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Bealtaine 2014
Bealtaine is the national festival celebrating creativity in older age during the month of May.
Over 118,000 people took part in Bealtaine in 2013, with 647 partners involved in 3,371
events, making it one of Ireland’s biggest arts festivals.
From dance to cinema, painting to theatre, Bealtaine showcases the talents and skills of
both established and first-time older artists and performers. It is a chance to make new and
challenging work, a chance to communicate traditions between the generations, a chance to
delve a little deeper into a new area of understanding. Bealtaine creates the space to
discover talents until now unseen
2014 is Bealtaine’s 19th year and the festival has had a profound and highly visible impact
on arts practice in Ireland at local, regional and national level over this period.
Bealtaine is now Ireland’s largest co-operative Arts festival and a global cultural first,
increasingly recognised as a major innovator in the area of creativity and older people. The
festival is a model of how collaboration and partnership across sectors and art forms can
work in mutually beneficial ways. Bealtaine aims to create greater access to all art forms by
brokering a sophisticated network of partnerships and in doing so works to develop new and
existing audiences for the arts in Ireland.
Co-ordinated by Age & Opportunity, the Bealtaine festival encourages greater participation
in the Arts by older people as artists, performers, event organisers and audience. The festival
embraces all art forms including theatre, film, music, dance, painting, storytelling amongst
many others.
The Bealtaine Festival 2014 is now looking for a number of interns who will play crucial roles
in supporting the festival and liaising with the public. The office is based in Dublin and may
involve some travel around the city.
We are keen to support the professional development of our interns; an internship with
Bealtaine will provide unique opportunities to be involved in a successful festival and
learn/develop skills.
Reporting Duties
 Reporting to the Arts & Culture Programme Manager or
 Reporting to the Curator of Performing Arts and Literature or the Curator of Visual
Arts as appropriate
General Responsibilities
 To assist and support the Programme Manager and the Curatorial Team in the
development and delivery of the Bealtaine Festival
 To provide administrative support to the Bealtaine programme
 To provide general support to the Bealtaine programme
Role 1 PUBLIC LIAISON
 To act as a point of contact for members of the public and people taking part in the
festival.
 To have responsibility for liaising with people and groups who have been invited to
participate in the festival and contacting them when necessary
 To respond to enquiries from the public and directing people to local and national
Bealtaine events
 To respond to requests for information from the public and to maintain a record of
all such calls, keeping sufficiently up to date with the work programme in order to
be an informed first point of contact for the public.
Role 2 PR, MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA ASSISTANT
 Liaising with local and regional groups on their plans for Bealtaine and synthesising it
for a PR consultant.
 Organising radio adverts, assisting with writing press releases
 To assist with the monitoring and updating of the Bealtaine data base of contacts on
an ongoing basis.
 Assisting with keeping the Bealtaine website and Facebook updated
 Assisting with the development of other social networking media as appropriate
Role 3 FESTIVAL ASSISTANT
 Assisting with the Festival launch
 General Admin re invites and distribution of festival programme
 To assist with the planning and undertaking of mail shots and the distribution of
printed materials in the most efficient and cost effective manner.
 To take responsibility for archiving and storage of administrative records, printed
materials and publications.
General requirements
 To follow the procedures outlined in Age & Opportunity’s Procedures manual
 To take part in reviews of performance
 To work in an organised way and ensure clear communication of work
completed and work in progress at all times
 To undertake any other tasks as may from time to time be requested
SKILLS REQUIRED FOR ALL VOLUNTEER ADMINISTRATION SUPPORT POSTS
1. Computers/IT, General Education, Office Administration
 Thorough knowledge of relevant computer applications including word processing,
spreadsheets and databases skills to enable self -servicing on a administrative level
 Ability to utilise information technology
 Relevant educational qualifications
 Office administrative skills
 Superior attention to detail
 Methodical & organised
 Willingness to share information
2. Standards of work expected
 Planning and organisational skills and ability to efficiently manage the details of the
work
 Personally focused to ensure delivery of high standards of work
 Ability to work in an organised manner, to research, file and catalogue in a manner
that is transparent and retrievable
 Ability to plan, prepare and complete projects to meet deadlines.
 Ability to handle responsibility and work under pressure
3. Communication & Interpersonal Skills
 Verbal, written and oral communication skills
 Excellent interpersonal skills
4.
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Ethos, Working Methods, Teamwork
Ability to understand concepts relative to ageing
Ability to work as part of a team
Willingness to adapt to the agency’s ethos and working methods
Willingness to share information

Liaison
Ability to create and maintain good working relationships
5.
Time Commitment
We need interns to be available for a minimum of two days a week. All roles are needed
from March 2014 to the first week in June. All interns will be based in Dublin.
What can we offer?
Out of pocket expenses
Free entry to performances/events
Please send your CV with a covering letter to
Ciarán McKinney
Arts & Culture Programme Manager
Age & Opportunity
Marino Institute of Education
Griffith Avenue
Dublin 9.