The job requirements are detailed below. Where applicable the skills, qualifications and memberships required have also been included. Workplace role categories describe our approach to workplace attendance
Salary: £39,410 – £43,620 per annum, inclusive of Inner London Weighting
Contractual Hours: 35 + Overtime
Basis: Permanent
Workplace category: Workplace based
Attachments: Job Information Pack
Guildhall School is a vibrant, international community of musicians, actors and production artists in the heart of the City of London. Ranked as number one in Arts, Drama & Music by the Complete University Guide 2025, and in the top four in the world for Music and Performing Arts by the QS World University Rankings 2025, we deliver world-class professional training in partnership with distinguished artists, companies and ensembles. A global leader in creative and professional practice, we promote innovation, experiment and research, and are also one of the UK’s leading providers of lifelong learning in the performing arts, offering inspiring training for children, young people, adult learners, and creative and business professionals.
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Guildhall School of Music & Drama is looking for an enthusiastic, skilled and collaborative Lighting Technician to join our Digital, Production & Venue Support (DPVS) team. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who loves theatre lighting, enjoys being part of the creative process and wants to work somewhere where the productions are ambitious, the facilities are substantial and the students are at the centre of everything we do. You will work primarily within Guildhall’s Silk Street Theatre, supporting a busy programme of full-scale drama, opera and performance work throughout the year. Alongside that, you will become part of our wider 26-person DPVS team, working across Guildhall’s theatres, concert halls, studios and performance spaces and contributing to the extraordinary range of technical work that happens here every day.
The role
At its heart, this is a hands-on theatre lighting role. You will work alongside our Performance Venues team, production staff, lighting lecturers, students and academic colleagues to realise ambitious productions safely and to a high professional standard. One production might be a large-scale opera with complex lighting, flying, sound, video and scenic requirements; the next might be a contemporary drama production, an experimental student project or a visiting professional company.
You will operate and maintain theatrical lighting equipment, work with conventional and intelligent fixtures, support lighting control systems and help take productions from fit-up and technical rehearsals through to performance and get-out. We are looking for somebody who enjoys the craft of making a theatre work well: someone who cares about the quality of a rig, understands the importance of preparation and maintenance, and remains calm and collaborative when the pressure increases.
Just as importantly, you will be working in a conservatoire. Our students are exceptionally talented young actors, musicians, production artists, designers and theatre-makers who are developing the skills that will take them into the professional industries. We want somebody who genuinely enjoys being around students, sharing knowledge, explaining things clearly and helping them develop strong professional habits. You do not need to be a lecturer, but you should enjoy being part of a learning environment.
Who we are looking for
We are looking for a lighting technician with strong practical experience in theatre, opera, live performance or a closely related production environment. Perhaps you are currently freelancing and would like the stability of a permanent role while continuing to work on ambitious productions, or perhaps you are a venue technician, assistant electrician, programmer or production technician ready for the next stage in your career.
You should be comfortable with the fundamentals of theatrical lighting: rigging, focusing, patching, fault-finding, operating and programming lighting systems and working safely at height. Experience with moving lights, modern control systems and networked lighting infrastructure will be valuable, while knowledge of rigging, flying, sound, AV or projection would also be welcome.
We are not looking for somebody who already knows everything. DPVS is deliberately multidisciplinary, and we want our technicians to continue developing throughout their careers. Training can be provided in areas such as flying systems, working at height, LOLER and PUWER inspection, access equipment, PAT testing and other specialist technical disciplines.
The wider team
Although lighting will be your specialism and Silk Street Theatre your principal working environment, you will be part of the wider DPVS department, which brings together theatre and concert technical operations, lighting, sound, stage, rigging, recording, broadcast, AV and projection. There will therefore be opportunities to contribute to concerts, events, recordings and projects across the School while retaining and deepening your lighting specialism.
Guildhall is an unusually exciting place to work technically. Our performance spaces are professional working environments, but they are also places of learning, experimentation and creative development. Productions can be technically complex and artistically ambitious, and our role is not simply to make the technology work, but to help create an environment in which ambitious creative ideas can happen safely and successfully.
We particularly value technicians who are technically strong, approachable and collaborative; who communicate clearly with colleagues, students and creative teams; and who understand that high professional standards and a friendly, supportive working environment should go hand in hand. Safety is fundamental to the role, and you will work with the wider team to ensure our equipment, systems and working practices remain safe and compliant.
Why Guildhall?
This is a theatre job where the work has a visible impact. You will see productions develop from an empty stage through fit-up, plotting and technical rehearsals to opening night, working alongside professional designers, directors, conductors and production teams while helping some of the most talented emerging performers and production artists develop their craft.
We welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and career routes. You might currently work in a producing theatre, receiving house, opera company, touring production, concert venue or commercial events environment, or you may never previously have considered working in higher education. If you are a good lighting technician, care about the work, enjoy working with people and are excited by the idea of helping talented young artists realise ambitious productions, we would encourage you to apply.
This is a permanent, full-time role working 35 hours per week across a Monday-to-Sunday rota. Evening and weekend working forms a normal part of the role, with overtime arrangements applying where appropriate. The salary is £39,410 – £43,620 per annum, alongside the wider benefits of employment with the City of London Corporation, including membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme.
If you love theatre lighting, enjoy the energy of a busy production environment and want to spend your working life helping extraordinary students and creative teams make ambitious work happen, we would love to hear from you.
For further information, please download the Job Information Pack.
For more details regarding the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, please visit http://www.gsmd.ac.uk.
To apply, please click the 'Apply Now' link below. Alternatively, please contact the Corporate Recruitment Unit on 020 7332 3978 (24hr answerphone) quoting GS9305. A minicom service for the hearing impaired is available on 020 7332 3732.
Closing date: Monday 9 November 2026, 12pm
Interviews to be held: 26 November and 27 November 2026
Please note that late applications will not be accepted.
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Guildhall School welcomes applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences. We are particularly keen to encourage interest from people with disabilities, LGBTQIA+, Black, Asian, and other global majority backgrounds who are currently under-represented at Guildhall School. In recognising the positive value of diversity, we want to better reflect and understand the communities we exist to serve. We are members of the Disability Confident Scheme and guarantee to interview all disabled candidates who would like to be considered under this scheme and who meet the minimum essential criteria for the role. We support and provide adjustments for people with disabilities – if you have a disability and need help with the application process please contact us.
The Guildhall School is committed to Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk and expects all employees, workers, and volunteers to share this commitment.