Upgrade yourself - creative industry placements 26/27

Closing date for applications: Sunday 22nd February 2026

Salary: £25,000 - £30,000

Location: London

Kickstart your creative career with this 12-month paid placement at Somerset House, designed to open doors for underrepresented young talent and build real-world experience across leading arts organisations.

Somerset House hosts the UK’s largest and most exciting creative community right in the heart of London, and are always looking for new talent to join our team. We welcome 3 million annual visitors to share our unique combination of cultural events, the creative industries and history. This mix informs and powers our programme and organisational culture, making us a singular, compelling and inclusive place to visit and work.

Creative Industry Placement is a 12-month, career development opportunity which provide professional pathways into the creative industries, with a strong focus on supporting underrepresented talent. Now in its sixth year, the programme nurtures the next generation to build the skills, knowledge and confidence needed to thrive in the creative workplace.​This placement offers five creative participants ages 18-25 with hands-on experience working in an arts organisation, building insight into how a creative business is run. Roles will range from day-to-day management through to programming and operations.

The structure of the five Creative Industry Placement pathways will be divided as follows:

4 x Creative Placements will experience a two-part pathway:

• 1 x 6-month placement (Phase 1: April – October 2026)
• 1 x 6-month placement (Phase 2: November 2026 – April 2027)

1 x Creative Placement will experience one pathway:

• 1 x 12-month placement (Phase 1 + 2: April 2026 – April 2027)

Placement Pathways

Pathway One:

Phase 1 with Headlong Theatre

Phase 2 with Hofesh Shechter Company

Pathway Two:

Phase 1 with Marketing Team (Somerset House Trust)

Phase 2 with The Booker Prize Foundation

Pathway Three:

Phase 1 with Live Events Team (Somerset House Trust)

Phase 2 with Somerset House Exchange

Pathway Four:

Phase 1 with KitMapper

Phase 2 with Exhibitions Team (Somerset House Trust)

Pathway Five

Phase 1 + Phase 2 with Somerset House Studios

Who we are looking for

Upgrade Yourself Creative Industry Placement is for people aged between 18-25 who identify as belonging to a community that is underrepresented* within the cultural sector. For those who are interested in developing entry level skills in a creative organisation. Please do not apply if this does not apply to you.

The Inclusive Talent Engagement Team values talent, potential and willingness over experience. We are committed to understanding the challenges that young people face and supporting their goals by creating opportunities that help them to achieve them. The programme doesn’t require any pre-requisites, but an enthusiasm for the arts and willingness to learn is important.

Creative Industry Placements helps to shift representation in the creative sector by opening up exciting, fairly paid entry routes into the sector. This placement is designed for those:

• Who are interested in learning about creative industries and want to forge pathways into the cultural sector
• Who want to develop networks, transferable skills, build a dynamic and creative portfolio
• Who want to nurture professional skills, creative confidence, and workplace readiness

*The Inclusive Talent Engagement team at Somerset House acknowledges that particular communities are underrepresented in the creative sector. Particularly those who identify as:

• Ethnically diverse and/or Global majority
• Differently abled or Living with a disability
• Working class and/or from a lower socio-economic background

We acknowledge that other identities face barriers in many ways not mentioned above, including:

• LGBTQIA+ and/or non-binary
• Neurodivergent
• Affected by a long-term health conditions or impairment
• Affected by homelessness
• Care-leaver/carer
• Unemployed and/or have received welfare benefits
• Migrant or refugee status

We also acknowledge that people face barriers in many ways not mentioned above, and we are open to hearing from anyone who considers themselves to be underrepresented in the creative sector. In addition to being an employee within a creative team in an arts organisation, time on the programme will also involve in-depth wraparound programming, which will include workshops, monthly mentoring sessions and off-site visits to other arts organisations .

Employee benefits

• The list is endless and includes tickets to Somerset House events and entrance to other London Heritage sites including free access to a number of other galleries and museums
• Invitations to private Somerset House events
• Discounts in Somerset House cafes and restaurants
• Discount to local leisure centres
• One-year membership to the Exchange co-working space

Holiday:

• Enhanced annual leave – 25 days plus bank holidays (pro rata)
• Birthday leave - additional day leave on or within a week of your birthday
• Celebration day - to celebrate anything of your choice

Our Commitment to Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging:

Somerset House is open to all, and we value everyone's unique skills. Somerset House Trust is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to championing equality, diversity, and inclusion in our workplace. We are committed to equal opportunity and encourage applications from all qualified individuals. We do not discriminate on the basis of age, disability, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic background.

Where candidates are equally qualified, we will seek to prioritise diversity to help us increase representation across the creative economy and the Trust.

We anonymise all job applications to help avoid discrimination in the initial screening stage of our recruitment process. This reinforces our commitment to focusing on the skills and qualifications of all applications from the start.

We're committed to creating an inclusive recruitment process. Please let us know if there's anything we can do to help you perform at your best. We're open to adjusting our process to accommodate your needs please email people.team@somersethouse.org.uk.

Somerset House is actively anti-racist and you can read about our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion & belonging here. We are working hard to ensure our people, our onsite community and our sector reflect, represent and include all of society.

The Trust reserves the right to close a job before its application deadline.

Please only apply if you have the right to work in the UK; the Trust cannot currently offer sponsorships.

Somerset House Trust operates a hybrid working model which does not allow employees from working outside the United Kingdom

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please make sure that you state in your application that you found this role via Creative Access.