Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch, the producing theatre serving Outer East London and South Essex, is seeking a visionary and dynamic individual to join them as Chief Executive Officer.
If you are passionate about the performing arts, value the Queen’s Theatre community, share our commitment to inclusivity and bring leadership skills and experience, we invite you to play a pivotal role in shaping the future of our award-winning theatre.
We are looking for an innovative, forward-thinking, strategic individual to join us as CEO to help oversee the next chapter in Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s history as we head towards our 75th anniversary year. This role is a board appointment and the successful candidate will lead a thriving and embedded cultural offer for the London Borough of Havering – we are seeking someone who is as ambitious as the theatre itself.
If you have the drive, skill set and enthusiasm to make a difference, then please read on.
Who we are
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch objective:
“…to promote, maintain, improve and advance education and the Arts particularly by the production of plays and the encouragement of the Arts including the arts of drama, mime, dance, singing and music”.
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch (QTH) is a mid-scale producing theatre serving Outer East London and South Essex, with a wider catchment area of 1 million+ people. Providing a focal point for our communities, over 220,000 people enjoy the programme and activities each year, including the best in homegrown theatre, visiting live entertainment and inspiring community projects. Beyond this, we are a pivotal employer and provide a vibrant and holistic resource for the people of the borough through our range of community activities and artist development programmes – across all ages, from baby sensory workshops and working with schools to our dementia-focused activities
This is an exciting moment in the theatre’s journey, as we head towards our 75th anniversary. Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch continues to strengthen its artistic reputation as a midscale producing theatre. We proudly produce and co-produce in our 507-seat auditorium. We create ambitious new and established dramas, musicals and comedy with a growing list of trusted local and national partners and co-producers.
The CEO will build on the strong foundations already established across a wide range of partnerships, while helping the organisation continue to grow its impact, strengthen its resilience and deepen its connection with communities across Havering, Outer East London and South Essex and beyond.
About the role
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) reports to the Board, providing strategic leadership and overall direction as Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch (QTH) heads towards its 75th anniversary.
Working alongside a dedicated senior leadership team, the CEO is responsible for upholding QTH’s vision and ensuring financial resilience, artistic excellence and a supportive organisational culture.
By cultivating key stakeholder partnerships and driving both commercial and charitable growth, the CEO will expand QTH’s civic impact and deepen its connection with communities across Havering, Outer East London and South Essex.
Key responsibilities include:
Strategic and Financial Management
Developing long-term business plans, financial strategies and environmental targets while maximising income across commercial activities.
Artistic and Community Alignment
Overseeing programming alongside the Creative Director, leading in-house and co-productions and keeping community engagement fundamental to the theatre.
Governance and Stakeholder Advocacy
Serving as Company Secretary, ensuring statutory compliance and maintaining strong relations with Arts Council England, local authorities and national partners.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for an innovative, forward-thinking, strategic individual to join us as CEO to help oversee the next chapter in Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s history as we head towards our 75th anniversary year. This role is a board appointment and the successful candidate will lead a thriving and embedded cultural offer for the London Borough of Havering – we are seeking someone who is as ambitious as the theatre itself.
We are seeking a visionary, ambitious and resilient leader with substantial senior strategic experience within a theatre or comparable venue. The ideal candidate brings strong financial acumen combined with creative insight, balancing artistic risk-taking with sound commercial judgment.
As an inspiring communicator and advocate, you will motivate teams, build dynamic external networks and champion equality, diversity and inclusion across the organisation.
Key skills and experience include:
- Strategic Planning and Income Generation
Proven track record in strategic business planning, contract negotiations, people management and meeting challenging financial targets - Programming and Partnerships
Significant experience in producing strategic programming and establishing artistic, commercial and local authority partnerships. - Leadership and Advocacy
Ability to lead through change, empower teams and advocate effectively with funders, decision-makers and the public. - Equality and Inclusion
A proactive commitment to embedding equality, diversity and inclusion while removing barriers to representation.
To view the role description and person specification, please go to the ‘How to Apply’ tab above, fill in your details and download the candidate pack.
For further information or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners:
Alastair Mitchell | alastair@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07944 354762
Ella Garfinkel | ella@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07432 859534
Welcome from the Chair
I am delighted you have taken this step to learn more about the CEO role at Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch.
Whether you already know Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch well, or are discovering us for the first time, we hope this pack gives you a sense of the ambition, energy and impact of our remarkable organisation.
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch sits at the heart of one of the country’s most rapidly changing parts. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people engage with our work through productions, community projects, participation programmes and learning activities. We are proud of the role we play in bringing people together, providing opportunities for creativity and ensuring that great theatre is accessible to as many people as possible.
