Work with us: Discover Secondary Lead Facilitator

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Young Sounds UK is recruiting a Lead Facilitator to join our team. The Lead Facilitator will play a central role in establishing, piloting and growing the Young Sounds Discover Secondary training offer. Helping educators identify musical talent and potential in all young people, through working with music technology in electronic and Black-British music.  

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Role	Lead Facilitator – Discover Secondary
Reports to	Discover Programme Manager
Programme development	28 hours per month (£44 per hour).
Programme delivery	A minimum of six days per year (£400 per day).
Contract	Initial 12-month contract to be extended by mutual agreement.
Location	This is a home-based role, with regular UK-wide travel required.

The application deadline for this role is midday on Monday 10 August 2026.

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Role Overview

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The Lead Facilitator is a senior creative practitioner who will play a central role in establishing, piloting and growing the Young Sounds Discover Secondary training offer. Discover exists to make music education fairer by helping educators identify musical talent and potential in all young people, through the 8 Facets of Musical Potential and the programme’s underpinning pedagogical principles. Discover Secondary extends this approach to secondary-aged young people working with music technology in electronic and Black-British music.  

Discover Secondary is grounded in EQUALIZE, an AHRC-funded research project led by Young Sounds UK in partnership with the Black Music Research Unit (University of Westminster). Working directly with secondary-aged young people in Bradford and Birmingham, we investigated how electronic and Black-British music can re-engage students in music and reveal musical potential that traditional curricula often overlook. Its findings provide the evidence base for the Discover Secondary training model that this role will help to develop and deliver. 

As a new strand of the programme, the role has a significant initial focus on development: working closely with the Programme Manager to design, test and refine the training model and its supporting resources before it enters wider delivery. As the offer establishes, the Lead Facilitator will work with the Programme Manager to recruit, train and lead a new team of associate facilitators – delivering high-quality training sessions themselves, modelling best practice, and supporting the team to deliver consistently and confidently. They will also contribute to the programme’s quality assurance and evaluation processes. 

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Key Responsibilities

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Programme development 

• Work closely with the Programme Manager to design, develop and refine the Discover Secondary training model, drawing on the findings and resources from the Equalize project. 

• Develop training sessions and supporting resources that translate the 8 Facets and Discover’s pedagogical principles into a secondary, electronic music context. 

• Pilot new sessions with the Programme Manager, gathering feedback and iterating before they enter wider delivery. 

• Build the programme’s evidence base, contributing to supporting resources, documentation and reflective practice. 

• Help shape the future direction of Discover Secondary, identifying opportunities to expand into new settings and reach new audiences – including context-specific sessions for different educator groups and deeper, advanced sessions for more experienced practitioners. 

Building and leading the Facilitator team 

• Work with the Programme Manager to recruit a team of Associate Facilitators, prioritising diverse representation and lived experience of electronic and Black-British music. 

• Train new Facilitators and support the team to deliver confidently and consistently in line with the programme framework. 

• Mentor the team, providing ongoing guidance, feedback and developmental input. 

• Lead the team’s CPD, co-planning and delivering development days and designing sessions that respond to identified team needs. 

• Foster a reflective, collaborative team culture, attending regular check-ins, and core team meetings with the Programme Manager and Primary Lead Facilitator. 

Session planning and delivery 

• Plan and deliver high-quality Discover Secondary training sessions for music educators, in line with the programme’s ethos and underpinning pedagogical principles. 

• Liaise with the Programme Manager and co-delivering Facilitators to plan sessions and ensure a consistent approach across settings. 

• Model best practice in delivery across the programme. 

Quality assurance and evaluation 

• Complete session monitoring and evaluation as requested, contributing through reflective practice and feedback. 

• Support the Programme Manager in maintaining quality and fidelity to the programme framework across the team, including delivery observations as requested. 

• Contribute to the programme’s evaluation, helping ensure the model remains evidence-based and responsive to participant experience. 

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Skills and Experience

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Essential  

Key Skills  

Credible, current practice in electronic music production and a deep understanding of and respect for Black-British electronic music is essential for this role, as well as professional-level music production skills, including: 

• DAW fluency – expert command of Logic Pro and Ableton Live, and understanding of how skills transfer across other platforms. 

• Genre-authentic drum programming and processing 

• Creative Sampling – editing, resampling, time-stretching, granular techniques, extracting rhythmic and melodic material, and manipulating source sounds. 

• Synthesis and sound design – across methods (subtractive, FM, wavetable, granular); programming patches and designing original sounds. 

• Signal processing / DSP – EQ, dynamics, modulation and time-based effects, gain staging and building creative signal chains. 

• Recording – capturing and editing vocals, live instruments and found sound. 

• Arrangement and composition – structuring tracks to genre conventions. 

• Mixing and finishing – mixing to a release-ready standard 

Successful applicants will also have:

• Excellent facilitation and training skills, able to model best practice and build confidence in others – both classroom teachers and fellow Facilitators. 

• Ability to translate research and practice insight into clear, deliverable training and resources for time-pressured educators. 

• Strong communication skills across a range of audiences, from young people to teachers to senior stakeholders. 

• Working understanding of the secondary music landscape, including the KS3 and KS4 curriculum, progression pathways and the practical realities of school settings. 

Personal Qualities 

• Proactive and self-directed; able to work remotely and manage own workload without direct supervision. 

• Reflective and collaborative; fosters a supportive team culture and welcomes feedback. 

• Adaptable and responsive to different school and learner contexts. 

• Committed to inclusive, diverse and socially just music education. 

• Energy, enthusiasm and passion for supporting young people with musical potential. 

Experience 

• Substantial experience delivering music-making and/or music education in electronic and Black-British genres using music technology. 

• Experience training, mentoring or supporting other educators/practitioners (i.e. delivering CPD to adults, not only young people). 

• Experience working with secondary-aged young people. 

• Experience developing sessions, resources or curriculum content. 

Desirable  

• Lived experience of electronic and Black-British music cultures.  

• Experience working in or alongside secondary schools, or qualified teacher status. 

• Experience of co-creative or student-centred pedagogies. 

• Knowledge and experience of safeguarding procedures. 

Other requirements 

• An ability to travel around the UK is essential (your own transport would be helpful although it’s not essential). Expenses will be reimbursed for travel and overnight accommodation if this is needed and agreed in advance. 

• Right to work in the UK. 

• This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check. 

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Application process

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Expressions of interest should be submitted via email to [email protected] 

It’s for you to decide how to present your case but please include, in no more than three pages, the following: 

• Your name, postal address, email address and telephone number. 

• Evidence that you meet the skills and experience required. 

• Why you’re interested in the role. 

• The name of two organisations you have worked with previously who we could approach for a reference should you progress to the final stage of the process. Please note we would not approach referees without checking with you first. 

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Timeline

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The deadline for expressions of interest is 12pm (noon) on Monday 10 August 2026. 

Interviews will be held in person between 24 August and 4 September 2026, date and location to be confirmed. Please let us know in your application if you have any commitments which may impact your availability during this timeframe.

Formal start date will be agreed with the successful applicant; however the contract is expected to commence early September 2026.