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Night Time Economy role brief

Our interest in the Night-Time Economy:

The WMCA recognises the critical importance of our Night-Time Economy (NTE) sectors to the prosperity of our region. The NTE covers a wide range of activity in town and city centres taking place between the hours of 18:00 – 06:00 including retail, culture & leisure, transport and accommodation, but also activities that support these sectors such as security and supply chains. In addition, there are a number of sectors operating on a 24-hour basis such as health & social care, logistics and manufacturing, therefore forming part of the wider NTE.

The WMCA Economic Growth Board recognises the value that these activities bring to our economy and want to ensure that the positive benefits particularly from the core sectors are maximised and their growth is supported.

As part of this focus, the WMCA is recruiting a West Midlands NTE Advisor (voluntary role), who will be the lead and figurehead for NTE across the WMCA.

About the role:

This unpaid figurehead role will work closely with the Senior Leadership Team, the West Midlands Regional Tourism Board (on which this role-holder will have a seat), the West Midlands Growth Company, West Midlands Local Authorities, local BIDs and other key partners to deliver for the night-time industry. The role will be responsible for developing and delivering a night-time economy strategy, which complements the regional tourism strategy. You will be supported by a night-time economy officer and will appoint a night-time economy working group, to develop and obtain buy-in to this strategy for the West Midlands.

The chosen person will:

  • Act as strategic advisor to the Mayor and partner organisations on the strategy required to create a prosperous and safe night-time economy that supports our regional growth ambitions.
  • Engage regional stakeholders to understand the issues and opportunities in this sector and how they can be tackled to support sustainable growth.
  • Speak for the night-time industries, both in representation to the Mayor and publicly, building a positive profile for this sector and how it contributes to our regional economy.
  • Actively lobby Government on legislative changes and policy development designed to support the night-time economy strategy.
  • Act as a conduit between the West Midlands Tourism Board and the night-time economy working group (the latter being a subset of the former).

This work will be supported by a WMCA Senior Policy Officer for Night-Time Economy who will assist in convening a working group, defining terms of reference and ensuring appropriate representation from across the night-time industries and West Midlands geography.

The working group will provide addition support to define and obtain buy-in for the night-time economy strategy for the region, ensuring alignment with other strategies (including the tourism strategy and the regional plan for growth).

The ideal candidate:

  • A senior leader in one of the key night-time industries.
  • Well-connected to other leaders in this and related sectors.
  • Strong understanding of the regional context across the West Midlands Combined Authority area
  • Experience of advising on policy reform and strategy development.
  • Experience of strategy delivery and evaluation.
  • Ability to work collaboratively across a wide range of senior stakeholders including the WMCA, the Regional Tourism Board, WMGC, local authorities, local BIDs, Central Government and other key stakeholder organisations.
  • Confident and proactive, with excellent interpersonal skills and significant influencing skills to inform and persuade key stakeholders.
  • Good analytical skills, able to analyse information and utilise it in effective decision-making.
  • Ability to use innovative solutions to overcome barriers to delivery.
  • Confident public speaker with the ability to manage their own media enquires in most circumstances.

Become the region’s NTE Advisor:

This is a part-time voluntary role and not remunerated, however, the role will be heavily supported by existing organisations and teams and expenses will be included.

Required time commitment is approx. 1 day per week.

The NTE Advisor will serve a two-year term in the first instance to ensure they have the ability to maximise their impact.

If you would like to apply for this position, please email your CV and a covering letter to NTEA@wmca.org.uk by 27th January 2023.

The WMCA is committed to building a healthier, happier, better connected and more prosperous West Midlands. This is our vision. Our Values are central to how we work and interact with our wider partners and stakeholders. We encourage our colleagues to

Be Collaborative, Be Innovative, Be Driven and Be Inclusive.