This is an exciting moment in the theatre’s journey, as we head towards our 75th anniversary. In recent years, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has strengthened its artistic reputation, expanded its community impact and secured significant investment from Arts Council England to support an ambitious programme of development and growth. We have a talented and dedicated team, a committed Board, strong partnerships and a clear sense of purpose.
At the same time, like many organisations across the cultural sector, we are navigating a rapidly changing environment. The opportunity for a CEO is not simply to oversee business and operations, but to help shape what comes next. This is a chance to play a leading role in the next chapter of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s story – building on strong foundations while helping the organisation continue to grow its impact, strengthen its resilience and deepen its connection with communities across Havering, Outer East London and South Essex. For this, we are seeking an exceptional individual who recognises our worth, shares our ambition and has the energy, drive and vision to steer QTH through the next phase of its journey alongside myself as Chair and a dedicated board of trustees.
Thank you for considering this opportunity. I hope this welcome inspires you to join an organisation with a proud history, a strong present and a central role in an ambitious future.
We look forward to hearing from you.
With best wishes,
Spencer Phillips
Chair
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch
About us
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch (QTH) strives to provide a warm welcome to our audiences and participants and is renowned for our varied and vibrant programme, often championing the local writer and working in partnership with producing theatres across the UK to create dynamic touring patterns. Increasingly, we work in different ways to engage new audiences, often hyper-locally in places underserved by arts and culture generally.
2025 included an eclectic and engaging programme of shows from the highly successful tour of Handbagged, produced by QTH and touring nationally for 13 weeks, supported by the National Theatre’s Theatre Nation Partnerships, to the presentation of RIFCO’s South Asian pantomime, Surindella, with stories reflecting Havering’s growing South Asian population.
In our commitment to supporting local companies and platforming stories about our environment, Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch and Havering Changing hosted Daedalus Theatre, developing its production of Disbiosis, a multi-artform series of workshops and performances exploring our relationship with mainstream environmental movements.
Little Red, created by Thurrock-based theatre company Arts Outburst, will take residence in our dedicated learning space in the lead-up to Christmas. This new telling of the well-known story, Little Red Riding Hood, provides an imaginative alternative festive offer for children in the early years.
Our current season includes It Walks Around The House At Night, an unsettling, darkly comic show which we are supporting with award-winning company ThickSkin; The Disappearing Man, a new play by local writer Kenny Emson, co-produced by QTH and HighTide and touring nationally; and Robin Hood, our own pantomime production featuring an original script and music, which provides the centrepiece of our Christmas season.
We also support local artists through our Artist Development programme, “Outer Limits”. Recent sessions have included practitioners from the RSC, the Royal Court and Chichester Festival Theatre. We also offer artistic support and space to organisations applying for funding.
Looking ahead, we are currently developing projects and partnerships that include the following companies: Unicorn Theatre, Curve – Leicester, Lowry – Salford, HighTide, New Wolsey Theatre, Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds, Mercury Theatre – Colchester, Landmark Theatres – Peterborough, Eastern Angles, Northcott Theatre – Exeter, Wiltshire Creative (Salisbury Playhouse), Northern Stage – Newcastle and Royal and Derngate – Northampton.
Communities – Learning and Participation programme
Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch’s Communities programme creates opportunities for people of every generation to take part in theatre, arts and culture, connect with one another and thrive. Our activity, breadth of delivery partners and reach continues to grow, as do our projects and participants.
The programme spans generations, from early years and families to young people, adults and older people. It includes QYouth, large-scale community productions, creative workshops, work experience, artist development, dementia-specialist groups and wellbeing activity for older people.
In 2025/26, more than 30,700 people took part in Communities activity, across 1,473 sessions and 3,760 hours of delivery. The programme worked with 33 schools and supported 26 work experience placements across the borough.
QTH also plays a wider civic role. It leads FUSE Havering, the borough’s Local Cultural Education Partnership and is the lead organisation for Havering Changing (Creative People and Places). Through this work, QTH helps local people, artists, schools and community partners shape a richer cultural life for the borough.
Previous partnerships with the National Theatre, including Public Acts, Speak Up and Theatre Nation Partnerships, connected local communities with ambitious participatory theatre and continue to shape our inclusive, collaborative approach today.
Havering Changing – Creative People and Places
An inspiring community-led arts and cultural project, which is borough-wide and is operationally based at QTH. Backed by more than £1 million of investment from Arts Council England, it empowers local residents to choose, create and participate in their own creative experiences. The project is specifically designed for communities where engagement with the arts is traditionally below the national average.
QTH leads the Havering Changing consortium of eight organisations, enabling our communities to be at the heart of cultural decision-making; to choose, create and take part in inspiring arts and cultural events; to tell new and different stories about Havering; and to build a more connected, ambitious and confident community.
