Royal Ballet and Opera
Planning Officer
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Salary: £34,220 per annum
Position Type: Permanent
Location: Covent Garden, London
Hours: Full time; 40 hours per week
Prior to commencing your application, please review our application guide here.
About Us
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 Planning Team
Our Planning team are responsible for the schedule of the RBO, ensuring the performance programme is agreed and can work logistically several years in advance as well as that information promoted for each season is accurate and up to date. They are also responsible for the use of all RBO spaces, working closely with internal teams to plan Front of House events for all departments.
The Role
Reporting to the Head of Planning, this role will help deliver a building schedule that optimises our resources and will work to troubleshoot problems and come up with practical solutions. With the specific responsibility of handling the schedule up to 18 months in advance, they will chair organisation wide meetings, keep meticulous records on our planning system DIESE, and be the first point of contact for all requests for internal bookings.
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Requirements
Our ideal candidate will have exceptional organisational skills, be a confident problem-solver, and have the ability to manage a busy workload in a dynamic and changing environment. They will be able to evidence:
- Experience of planning or scheduling within a multi-disciplinary environment such as performing arts, producing house, or large venue
- Sufficient administration experience in a busy office
- High standards of general accuracy with data entry and attention to detail
- The ability to take responsibility and make informed decisions under pressured circumstances
- Effective communication skills and the ability to build and maintain strong working relationships with stakeholders at all levels of the organisation
Though a working knowledge of ballet and opera is not a pre-requisite, some knowledge of the working practices of a theatre and awareness of the working practices in relation to artists, musicians, and artistic staff will be highly regarded. Please reference this in your application.
Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
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.
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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.
Additional Information
- A full job description can be found here.
- For more information about working with the Royal Ballet and Opera, please review the info pack here.
- For a list of potential reasonable adjustments, please review this guidance document.
- If you have any access requirements for your application, please contact the RBO Recruitment Team on hr.recruitment@roh.org.uk.
- If you are applying as an internal candidate, you might find this guidance document helpful.
Application Deadline
Closing date for applications: 11:59pm, Wednesday 19th August 2026.
Interviews will be held from 1st September 2026. To ensure a fair process, late applications will not be considered under any circumstances. Applicants must have work authorisation for the UK. No agencies.
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