Head of Business Services

Closing date :   10 : 00 on Wednesday 19 November 2025

Interested in learning more about this job Scroll down and find out what skills, experience and educational qualifications are needed.

Interview date :  Monday 01 December and Tuesday 02 December 2025

Start date :  January 2026

Location :   Office based, central Edinburgh

The idea at the heart of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is simple : anyone with a desire to perform and a venue willing to host them is welcome. No individual or committee determines who can or cannot perform at the Fringe.

It all began in 1947 with eight companies – six of them from Scotland – taking a risk, turning up uninvited and performing on the ‘fringe’ of the inaugural Edinburgh International Festival. Over 75 years later, the Fringe has grown to become the greatest platform for creative freedom in the world, second only to the Olympics in terms of global ticketed events.

The  was founded by artists to nurture and uphold the Fringe's values of inclusivity, experimentation and imagination. We exist to support, advise and encourage everyone who wants to participate in the Fringe, provide information and assistance to audiences, and celebrate the Fringe and what it stands for all over the world.

We are seeking to appoint an experienced individual to the position of Head of Business Services. One of five senior managers who support and report to the Chief Executive, the Head of Business Services is responsible for ensuring the organisation has the resources, information and operational framework to deliver the range of services provided by the Fringe Society.  The Head of Business Services will manage the organisations resources and assets, consider organisational strategy and risk, and ensure all areas of the organisation are best placed to deliver for audiences and artists.  A key point of contact for the board, the Head of Business Services will ensure the Fringe Society’s plans are deliverable, with key focus on business administration, organisational development, finance, human resource, governance, legal compliance, risk management, premises, assets and IT.

The key purpose of the role is to drive organisational cohesion and efficiency, through inclusive and progressive leadership and demonstrable action, confident financial acumen, clear strategic thinking and operational delivery, and a robust approach to both resource and risk management.

In 2026 the Fringe Society will be moving into its new permanent home; Fringe Central.  The renovation project is only step one in what will be a long-term transformation of the services and support the Fringe Society can offer year round to artists, audiences and communities, and there remains much to do over the coming years to grow and deepen this engagement and the potential of the space.  The Head of Business Services will be the driving force for much of this, working with the rest of the senior management team to deliver for all stakeholders and realise the full potential.

The Head of Business Services manages a team of five – Facilities Manager, Finance Manager, HR Manager, HR and Governance Manager and Senior Projects Manager.

Role and responsibilities

The successful candidate will perform a wide range of duties, including but not limited to :

Senior Management Team

As part of the Senior Management Team (SMT), with the Chief Executive, they will be part of setting and implementing the overall strategic direction of the Fringe Society. This will include working on the following collaboratively with the SMT :

• Inputting into the development of short- and long-term strategic plans
• Setting priorities for the organisation
• Resource planning and monitoring
• Exploring opportunities for the Fringe Society to innovate, develop new revenue streams and leverage its strengths for the broader good of the entire Fringe community.

Specific to this role, is responsibility for the Finance and Governance, Human Resources and Operations functions within the Fringe Society and to take the lead on these areas within the SMT. The role will also lead on the coordination, management and tracking of key flagship Fringe Society projects and will be responsible for ensuring the projects remain on track and that risks throughout are anticipated and mitigated.

Finance and Governance

Human Resources

Operations

Person specification  Essential

Desirable

Salary and benefits

The salary for this post is circa £50,000 per annum, plus contribution towards a personal pension. 28 days holiday per year plus six public holidays.

Normal working hours 35 hours a week, worked from 10 : 00 to 18 : 00, Monday to Friday with a one-hour unpaid lunch break. In the run up to and during the festival you may be required to work additional days and hours.

We are a flexible working employer and therefore are happy to discuss flexible working at any stage of the application process.  Due to the nature of this role and the festival, we are unable to offer remote working for this position. We can offer varied start and finish times and core hours with flexibility around them, alongside the option hybrid working where suitable within the needs of the organisation.

We use positive action under section 159 of the Equality Act in relation to disability or race. This means that if we have two candidates of equal merit in our process, we will seek to take forward the D / deaf, disabled, Black, Asian or ethnically diverse candidate in order to diversify our staff team.

The Fringe are active members of the Festivals Edinburgh Sustainability Working group and include climate action as one of the headline targets in the . As part of the commitments of this work, all Fringe staff members are expected to assist with the Fringe Society’s environmental goals and consider these in all elements of your work.

We are also committed to maintaining the open-access policy of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from all sectors of the community. We are also proud to be a Disability Confident Employer and aim to successfully employ and retain disabled people and those with health conditions. We expect employees to support these commitments and to assist in their realisation.