Non Job of the week

Quoted below is a job advert which is reproduced exactly as published !

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Regional Culture in Rural Development Manager.

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The Employer East Midlands Development Agency (but see below).

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Salary£29,000 to £32,000 (fixed term contract for two years).

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Is this a new appointment?

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Yes. You will be based in Nottingham within the Regional Development Agency'snew Rural Affairs team. The job is described as unique, being part of a"multi-agency initiative to strengthen links between the cultural sector andgovernmental and non-governmental agencies working to develop rural communitiesin the East Midlands".

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Why is this job being created?

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The rural population in the East Midlands is growing faster than in the othereight regions where the Government set up agencies in 1999. The East Midlands also has a much bigger rural population - at 40pc of the total, it is twice thenational average.

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It is varied too: from former mining areas to the PeakDistrict national park and the fenlands of Lincolnshire. Incidentally, theyreckon there are 19,061km of footpaths, bridleways and byways in the region. Sothere.

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The aim of the post is "to maximise the benefits of culture and arts inrural regeneration".

Your role will be to provide the "vision, drive andenthusiasm to influence a revolution for culture's inclusion in rural policy".

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What will this mean in practical terms?

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It is apparently all about creating sustainable communities. And that means not having to travel 40 miles to your nearest art gallery, cinema or sports complexjust because you happen to live in a remote village in Lincolnshire.

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If this sounds like one of those lobbying jobs where you dream dreams but don't actuallyhave your hands on the tiller, you are probably right.

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Officials insist it is "an action post where people are going to be doing things". You will be coveringsport, art, tourism, heritage and the media, and making sure these needs are metin the countryside and not just the five cities.

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Who else is involved apart from the East Midlands Development Agency?

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The post is being supported not just by the EMDA but the Arts Council, EnglishHeritage, East Midlands Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and Culture EastMidlands. You will liaise with all these organisations (and others like the EastMidlands Rural Affairs Forum) to achieve that "revolution for culture'sinclusion". You are likely to have to spend a lot of time liaising or, as yourfuture employers put it, working "with partners to broker cross-sectorinitiatives".

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Does the European Union have a role here?

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Silly question. Of course it does. It is mostly European money that is going tofinance rural regeneration. But the Regional Development Agency does notactually lay the plans. This is done by one of seven Sub-Regional StrategicPartnerships. You will have to liaise with the SSPs as well as with LSPs (LocalStrategic Partnerships), the Market Towns Forum, the Countryside Agency, theRural Communities Councils and Parish Council Networks - all of whom will want to make their influence felt.

And some people wonder why I am a cynic ! Editor.

Details obtained from the Telegraph Group Limited 2005