Head Engineer

Job Description – Head Engineer 

Details

Job title:Head Engineer 

Reports to:Head of Operations

Line manager for:Trainee engineer/studio assistant, freelance engineers and external 

agencies (maintenance contracts)

Salary:£35k - £40k per annum + performance-related bonus 

Hours of work:Full-time

Term:Permanent (following probation period)

Probation period:3 months

Period of notice:3 months

Annual leave:30 days inclusive of statutory holidays (increasing with length of service)

Location:Talent House, 3 Sugar House Lane, Stratford, London E15 2QS 

Expenses:Travel during the course of business will be reimbursed

Pension: This post is subject to auto-enrolment in Urban Development’s pension scheme. 

Introduction

UD’s vision is to be THE talent development centre and national youth music organisation for commercial and Black music - recognised by the public sector for the social and cultural impact of our work and respected and rewarded by the private sector for the value we add to the commercial music industry. With over 20 years of experience in nurturing and supporting Black and culturally diverse artists when they need it most, UD acts as a bridge between burgeoning talent and the music industry.

We are passionate about excellence, and the potential for excellence in every young person we encounter. Aligning professionalism and business acumen with an understanding of youth and subculture, we run industry-led events, artist development and employment support programmes to support young people and emerging artists/professionals to access, and progress within, the highly competitive music industry.

Since 2000, we have produced transformational personal, social and creative outcomes for participants (14 – 25-year-olds, 70% Black Asian and Minority Ethnic and those from communities facing socio-economic disadvantage). Artists we’ve worked with in their early careers are now commercial household names. Young people and emerging professionals we’ve supported now work at major industry institutions.

We are now positioned to ‘fast forward’ our organisational development, sector impact, and growth trajectory – to scale up. In January 2022, we will launch the Talent House, delivered in partnership with East London Dance and designed by award-winning architect Katy Marks. A pioneering music and dance hub boasting professional facilities, including digital broadcast capability throughout, it will lift the aspirations of all who use it. With five music recording studios, a live room, two vocal booths, a large flexible space for rehearsals, seminars, informal gigs and jams, a Mac media lab (with 21 workstations for music education), two dance studios and a shared area for members (including a canteen and hot-desking space), Talent House will become THE cultural hub for emerging talent. 

The successful candidate will have professional audio experience to an excellent standard and be prepared to produce, record and deliver finished mixes in a wide variety of musical styles to meet the needs of our client base. You will be committed to working with the UD team to grow the client base and generate income for the business against agreed targets and to develop a vibrant and diverse creative community at the Talent House. You will help to create an exceptional customer experience including delivering studio engineering and music production tasks with excellence whilst contributing to the company’s business development targets.

Main purpose of the role

The Head Engineer is responsible for managing the UD Studios at The Talent House, ensuring a high quality and positive customer experience, and integrating the studio business and operations with the UD team including contributing to business development targets.

Key responsibilities

1. Studio management

1. Responsible for all technical aspects of the complex including (but not limited to):

• Keeping the equipment and systems maintained and in good working order

• Managing maintenance contracts 

• Studio housekeeping (file back-up etc) 

• Technical support to UD team

2. Engineer weekday recording/mixing sessions (primarily Studio 1 or 2) based on agreed number of hours

3. Plan, liaise and help to provide technical solutions for projects within the UD pipeline in conjunction with the A&R, Education Team, Product Manager and Director, such as showcasing, events, live streaming

4. Good organisation and studio management skills 

5. Work closely with the Community Manager and Head of Operations to oversee operations and facilities management for the smooth running of the UD studios:

• Implement the bookings strategy 

• Manage the allotted studio budget.

• Manage the opening and locking up of the studios (including out of hours) 

• Manage the Health & Safety of the studios, particularly in view of Covid safety to protect hirers, users and UD staff.

6. Manage the studio team:

• Manage the Studio Assistant to support studio management, engineering and operations tasks.

• Book/manage freelance sessional engineers if/as required. The staffing structure for the studios will be flexible whilst The Talent House establishes itself.

2. Business development

Work collaboratively with the team - Community Manager, Marketing Manager and A&R in particular - to achieve UD’s business development and hire targets including: 

• building a network of artists and producers, music industry and media professionals using the UD Studios.

• signposting new users of the UD Studios to the Community Manager for cross-selling or up-selling to UD membership scheme etc.

• working with the Marketing Manager to develop content for dissemination via social media and newsletters.

3. General

• Ensure delivery of personal work plan on time, to specification and on budget

• Provide regular reports to line manager

• Attend regular company/team meetings as required.

Team values: 

• We contribute to the overall aims and ethos of the organisation. 

• We understand that data is king/queen

• We work to a high standard of personal time management and to UD’s quality standards 

• We are committed to personal continuing professional development

• We support other team members as appropriate 

• We adhere to company policy on equality and diversity, safeguarding (child protection, security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person) and health and safety policy (including risk assessment and safety systems)

• We recognise the need within a small organisation to be flexible in work and time management practice and perform any other duties that may be reasonably required by the organisation as ‘a team player’.

Person Specification (What You’ll Need) 

Experience: 

• Have at least 5 years’ experience working within large recording studio environments or a proven track record of engineering, mixing and music production credits

• Full competency with DAW programmes, Including Pro Tools, Logic Pro X Ableton Live and FL Studio, plus experience using and managing Apple Mac products within studio environments

• Extensive knowledge and proven use of large format recording/mixing consoles, recording equipment, microphones, outboard equipment, patchbays, monitoring systems, interfaces, converters and Dante Protocol Recording systems

• Proven experience recording and mixing both acoustic and electronic instrumentation

• Ability to set up and operate live sound systems and lighting systems

• Experience with audio wiring, soldering and equipment maintenance

• A thorough knowledge of mixing and preparing audio files for video syncing 

• Experience or proven knowledge of live steaming, podcasts and radio broadcast

• Experience managing assistants, interns, freelance engineers and music producers

• A record of achievement in a comparable organisation specifically relevant to the purpose of the role – commercial music industry/youth culture

• Commercial wisdom and strong business discipline

• Experience mentoring or teaching individuals, ideally in audio production

• An ability to be pro-active, to initiate, innovate, plan, organise and communicate

• Experience of working with teams to support defining the direction and strategies of campaigns/an organisation

• Evidenced experience of implementing effective marketing strategies of comparable scale

• Experience of successfully managing and developing external relationships and partnership-working at a high level

• Experience of managing complex projects including contracts and relationship management

• Experience of controlling and managing budgets

• Effective and versatile communication skills, in particular the ability to communicate in writing and verbally with a wide range of people.

Personal Attributes: 

• Commitment to working with Black, Asian and other ethnic minority communities who are interested in making Black music 

• Enthusiasm for the organisation’s aims, a strong understanding of the music industry/youth culture issues, formal and informal learning, marketing, and an interest in all areas of the organisation’s work

• An awareness of media relevant to music/youth and community sectors

• Ability to represent an organisation clearly and compellingly to internal and external audiences

• Integrity

• Be self-motivated and the ability to take the initiative 

• Ability to work effectively with colleagues

• Ability to support a working environment which attracts and retains talent. 

• Ability to work under pressure with the flexibility to adapt quickly to varying and complex workloads

• Hunger and drive to make a difference through your work 

• Knowledge of and commitment to the principles and practice of Equal Opportunities, diversity and inclusion 

• Ability to problem-solve and develop new approaches 

• Be prepared to work as requested by a member of the Senior Management Team.

Terms and conditions:

See contract for full details.