Faculty of Fine Arts and Music · University of Melbourne
Head of Artistic Operations & Planning
Bringing an executive producer’s oversight to around 500 productions and events each year—leading a large multidisciplinary team and a multimillion-dollar budget across the Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music.
THE PROGRAMME
I lead Artistic Operations & Planning across the Victorian College of the Arts and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, overseeing the producing and production work behind a programme of around 500 productions and events each year.
This is a substantial operation: a large multidisciplinary team, a multimillion-dollar budget, and a programme spanning different art forms, venues and modes of presentation. My responsibility is to bring the people, resources and decisions together across that whole programme, while supporting the teams delivering each individual project.
At programme level, my role combines executive producing oversight with leadership of the production operation. I connect creative ambition with the people, resources and decisions needed to realise it across the programme.
PRODUCING & PRODUCTION
Our team’s remit extends from producing, programme planning and company management through to production management, touring management and the recruitment of creative teams. We also manage stage management and Front of House, connecting the development and preparation of each project with its delivery to an audience.
The team brings together workshop, costume, set and props capabilities alongside lighting, sound, audiovisual and technical operations. That breadth connects the people making the work with the people planning, coordinating and presenting it.
I lead across these interdependent areas, aligning priorities, budgets, schedules and capacity across the programme. It requires an understanding of different creative and technical disciplines, and the ability to make decisions that support both individual productions and the wider operation.
SCALE & FLEXIBILITY
The operation supports students at every stage of their journey. The scale of the work, the experience of the people involved and the support they need vary considerably. Our approach has to be flexible enough to respond to those differences while maintaining consistent standards of delivery.
Students also work in production roles alongside my team, bringing their learning into the practical demands of making and presenting work. That adds an educational dimension to how we operate: creating space for students to contribute and develop, with the guidance and professional support appropriate to their experience and responsibilities.
I lead an operation that can scale its resources and adapt its approach across these different contexts. The challenge is to connect the requirements of the production with the needs of the people learning through it, so that delivery and student development support one another.
BUILDING & LEADING THE TEAM
As the first person in this role, I built the Artistic Operations department from the ground up: developing its structure, recruiting the team and bringing a wide range of specialist capabilities into a connected operation. I had to consider both the expertise each area needed and how those areas would work together across a demanding programme.
Recruitment was about finding people with the expertise, judgement and collaborative approach to work across a complex creative environment. I wanted a team whose members could take ownership of their areas, work confidently with artists and academic colleagues, and contribute to decisions beyond their immediate responsibilities.
My approach to leadership is to give people clarity about what we are working towards, support their development and trust them to lead. In a team of this scale and diversity, that means creating shared expectations while respecting different areas of expertise. I make responsibilities clear, provide context for decisions and stay available to work through challenges, giving people the authority and support to exercise their own judgement.
Building that capability is integral to delivering the programme. My role is to connect the work across the team and create the conditions for people to do it well: supported in their responsibilities, confident in their judgement and able to keep developing.
THE RANGE OF THE WORK
The programme spans international projects such as the University of Melbourne Symphony Orchestra’s Asia tour and the Prague Quadrennial, alongside small studio works and fully realised operas and musicals. It encompasses live music, jazz bands and conferences, as well as outdoor works and performances in non-traditional spaces.
Interdisciplinary collaborations and virtual production extend that range further, bringing different creative practices and technical approaches together. Each setting asks something different of the team: in scale, resources, working methods and the relationships needed to deliver it.
My role is to lead an operation capable of responding to that breadth—bringing the right expertise and support to each project, while keeping the programme connected as a whole.
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