As part of the on-going Year 11 Youth Music Initiative programme in Aberdeenshire the Arts Development team is looking to appoint a researcher to plan and run a consultation exercise with children and young people in the region.

The Youth Music Initiative (YMI) programme, which is administered nationally by Creative Scotland, has two key purposes:

1/ To meet the Scottish Government’s P6 target that “every school pupil in Scotland should be offered a year of free music tuition by the time they reach Primary 6.”

2/ For projects delivered beyond the P6 target the purpose is: “to engage young people (of any school age) who otherwise would not participate in quality music making activities.”

With these priorities in mind and working closely with the Aberdeenshire YMI team, the consultation will engage with children and young people across Aberdeenshire to ascertain what impact the work is having, what areas of music are popular and where gaps exist that can be addressed in future years.

It is envisaged that the consultation will be with a range of participants such as those undertaking YMI projects, children and young people in other music settings, Visiting Music Specialist’s classes, school councils and Community Learning and Development groups.  It is important to note that Aberdeenshire is a large, mainly rural, locality and evidence will be required from a representative cross-section the region.

The research post is open to cultural professionals and creative artists who will be employed on a freelance basis and will need to be available between May and July (2014) to work with school based groups, with the report completed by the end of August.  Successful candidates will be required to be PVG registered with Disclosure Scotland (Protecting Vulnerable Groups Scheme).

A fee of £5,000 is available for the work, which will cover all research, travel and subsistence, materials and final report.  We will shortlist candidates for interview based on an indication of suitable experience and creative responses to the brief.

To apply please send by email:

• Your CV
• A short description of how you would conduct the research on two sheets of A4, with a breakdown of associated costs, based on the figure above.
• Details of two referees

Deadline for email applications 12 May, 2014 to david.atherton@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

Only email applications will be considered.

Please note interviews are planned for 19 & 20 May, 2014 at Woodhill House in Aberdeen.  Candidates will be judged on the basis of a short presentation and responses to questions from the panel.

For informal discussion and more information about the project please contact:

David Atherton, Arts Education Officer, 01224 665363 david.atherton@aberdeenshire.gov.uk or

Jenna Main, Youth Music Initiative Officer, 01224 664604 jenna.main@aberdeenshire.gov.uk