RAI Film Officer (Part-time Maternity Cover)

DEADLINE: 12 January 2025

Part-time post (3 days a week) | Maternity cover

Location: Hybrid model- two days a week in our offices in Fitzrovia, London.
Salary:£35,935 Annual: £21,561 pro rata

Start Date: 27th January 2025

Closing Date for Applications: 12 January 2025
Interviews will be held on 17 and 20 January 2025

About RAI

The Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland (RAI) is the world’s longest-established scholarly association dedicated to the furtherance of anthropology (the study of humankind) in its broadest and most inclusive sense. The pursuit of ethnographic film has long been a key part of the RAI’s activities, and it has been developed by RAI FILM, the film section of the RAI, created in 1955. RAI FILM’s diverse range of activities include the distribution of a broad ethnographic film catalogue in constant expansion, the preservation of a film archive, and the organisation of the RAI FILM Festival (an internationally renowned biennial event showcasing films and documentaries that focus on the world’s diverse cultures and communities) and of many other film-related year-round activities.

About the role

The RAI is seeking to appoint a part-time maternity cover (3 days/week) to work alongside the Film Officer & Festival Manager and manage ongoing operations, while fulfilling the strategic plans of the Film Office. This is a particularly significant time for the RAI’s film department, as the technology, the forms of distribution of visual media, and the social context of its production and consumption are changing so rapidly. The successful candidate will lead the day-to-day management and development of the RAI’s film distribution (digital and DVD), marketing and sales. Crucial to the role is building relationships with filmmakers and onboarding their films for distribution.

In addition, the Film Officer will carry out administrative duties and act as secretary for the Film Committee. It is expected that the Film Officer will have an undergraduate and/or postgraduate degree in anthropology, film and/or arts and have a genuine enthusiasm for the disciplines. Equally important is a demonstrable interest and familiarity with ethnographic film, since the role will involve close liaison with practitioners as well as university teachers and researchers using ethnographic film in their work. The Film Officer also needs to be a good communicator, competent at using social and other online media, as well as good at face-to-face contact. Working as part of a small and dedicated team, they will be expected to take an active part in the RAI’s core activities and programmes in close collaboration with other members of staff, as well as to work unsupervised, and to lend a hand in more general tasks as required.

This role is on a hybrid model and requires 2 days per week (or otherwise in relevant meetings and activities) on-site at our offices in Fitzrovia, London. The remaining day may be taken as work from home.

The contract is due to commence with effect from 27th January 2025 for 6 months, with potential to extend to up to 1 year.

Salary

The salary will be £21,561 per annum for a three-day a week post (equivalent to full time salary of £35,935) plus 10% pension, inclusive of London Allowance.

Key responsibilities

• Ongoing management and development of the RAI’s film, video and DVD holdings, distribution, and sales, including administering royalties with the long-term aim of ensuring the stability, economic viability and expansion of the RAI’s ethnographic film programme.
• Contacting and meeting filmmakers about film distribution, drafting and signing contracts, as well as gathering relevant materials for each film distributed.
• Receiving and advising visitors to the collection.
• Designing covers, labels, poster and producing assets for both DVDs and VoD platforms.
• Liaising with technical stakeholders to process film files.
• Maintaining distribution administration and keep presentation decks and docs up to date.
• Research new ways of developing the digital distribution, identifying trends and dynamics in the film industry and the evolving distribution landscape.
• Film archive: Receiving donations, entering them into the archive database, labelling them, checking film, storing it. Liaising with storage facilities.
• Adding new films to RAI website and Vimeo platform.
• Marketing and PR: writing newsletters, sending out films for review, getting films screened at events and festivals, actively reaching out to potential customers and partners, writing and editing social media posts.
• External liaison: active development of, and participation in, the RAI’s national and international outreach in the area of film and visual anthropology, and in other areas as opportunities arise. This may involve, for example, proposing films to conferences upon request.
• Assisting in the production of the film festival.
• Supervision and care of volunteers and interns as appropriate.
• Servicing of the RAI’s Film Committee: liaising with the Committee Chair and members, convening meetings as required, preparing documents and writing minutes.
• Active engagement with other RAI operations and staff, harnessing and sharing the potential of film, and related audiovisual media as appropriate.
• Assist with other RAI events, including research seminars and workshops, and the RAI’s biennial anthropology conference.

What you will bring

• A passion for cinema, ideally with an anthropological background and training in ethnographic filmmaking, with a keen interest in growing and learning about the ethnographic cinema landscape, in and out of academia.
• Film programming experience, with a hands-on and practical approach.
• Event coordination skills and experience.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Strong organisational, administrative and reporting skills.
• Ability to multitask and juggle simultaneous projects of various scales.
• Impeccable attention to detail and strong diligence.
• Ability to work independently toward deadlines.

Person specification

Application process

The closing date for applications is 12 January 2025. Applications, which should consist of letter and CV, including the names and contact details of two referees, should be sent to admin@therai.org.uk. References will be taken up for short-listed candidates only. If for any reason, a reference should not be taken up at that point, this should be clearly indicated.

It is likely that interviews will be held on 17 and 20 January 2025. Shortlisted candidates will be informed on 15 January 2025.

Informal enquiries may be addressed to admin@therai.org.uk.

The contract is due to commence with effect from 27th January 2025 for 6 months, with potential to extend to up to 1 year.