Cultural policy officer

Cultural policy officers develop and implement policies to improve and promote cultural activities and events. They manage resources and communicate with the public and media in order to facilitate interest in cultural programs and emphasize their importance in a community.

The following job titles also refer to cultural policy officer:

cultural policy worker
culture programmes officer
arts worker
culture programes officer
cultural programs officer
cultural policy director
culture policy officer
culture director
arts administrator
cultural policy coordinator

Bachelor’s degree is generally required to work as cultural policy officer. However, this requirement may differ in some countries.

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

• the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
• the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
• the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Cultural policy officer is a Skill level 4 occupation.

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to cultural policy officer.

community development officer
regional development policy officer
competition policy officer
recreation policy officer
economic policy officer

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of cultural policy officer. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of cultural policy officer with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of cultural policy officer.

Cultural projects: The purpose, organisation and management of cultural projects and related fundraising actions.
Government policy implementation: The procedures related to the application of government policies at all levels of public administration.

These skills are necessary for the role of cultural policy officer.

Create solutions to problems: Solve problems which arise in planning, prioritising, organising, directing/facilitating action and evaluating performance. Use systematic processes of collecting, analysing, and synthesising information to evaluate current practice and generate new understandings about practice.
Maintain relations with local representatives: Maintain good relations with representatives of the local scientific, economic and civil society.
Liaise with cultural partners: Establish and maintain sustainable partnerships with cultural authorities, sponsors and other cultural institutions.
Liaise with local authorities: Maintain the liaison and exchange of information with regional or local authorities.
Build community relations: Establish affectionate and long-lasting relationships with local communities, e.g. by organising special programms for kindergarden, schools and for dissabled and older people, raising awareness and receiving community appreciation in return.
Establish collaborative relations: Establish a connection between organisations or individuals which may benefit from communicating with one another in order to facilitate an enduring positive collaborative relationship between both parties.
Maintain relationships with government agencies: Establish and maintain cordial working relationships with peers in different governmental agencies.
Establish relationship with the media: Adopt a professional attitude to respond effectively to the demands of the media.
Develop media strategy: Create the strategy on the type of content to be delivered to the target groups and which media to be used, taking into account the characteristics of the target audience and the media that will be used for content delivery.
Develop cultural policies: Develop programmes which aim to promote cultural activities and cultural engagement in a community or nation, and which regulate the organisation of cultural institutions, facilities and events.
Provide improvement strategies: Identify root causes of problems and submit proposals for effective and long-term solutions.
Advise on legislative acts: Advise officials in a legislature on the propositioning of new bills and the consideration of items of legislation.
Manage government policy implementation: Manage the operations of the implementation of new government policies or changes in existing policies on a national or regional level as well as the staff involved in the implementation procedure.

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of cultural policy officer. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Project management principles: Different elements and phases of project management.

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of cultural policy officer. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Present a cause: Present the motives and objectives of a certain cause, such as a charity cause or political campaign, to individuals or larger audience in order to gather support for the cause.
Create cultural venue outreach policies: Draw up outreach policies for the museum and any art facility, and a programme of activities directed at all target audiences. Set up a network of exterior contacts to relay information to target audiences to this end.
Evaluate cultural venue programmes: Assist with the appraisal and evaluation of museum and any art facility programmes and activities.
Liaise with event sponsors: Plan meetings with sponsors and event organisers to discuss and monitor upcoming events.
Coordinate events: Lead events by managing budget, logistics, event support, security, emergency plans and follow up.
Work with cultural venue specialists: Call upon the competence of other professionals and specialists, from within and outside the organisation, to contribute to activities and provide documents to improve public access to collections and exhibitions.
Manage cultural facility: Manage the daily operations of a cultural facility. Organise all activities and coordinate the different departments functioning within a cultural facility. Develop a plan of action and arrange the necessary funds.
Develop promotional tools: Generate promotional material and collaborate in the production of promotional text, videos, photos, etc. Keep previous promotional material organised.
Promote cultural venue events: Work together with museum or any art facility staff to develop and promote its events and programme.
Fix meetings: Fix and schedule professional appointments or meetings for clients or superiors.
Develop cultural activities: Develop activities adapted to the outreach and/or audience. Take into account difficulties and needs observed and identified from the perspective of enhancing curiosity and general capability to access to art and culture.
Develop professional network: Reach out to and meet up with people in a professional context. Find common ground and use your contacts for mutual benefit. Keep track of the people in your personal professional network and stay up to date on their activities.
Perform project management: Manage and plan various resources, such as human resources, budget, deadline, results, and quality necessary for a specific project, and monitor the project’s progress in order to achieve a specific goal within a set time and budget.
Perform resource planning: Estimate the expected input in terms of time, human and financial resources necessary to achieve the project objectives.
Conduct public presentations: Speak in public and interact with those present. Prepare notices, plans, charts, and other information to support the presentation.

2422 – Policy administration professionals

 

 

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References

1. Cultural policy officer – ESCO