Breakthrough Traineeship – Administrator, Hastings
About Breakthrough
Breakthrough is a 6‑month employability programme designed as a stepping stone to get you workplace experience and all-important employment skills. This short placement gives you insight into a future career in the Creative Industry, supporting your confidence and professionalism in the workplace, and helping you to break through into a career that matters to you!
Read more about Breakthrough here:
The role
To assist in the day to day running of our office, handling email and telephone enquiries from competitors, performers, venues, Patrons and the General Public. To support the administration of our 2026 competition and a range of smaller concerts.
This role will include assisting with:
- Managing our Patrons database
- Assisting with Event online ticket sales
- Managing Competition Entries and entrants
- Assisting the Finance Director with data entry
- Assisting the Learning & Participation Coordinator
- Supporting the Development Director with research tasks
- Supporting the Concerts Director, coordinating Performers and Venues
- Occasionally assisting at Events
- Supporting the Marketing Team, collating photographs and videos for social media output
This role will give you an all round introduction to all the tasks undertaken in a small, proactive arts organisation.
About the employer
Hastings International Piano is committed to nurturing musical talent and ensuring that musical opportunities are available to everyone. We promote the biennial Hastings International Piano Competition which is now considered to be one of the top piano competitions in the world, as well as offering performance opportunities to young artists year-round, working tirelessly in our community, and aiming to give every child in Hastings the gift of music through our schools’ programme. The competition was revived in 2005, but our roots go back more than a century to the Hastings Musical Festival which has been taking place in Hastings since 1908. Our next competition is in February 2026. In recent years the competition has evolved into an internationally-renowned platform for young concert pianists from around the world particularly because it is one of the only international competitions that asks competitors to play complete concertos from the first round.
In recent years our reputation has grown steadily and we now enjoy a partnership with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.As well as the piano competition, we also run a Learning & Participation programme and promote other events such as an annual Gala concert (featuring winners from the competition).
In 2020, we mounted the Hastings International Piano Festival, a multi-genre celebration of the piano involving pop, classical, jazz and contemporary musicians and singer/songwriters. We produce world-class concerts while maintaining a focus on engaging with and giving learning opportunities to young people.
Deadline for applications
The deadline is 11:45pm, on 17 August
You will need to download the job description below and read it carefully, and review the eligibility criteria below to ensure you are able to apply.
You then need to fill out the form below to submit your application.
All of the job descriptions include an “Employers advice” section and we strongly recommend that you tailor your answers to ensure they cover that advice given for the specific role you are applying for.
You can apply for more than one role if you wish to, but you will need to submit separate applications using the same process.
We strongly suggest that you research travel options for the role before applying to ensure travel is feasible.
To be eligible to apply for a Breakthrough traineeship, applicants must:
- Be aged 18-25 on the 29th September 2025
- Have the right to work in the UK
- Available to start work on the 29th September 2025 and available for the duration of the placement (until 28th March 2026)
- Have no or little (less than one month) previous experience of working in an arts, creative or voluntary sector organisation
In addition to the above, applicants should also meet one or more of the following criteria:
- Currently not in employment, education or training (NEET)
- Be disabled and/or Neurodivergent
- Have current or prior mental health issues
- Have experienced racism, homophobic or transgender discrimination
- Be a recent school or college leaver (A level or equivalent)
- Are struggling to find work due to lack of employment or training experience
Download the full job description
This contains more information about the role, including advice from the employer.
Breakthrough 2025 Application Form
Please ensure you have read the job description and all other information above before applying.
Contact us
If you are unsure if you are eligible, have any other questions, or need information in a different format, please email our Careers team:
FAQs
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If you have applied for a Breakthrough placement in a previous year and been unsuccessful, then yes you are very welcome to apply again if you meet this years eligibility criteria!
If you have already successfully undertaken a Breakthrough placement before, you won't be eligible to apply again.