In true portfolio career style, this last year has provided me with a great balance between coaching and facilitation, working within both the arts and wider charitable sectors.

Coaching

I continue to provide coaching services to two charities close to my heart:

Dancers’ Career Development: Working with professional dancers as they progress through their careers and transition away from performance.

Young Women’s Trust Work: A feminist organization working to achieve economic justice for young women. Their “Work it Out” program provides one-to-one coaching to women aged 18-30 using a solutions-focused approach. This appeals to me because of the real breadth of topics brought to coaching by an incredibly diverse range of young women – and because I am driven to make coaching as accessible as possible. Many of these young women could never afford to pay for sessions themselves and really benefit from the experience.

Both associate contracts provide me with a great sense of purpose and belonging, as, although we all work remotely, I am one of a team of coaches for both charities (4 for DCD and around 20 for YWT), who all share similar values.

I have also been delivering coaching sessions through my private practice.

For more information on my coaching, please see janerallscoaching.com or pivotalthinking.org.uk.

Training and Facilitation

Recently, my contract as Associate for Arts Connect (2023), where I delivered development days and supported schools to demonstrate their commitment to arts and culture by gaining Artsmark, came to an end. This change was due to Arts Council England reviewing their structure of delivery and commissioning a separate organization to oversee the national program. While I’ve missed working with passionate teachers who advocate for and maintain arts and culture within their settings, as well as the other Associates, it was time to move on—I spent 8 years working on the program!

Having more availability allowed me to accept a 6-month (one day a week) contract working with Dancefest, supporting the organization through a process of change and future planning after the founding director stepped down and before the revised team structure was introduced. This was a fantastic experience, as it allowed me to do regular in-person work with a warm and receptive team, while also balancing my caring responsibilities (two of my three children are living with conditions). I’d love to do more of this, so please get in contact if you’re interested!

Voluntary Work

I was delighted to join AWA DANCE as a trustee in September 2024. AWA DANCE is a charity dedicated to the leadership development of women and teenage girls, using the transformative power of dance as the tool to empower their voices.

In addition to the above, I am an officer for Mothership Projects CiC, a community arts organization that predominantly works with women who have newly arrived in the country. It supports mothers, tackles isolation, and promotes well-being through creative activities.

What Next?

Ten years on from my last Arts Council England grant, I recently received another grant to help me move forward, thanks to the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Activate Skills Development Grant for people working in arts and culture in the West Midlands (part of the Commonwealth Games legacy funding). I’ll be doing a few different things, including some courses related to team coaching, organizational development, governance, and marketing – and some networking too. It’s going to be a busy couple of months, but I’m sure it’ll be worth it!

I’m excited about what might happen next. Watch this space!

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