About Darbar
Darbar Arts Culture and Heritage Trust is one of the UK’s most dynamic and cutting-edge Indian arts organisations. Established as a charity in 2006, we have helped shape the landscape of Indian classical arts in the UK through the highest-quality live performances. We believe in the power of Indian classical music to stir, thrill and inspire global audiences, and we widen access to the art form through digital content for streaming, social media and television, and through music education in schools and online.
We are opening a new chapter: two trading arms — Darbar Coffee House and Darbar Studios — are being set up within our new Darbar Arts Lab, a multi-purpose venue in Hayes, with all profits reinvested into the charity. We are also finalising a strategic refresh to set our trajectory for the next five years. It’s an exciting time to join us.
The Role
This is a newly-created post at the heart of Darbar — the trusted Executive Assistant to our Founder and Artistic Director, Sandeep Virdee OBE, and the person who keeps the Darbar Arts Lab running smoothly day to day.
The AD is the creative and strategic engine of Darbar. This role exists to make his work sustainable and to give him the structure, foresight and proactive support that frees him to operate at his best. It is a role for someone who is at home moving fluently between drafting a confidential letter to a major funder, briefing the Artistic Director ahead of a Barbican Centre meeting and ensuring the right paperwork reaches the right trustee before a Board meeting. It calls for judgement, discretion, warmth, and the calm, organised mind that makes a senior leader’s working life — and a busy small charity’s office — sustainable.
Salary
£38,000 – £42,000 per annum on a full-time-equivalent basis (£22,800 – £25,200 actual at 0.6 FTE), depending on experience
What You Will Do
- Own the Artistic Director’s diary in its entirety — a complex, dynamic calendar of artist meetings, rehearsals, partner conversations, fundraising approaches, media commitments, festival delivery and travel — exercising judgement on what is accepted, declined, deferred or delegated.
- Anticipate scheduling conflicts and resolve them before they become problems; protect preparation, recovery and thinking time around intensive periods; brief the Artistic Director clearly and concisely ahead of each commitment.
- Coordinate domestic and international travel — flights, accommodation, visas and itineraries — with precision and foresight.
- Triage and manage the Artistic Director’s inbox; draft, proof-read and respond to correspondence on his behalf; act as a professional and courteous first point of contact for artists, agents, funders, broadcasters and venue partners worldwide.
- Prepare briefing notes, research summaries, board papers and presentations to a high standard.
- Support the Artistic Director’s media, broadcast and public-profile engagements in liaison with the marketing team, and keep his professional bio and speaker materials current.
- Maintain absolute discretion and confidentiality at all times, including in relation to contractual, personnel and financial matters.
Smooth Running of the Darbar Arts Lab
- Keep the Darbar Arts Lab office running smoothly day to day — the working environment, supplies, cleaning and maintenance contracts, permits, alarm and access systems, and supplier relationships.
- Coordinate day-to-day health and safety compliance, including risk assessments and first-aid and fire-marshal arrangements, and support insurance renewals.
- Provide governance administration: circulate Board papers, maintain trustee records and the conflict-of-interest and pro-bono registers, and provide meeting and minute-taking support.
- Support onboarding and offboarding administration, maintain orderly digital filing (SharePoint), and keep operational workflows moving in Monday.com and Bright HR.
Programme Awareness & Stakeholder Engagement
This post is not a festival-delivery role. What it requires is a confident working understanding of Darbar’s programme portfolio so that the postholder can engage effectively with colleagues and represent the Artistic Director well.
- Hold a working understanding of Darbar’s portfolio — the festivals, the Sky Arts broadcast partnership, the Darbar Player OTT platform and the Darbar Academy — sufficient to engage knowledgeably with the COO, Head of Programmes and external partners.
- Act as an informed and reliable point of contact on the Artistic Director’s behalf with key partners including the Barbican Centre, the Royal Albert Hall, Sky Arts and regional venue partners.
- Provide proportionate administrative support around festival and event periods (the Darbar Festival at the Barbican in late October, Culture Festival Leicester, and regional events), working through and alongside the delivery team rather than running logistics directly.
- Support donor and VIP correspondence and the stewardship of Darbar’s supporter and patron relationships as required.
Senior-Team Recruitment Support
Darbar is in an active period of senior recruitment. The postholder will give the Artistic Director focused, confidential support across the hiring cycle.
- Coordinate interview scheduling and panel diaries, and manage candidate correspondence with professionalism and discretion.
- Prepare and circulate recruitment packs, application materials and shortlisting documentation in good order.
- Administer references, right-to-work checks and offer-letter paperwork, working with the COO and external HR adviser.
- Maintain confidential, well-organised recruitment records throughout each appointment.
General
- Track actions, maintain accurate records and process expenses; keep the Artistic Director and COO sighted on what needs to happen and by when.
- Undertake any other duties appropriate to the role as reasonably requested by the Artistic Director or COO.
Person Specification
Essential
- A substansive experience as a Personal Assistant, Executive Assistant or Senior Administrator supporting a senior leader, ideally in a creative, cultural, charitable or public sector environment;
- Demonstrable office management and operations experience: facilities, health and safety, insurance, supplier management and governance administration;
- Exceptional organisational and time-management skills, with a demonstrable ability to manage multiple competing priorities calmly and effectively;
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills; capable of drafting professional correspondence, briefings and reports to a high standard;
- High level of proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and familiarity with digital project-management tools (Monday.com or equivalent);
- Proven ability to maintain strict confidentiality and handle sensitive information with discretion and integrity;
- Highly proactive, self-motivated and resourceful — able to work independently and use initiative with minimal direction;
- Calm, professional and solutions-focused, particularly under pressure;
- Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage confidently and diplomatically with a wide range of stakeholders at all levels;
- Genuine alignment with and enthusiasm for Darbar’s mission and the value of Indian classical music;
- Right to work in the UK without restriction (visa sponsorship is not available for this post).
Desirable
- Experience working within the arts, music, heritage or charity sectors;
- Familiarity with Arts Council England processes, reporting frameworks or NPO requirements;
- Knowledge of or interest in South Asian arts, culture or heritage;
- Experience supporting or coordinating international travel arrangements, including visa and Certificate of Sponsorship applications for visiting artists;
- Understanding of event and festival production environments;
- Experience using CRM systems, SharePoint, Bright HR or equivalent operational platforms.
Behaviours
- Discreet, loyal and trustworthy — this role sees and handles highly sensitive information;
- Warm and collegiate, with the ability to anticipate rather than react;
- Calm and resilient during festival periods and peak workloads;
- Willing to roll sleeves up on operational tasks alongside high-level executive-assistant work.
How to Apply
Applications without a covering letter will not be considered, regardless of CV quality.
Your covering letter should explain, with specific examples:
- Why you are applying for this role at Darbar specifically;
- How your experience meets the essential criteria in the Person Specification above;
- Your experience supporting a senior leader’s diary, inbox and correspondence, and your experience of office or operations management.
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and early application is strongly encouraged. Darbar is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and welcomes applications from all backgrounds.
Pay: £38,000.00-£42,000.00 per year
Experience:
- Executive Assistant : 6 years (required)
Work Location: In person