The wider context – London Borough of Havering
- 3rd largest borough in London
- Almost half the borough is dedicated to green space
- Population of 262,000 – increased by 10.5% between 2011-2021, which was higher than average for London boroughs
- In the same period, the number of 0-17 year olds increased by 15.2% compared with a London average of 4.8% and has the 2nd highest number of residents aged 65+.
- This means Havering has the lowest proportion of working-age adults in London, but it is similar to the rest of England.
- 66% of residents identified as White British in 2021 (compared to 83% in 2011). 9 out of 10 people speak English as their main language; 4% speak other European languages, and 0.6% speak Punjabi. The School Census 2023 found that Romanian was the second most common first language among school pupils.
- Average weekly pay is lower than the London average, and there are 11.5% more skilled trades workers compared to the rest of England. 70.5% of households own their home, which is the highest proportion of home ownership in London.
Finance and Operations
We are delighted to receive funding from Arts Council England, as part of the Arts Council’s National Portfolio (ACE NPO) for 2023 – 2026 and for the two-year extension period 2026/27 and 2027/28. Further, the importance of QTH is recognised by regular funding from London Borough of Havering.
Our theatre’s bars and café are operated in-house.
QTH is in a stable financial position following careful building of unrestricted reserves.
As an organisation, we are committed to addressing environmental responsibility and have made some significant inroads to reduce our carbon footprint.
The registered company name (limited by guarantee) of Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is The Havering Theatre Trust Limited (registered company number 00524845), incorporated on 19 October 1953. Details of the Memorandum and Articles of Association can be viewed below.
Accessibility information
The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch is a Disability Confident Committed Employer. We ensure all recruitment processes are inclusive and accessible and champion the hiring of underrepresented groups, including D/eaf, disabled and neurodivergent creatives.
We offer the following amenities:
- Step-free access to the majority of the building
- Accessibility dogs are welcome
- Papers and materials can be presented in different formats
- A sign language interpreter can be arranged for interview
- Working patterns and locations can be adjusted
Reasonable adjustments.
We offer several adjustments to ensure a fair process, including:
- Application: Allowing alternative methods such as video-recorded applications.
- Interviews: Sending interview questions in advance and reimbursing travel expenses.
- Guaranteed Interviews: We will interview any disabled person who meets the basic job requirements.
- Access to Work: We support staff who need government grants for special equipment or support workers.
To arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners:
Alastair Mitchell | alastair@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07944 354762
Ella Garfinkel | ella@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07432 859534
Thank you for your interest in this role. Please download the Role Description and Person Specification.
To formally apply, please submit a CV and supporting statement (ideally maximum 2 sides of A4 each) that clearly outlines your suitability for the role against the criteria provided in the person specification, including your interest and motivation in applying for this position.
Please include your home address, contact email and mobile.
Please ensure that your application is emailed to response@peridotpartners.co.uk, inserting “Application: Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch — Chief Executive Officer” into the subject field. You will receive an acknowledgement of receipt within 2-3 days. If you do not receive an acknowledgement, please contact our admin team.
For further information or to arrange a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Peridot Partners:
Alastair Mitchell | alastair@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07944 354762
Ella Garfinkel | ella@peridotpartners.co.uk | 07432 859534
As a sector-leading executive search consultancy, we know the importance of creating recruitment processes that are fair, inclusive and free from bias. We are committed to promoting equality and diversity and developing a process that values differences.
If you require any job information in an alternative format (e.g. large print), please contact the lead consultant. Please also let us know if you would like to submit your application in an alternative format.
Applicants with disabilities are welcome to contact us in confidence at any stage of the recruitment process to discuss any reasonable adjustments or support that may be required to ensure fair and equal participation.
Recruitment selection processes are based on evidence of competence stated in the person specification and in relation to our values.
Timetable
Closing date: 9 a.m. Monday 9th November
Candidates informed of outcome: Wednesday 11th November
Interviews: Tuesday 17th November
Final Interviews: Tuesday 24th or Wednesday 25th November
Equal Opportunities Monitoring
Peridot and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch are committed to promoting equality and diversity. To help us raise awareness and support a culture that is diverse and recognises and develops the potential of all, we need to appreciate the profile of candidates who apply for positions. We will send you an equality monitoring survey at the point of receiving your application and at the time of placement. This ensures that our processes remain inclusive and equitable throughout and provides us with important data to help us showcase our impact.
The information will be treated confidentially and anonymously and will help us to support our commitment to fair recruitment practice. All information provided will be held in the strictest confidence and will not be shared with anyone, in line with the Data Protection Act 2018.
The information provided does not form part of the decision-making process and will not affect your application. Learn more about why we collect this data here.
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