Closing date - 17 August 2026
Salary - £30,596.36 per annum
Please feel free to contact us at recruitment@factoryinternational.org if you require any support in completing your application
Rigging Technician Job Pack - download here
We’re looking for a Rigging Technician to join the team and to help artists and creatives from all artforms stretch the realms of possibility, creating works of ambition and scale. Our new multi-artform venue uses flexible spaces, providing a wide range of possibilities and includes a fully-walkable grid with rolling beams and grid stands to make a welcoming environment to work in and to allow points to be rigged across the entire venue space.
Our stock of in-house equipment includes around 200 Liftket hoists, including a stock of Kinesys Apex Hoists, running on Tait epiQ consoles. Unusual Rigging have provided custom 22m long portable flying bars in pairs, along with Revolution 2 winch assemblies, Apex Drive V2 units and LibraCell load monitoring shackles. House trussing is supplied by Total Solutions Group and incorporates over 3km of different truss sections.
You will be part of a department of 4 with a Head, Deputy, and three in-house rigging technicians, along with a wider pool of casual and freelance technicians.
We are looking for expertise from all artforms; visual and performing arts, live music, theatre, exhibitions, corporate events and beyond. The Rigging Technician will work with, and support, other technical teams and wider Factory International teams to ensure that all of our spaces, events, and shows are delivered to an exceptional standard.
We’re looking for people who are good communicators, enthusiastic, with the ability to work with a variety of people, and who want to be part of something new and unique. Factory International is a place to be proud of your background, your experience and your expertise, while also providing the opportunity to learn and develop new skills.
The key responsibilities for the Rigging Technician include;
To become familiar with the venue’s technical rigging equipment and infrastructure
To work on a rota system which will include some early morning, evening, overnight, and weekend working
To prep, rig, operate, and de-rig various rigging equipment including trussing, motors, and temporary support structures for a wide variety of events and productions
Participate in the smooth running of the get ins and fit up, show runs, and get outs, and ensuring that these are carried out in accordance with current Health & Safety legislation and Environmental Good Practice
Report faults or issues with equipment or building fixtures in a timely manner to department leads or head of technical
Work with visiting technical departments ensuring their requirements are met, and they are compliant with Factory policies
Assist in the planning and delivery of an effective programme of maintenance (inc Planned Preventative Maintenance), housekeeping, stock control and testing for all appliances and performance related equipment in the building
The person specification for the Rigging Technician are;
ESSENTIAL
This is a physical job and requires bending, lifting, pulling, and pushing as part of the daily duties
A proactive, flexible, and collaborative approach to working with excellent time management
Familiarity with entertainment rigging in one or more art form (live music, theatre, performance art, etc), preferably in a producing environment
Familiarity with rigging equipment and practices
Experience of working in a team environment
Ability to work well under pressure and to prioritise competing workload demands
Comfortable working at height
Commitment to championing representation and inclusion at every level of the organisation with a proven ability to work with people from a wide range of backgrounds
DESIRABLE
3-day rigging for the entertainment industry training
IPAF, MEWP, PASMA qualification
Experience with technical drawing programs such as AutoCAD or Vectorworks
Experience of working in a venue or touring capacity
Forklift or telehandler license
A practical knowledge of LOLER, PUWER and other relevant Health and Safety regulations working within a venue
When applying please do not rely solely on ChatGPT/AI software for your answers as it may not fully reflect your skills and experience and how they align with this role and we may decide to discount your answer if we believe it is solely generated by AI.
Inventing tomorrow together. New art and music – at our venue Aviva Studios, online, across our city, around the world and at Manchester International Festival.
Factory International will commission, produce and present an ambitious year-round programme of original creative work, music and special events by leading artists from across the globe.
Drawing on MIF's track record for premiering bold productions that defy convention, artists will be encouraged to create work in new ways, to collaborate across disciplines and blur the boundaries between art and popular culture.
Built with flexibility in mind, the design of our venue Aviva Studios is led by Ellen van Loon of the world-leading practice Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA). The 13,350 square-metre venue is based around large, open, ultra-flexible spaces that can be constantly reconfigured, enabling large-scale artistic work of invention and ambition that isn’t possible anywhere else in the world.
The organisation will continue to stage MIF every other year, at Factory International and other venues and spaces across Greater Manchester.
Building on the festival's record of working with communities, as audiences and as participants, Factory International will be a space where local people are actively involved – from participating in flagship commissions, co-designing programmes of activity, to shaping the organisation through involvement in its public forums. Through the Factory Academy, it will also become a major training centre for local people, equipping them with the skills needed for careers in the creative industries and helping to build the technicians, producers and other creative talent that will bring the future alive.
