Admissions & Awards Coordinator

Job Pack Admissions and Awards Coordinator

Applications due: Midnight, 22 November 2026

Cockpit is hiring an experienced administration coordinator to join our Business Incubation team in the role of Admissions & Awards Coordinator.

Reporting to the Head of Business Incubation, this role is key in ensuring Cockpit’s reputation for supporting world-class makers and the successful delivery of our renowned Awards programme. The role will lead the recruitment, promotion and onboarding for Awards and Bursaries, as well as applications from fee-paying studio residents.

About Cockpit

Cockpit is a centre of excellence in contemporary craft and home to more than 180 makers united by their extraordinary skill and creativity. A charity recognised as a UK top 100 social enterprise, we give makers the tools to build their businesses so they can focus on what they do best: making. We provide funded studio space, in-house business training and coaching, and exhibition opportunities for makers working across 23 different disciplines.

Cockpit aims to bridge the gap between talent and opportunity and is the UK’s only business incubator for makers. We are a destination for talent, having launched the careers of some of the major names in craft.

About the Role

The Admissions & Awards Coordinator promotes and organises applications for standard studio places, Bursaries, Awards, and prizes at Cockpit, working as a part of the Business Incubation team and working closely with Marketing, Development, and the Studio Management teams.

Specifically, they:

• Create and manage the recruitment plan for Awards and Bursaries, along with the promotion of Standard Places.

Organise all aspects of Awards, Bursaries, prizes, and standard studio place applications from promotion of the opportunity through to confirming whether a maker has been successful or not

Ensure a smooth welcome for new Awardees and Standard Studio Makers, liaising with Business Incubation, Studio Management, and Marketing until all onboarding requirements are completed

Work closely with the Marketing team to ensure promotional plans and data sets for each award are maintained, remain current, and are implemented in a timely manner

Collaborate with the Programme Coordinator to promote Business Incubation courses and filter applications to build a pipeline for public programmes

Collate applications, convene interview panels, and maintain accurate record on the CRM

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Coordinate all offers for Standard and Award places in conjunction with Studio Management, Development, and Business Incubation teams

Collect and manage data and information from makers on Awards and Bursaries for reporting purposes

About you

We are looking for an experienced admin coordinator with some marketing experience, who is proactive and able to work under their own initiative as well as within a team. You will be organised, systematic, with experience of working to tight deadlines and managing multiple priorities.

You will be confident in a front-facing role representing Cockpit and maintaining multiple relationships, with excellent attention to detail and customer service skills.

You will be familiar with Office 365 applications (Excel essential), have experience in maintaining and developing a company CRM, be used to working with databases and managing data, and be capable of using software and apps such as booking systems, survey, and community platforms.

Please see the job description and person specification for full details (page 4).

Diversity drives creativity

Cockpit is committed to inclusion, diversity, and equity in all our activities. We know that creativity and innovation are fuelled by diversity. Recognising that equity is a matter of social justice, we foster an inclusive culture where all aspects of diversity are celebrated and seen as key to success and flourishing.

We are committed to building a more diverse community and creating an environment where anyone, from any background, can develop their talents, do their best work and realise their full potential. This extends to our community of makers, staff team, and Board of Trustees. We especially welcome applications from candidates with backgrounds currently under-represented in craft, including people from the Global Majority* and D/deaf and disabled people.

*Global Majority is a collective term that refers to people who are Black, Asian, dual-heritage, mixed-heritage, indigenous to the global South, and/or have been racialised as ‘ethnic minorities’.

As part of our commitment to increasing the diversity in our staff team and better reflect the communities we serve, we offer a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates who meet all the essential criteria in the person specification and identify as being from a Global Majority background and/or as D/deaf and/or disabled. This scheme recognises under-representation and that structural injustices mean that, currently, there is not a ‘level playing field’ in our sector or society.

If you identify as having one or more of these protected characteristics and meet the

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essential criteria for the job, please state in your application that you would like to be considered under our guaranteed interview scheme.

To ensure accessibility for all candidates, everyone who is invited to interview will be asked in advance to let us know of any access needs.

Read more about our commitment here: https://cockpitstudios.org/careers/diversity-andinclusion/

How to apply

To apply, send a CV and covering letter outlining how you fulfil the brief to [email removed]. Your cover letter should outline your interest in the post and working with Cockpit and how your experience fits the job role.

On submission of your application please also complete our equal opportunities monitoring questionnaire.

Interviews

First-round interviews will be held via Zoom on Monday 7 December.

Second-round interviews will be held in person at Cockpit Bloomsbury on Thursday 17 December 2026.

We will contact shortlisted applicants by Wednesday 2 December if you have been invited to interview. We are sorry that we won’t be able to contact every applicant. If you haven’t heard from us by that date, please assume that you haven’t been shortlisted for the role.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Title: Admissions & Awards Coordinator

Contract type: Permanent

Hours: 0.6 FTE (3 days per week)

Salary: £32,500 FTE

Reports to: Head of Business Incubation

Works with: Business Incubation team, Head of Development, Head of Marketing & Digital, and the wider Cockpit team

MAIN DUTIES:

Planning

Create and maintain a detailed rolling 12-month plan for all studio admissions, specifically for:

o The bi-annual Awards cycle

o Standard Studio Applications

Liaise with Head of Development to refresh the 12-month plan as new Awards are confirmed and old Awards are phased out

Coordinate with the Programme Coordinator to co-promote Bus Inc Programmes alongside Award and Studio opportunities

• Communicate these plans to the whole Cockpit team on a regular basis

• Work with the wider Cockpit team to coordinate recruitment of interview panellists, providing a framework to ensure that a focus is given to the make-up of panel members to amplify Cockpit’s message of diversity and inclusivity and to maximise the profile of each award. Liaise with the Cockpit team and conduct research into craft specialists to ensure our commitment to quality of making is expertly assessed

Logistical planning for each Award, including room bookings, securing internal and external panellists, confi