practical support to the Programme Manager and creative team. And, from time to time, performing other general administrative tasks. You will also be supporting the Communications Lead in delivery of creative programme comms i.e. printing, flyering, taking photos at events.
You will also be supporting parts of the creative programme’s evaluation, particularly data collection.
This role will include:
- Assisting the creative team in collating project evaluation
- On site’ project support when needed for the creative programme e.g. helping with installations and invigilation
- Assisting with evaluation activities by supporting audience research activity, including regularly and accurately collating, inputting and analysing data
- Supporting and contributing to the planning and delivery of comms activities and campaigns as part of the creative team
- Admin support to the Communications Lead, for example helping to collect/?collate feedback and quotes for use in People United’s comms activities
- Day to day small-scale sales i.e. financial processing related to creative content/?activities
- Desk research – this could be creative or operational.
- Monitoring the company info@ mailbox, forwarding on to relevant team members
- From time to time, to provide cover for some aspects of other team members day to day duties (e.g. during annual leave)
- Advocating for People United, working as part of the whole team in developing, maintaining and promoting the charity’s brand, values and work
- Following/?complying with People United’s policies
- Awareness and observation of Health and Safety regulations
- Other duties as may reasonably be required
The role will based at People United offices in East Kent. Currently split between Canterbury and Herne Bay, as required. We are open to some home working, if appropriate.
About the employer:
We are a creative arts charity based in East Kent. We work with communities on our local coast and beyond, using co-design practices that prioritise care.
Vision: Our coast is home to thriving, creative communities who care for themselves, each other and the world around them.
Mission: We invite people to come together, be heard and make things.
Our positions:
- CARE – We place care at the heart of everything we do, working in ways that are human-centred and trauma-informed – the foundation of our co-design
- methodology. We see self-care as an act of resistance, protecting our collective capacity to do meaningful work.
- COMMUNITY – We work in partnership with communities, social care and community organisations and socially engaged artists. We believe that interdependence, solidarity and collaboration are the foundations of lasting change.
- CREATIVITY – We recognise the abundance of imagination and creativity within our communities. We make art with, not for people, where they are at – from living rooms to public spaces. We hold that everyone is an artist, and our practice is built on that belief.
- SUSTAINABILITY – We consider the long-term impact of everything we do, advocating for approaches that are sustainable and, where possible, restorative to our environments and communities.
- LEARNING – We are a learning organisation that prioritises reflection, knowledge-sharing, and the willingness to fail better. We value transparency and vulnerability as tools for growth, within our team and across our work.
- JUSTICE – We believe that creativity and care must go hand in hand with challenging the deeper causes of inequality. Justice, for us, is something lived and practised, not simply declared.
You must apply via the Artswork website, otherwise your application will not be accepted - https://artswork.org.uk/opportunities/breakthrough-projects-assistant-canterbury-and-herne-bay
Pay: £12.71 per hour
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Flexitime
- Work from home
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Canterbury (Kent)
