Footwear Senior Technician

The Royal Ballet and Opera continues to lead the way in opera, ballet, music and dance both live on stage and through multiple digital platforms, from live streaming to worldwide cinema screenings. Our Covent Garden theatre has been at the heart of London and British cultural life for three centuries. We are home to two world-class Companies: The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera. The Royal Opera House describes the place we work, not who we are. The whole is always more than the sum of its parts - we may be a House, but three quarters of our audiences experience what we do outside this building. While our Covent Garden theatre is the nerve centre, the impact and influence of the organisation can be felt in every corner of the country, and around the world. Our in-house footwear department looks after costume requirements across both Opera and Ballet productions. Working alongside the Footwear Manager, these two roles will help to bolster resource in the small but busy Footwear team, working closely with Costume Management and production teams to ensure all footwear activities, rehearsals and performances are carried out to the highest possible standard of safety, efficiency and quality, whilst upholding the highest principles of presentation and courtesy. Our ideal candidates will be passionate about the performing arts and able to bring demonstrable footwear experience to the team. They will have strong communication skills and the ability to work in a small team across the two performance disciplines (ballet and opera) collaboratively. They will be able to demonstrate: Experience in working with ballet or theatrical footwear in a performance context. Good working knowledge of preparation and sewing techniques, fabric technology, footwear fitting, painting, dyeing, repairing and modification techniques. Experience of footwear-specific stock control and suppliers/makers. Demonstrable understanding of Health and Safety relevant to the provision of specific dance/theatre footwear (pointe shoes/historical footwear) and able to contribute to risk assessments. A good knowledge of ballet or opera repertoire and heritage productions is an advantage. A qualification in footwear design or manufacture from an accredited source will be highly regarded so please note this in your application if applicable. If you have a strong preference for either the part time or full time role then please make this clear in your supporting statement. The Royal Ballet and Opera is one of the UK's leading arts organisations and our aim is to inspire imagination, ignite emotion and make the extraordinary for everyone. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion underpin all that we do. We want our people to be representative of the diversity in the UK. We understand the creativity and innovation that diversity can bring and strive to create an inclusive environment in which everyone can thrive. We encourage applications from people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and skills to join our teams. We particularly welcome applications from those who are from a global majority background and/or those who are disabled, as they are under-represented within our organisation. We are a Disability Confident Employer, which means that we are actively working to ensure that candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions feel supported, engaged and able to fulfil their potential in the workplace. We will endeavour to offer an interview to candidates who tell us they wish to participate in the scheme and who demonstrate in their application that they meet the essential criteria for the role, though sometimes due to the volume of qualified candidates with declarations this is not possible. The RBO is also committed to safeguarding and protecting all children, young people, and adults and we implement robust safer recruitment practices. Due to our safeguarding promise, certain roles will be subject to a DBS check before commencing employment with us, which will be indicated in the advertising. Closing date for applications: 11:59pm, Sunday 16th August 2026. Interviews will be held w/c 24th August 2026. To ensure a fair process, late applications will not be considered under any circumstances.