Independent Members of the Learning & Participation Committee


About the Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House (ROH) aims to enrich people`s lives through opera and ballet. Home to two of the world`s great artistic companies - The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet, performing with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House - the ROH seeks to be always accessible and engaging, to develop audiences across the UK and to break new ground in the presentation of lyric theatre.

ROH believes the art forms of opera and ballet can both entertain and offer deep emotional and intellectual fulfilment; they are a direct link to the combined experiences of past generations and a lens on the contemporary world. Engaging with opera and ballet has the potential to enhance the wellbeing of individuals and communities.

Outside of COVID-19, it is one of the busiest theatres in the world, delivering over 400 performances and around 1,350learning events each year, employing 850 permanent staff and generating a turnover of £142m, and attracting 1.5m attendances in Covent Garden and in cinemas, further extended via broadcasting, digital activity and collaboration with touring companies.

Learning & Participation at the ROH

Learning and Participation (L&P) is central to ROH`s mission to ensure that many more people engage with world-class opera and ballet. An extensive programme based at its Covent Garden and Thurrock homes and spanning across England, it aims to inspire creativity and give people of all ages the chance to discover, question and respond to the power of its artforms.

The L&P programme is distinctive in its scale and ambitions. Creative projects involve more than 50,000 participants, and tens of thousands more young people with arts and culture through the National Schools Programmes, via its second home in Thurrock and as a `Bridge` organisation in the East of England. ROH`s digital learning resources receive hundreds of thousands of views, and so it has a central role to play in cultivating a healthy future for opera and ballet. It is committed to uncovering and nurturing young talent in all its diversity.

As ROH faces the challenges of a post-COVID world, it wants to re-double its efforts to make a meaningful difference to the lives of individuals and communities, with three priorities:

  • Greater focus on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion to widen the diversity of people engaging in opera and ballet
  • Scaling up its work to reach more people without diminishing the quality of its engagement
  • Maximising the potential of digital learning

Professional background and experience

  • Significant experience in a trustee or non-executive positions or a track record of influencing the direction of your organisation at board level.
  • Experience as a senior practitioner or advisor in the education sector of driving digital and e-learning programmes. OR
  • Professional experience of driving outreach and community engagement within a third sector or government organisation, or in a profit-for-purpose context.

Time commitment

  • The Committee has four meetings per year, each of which lasts for two hours; three are held online and the fourth is extended and held in-person. This structure will be reviewed at the end of the first year.

The Royal Opera House is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment in which everyone can thrive. We welcome applications from those who are currently underrepresented in our workforce; in particular, those who are ethnically diverse and/or disabled.

The recruitment for this role is being run by Nurole, the board-level hiring platform. To find out more and apply you will need to request to become a member of Nurole, which is free and completely confidential. To do so please go to https://www.nurole.com/roles/2vE6 and quote `ROH2021` when requesting membership. Nurole has a few criteria for membership and cannot guarantee an invitation to all who request it but if further assistance is needed, please contactenquiries@nurole.com.The closing date is Midnight at the end of 3rd June 2021.