Jobs & work experience

Towner Eastbourne is offering two paid, six-month Breakthrough placements in partnership with Artswork, designed for young people aged 18 to 25 who are looking for a first step into the creative industries. These roles offer the chance to gain practical experience working alongside Towner team and to develop transferable workplace skills. 

About Artswork Breakthrough 

Breakthrough is Artswork’s paid employability programme for 18 to 25 year olds. The programme provides real workplace experience, training and ongoing support. 

Applications for the 2026 Breakthrough programme are now open. Successful applicants must be available to start on Monday 28 September 2026 and remain available for the full placement, which runs until Saturday 28 March 2027. 

How to apply 

Applications are made through Artswork by following the links below each role description. Please read the full role description before applying, including the employer advice section, and tailor your application to the placement you are applying for. You can apply for more than one Breakthrough role, and each role requires a separate application. 

Application deadline: Monday 27 July 2026, 11.45pm

Breakthrough Role 1: Heritage Collection Assistant, Eastbourne
Deadline: Monday 27 July, 11.45pm
Hours per week: 25
Hourly wage: £12.71

This placement is an opportunity to work with and learn from Towner’s Historical Collections Curator, supporting the organisation and documentation of the Eastbourne Heritage Collection. Recently taken into Towner’s custodial management, the collection includes approximately 20,000 artefacts, photographs and works on paper of local and regional significance, with strengths in local history, archaeology and photographic material charting the development of Eastbourne over the last 150 years. 

The role will include supporting cataloguing and collections management, helping to refine paper and digital records, assisting with storage and location information, uploading digital resources, inputting data into Towner’s collection database and liaising with the Marketing & Communications team to provide archive images for web, press, publicity and social media. Training may include object handling, cataloguing, digital asset management, database use and regular one-to-one support from the heritage team. 

The placement will mainly based at the Heritage Collections Store in Hampden Park, with some working at Towner and remotely. 

Apply for the Heritage Collection Assistant role: Breakthrough - Heritage Collection Assistant, Eastbourne | Artswork 

Breakthrough Role 2: Communications and Digital Assistant, Eastbourne 
Deadline: Monday 27 July, 11.45pm
Hours per week: 25
Hourly wage: £12.71

This placement is an opportunity to understand and contribute to the Towner team, supporting both visitor-facing activity and behind-the-scenes digital communications. Working with Towner’s Visitor Services and Marketing & Communications teams, the successful applicant will develop experience in public-facing gallery work, website administration, accessible copywriting, digital archiving and content preparation. 

The role will begin with training alongside Visitor Services, supporting visitors to have a memorable experience of Towner, before moving into regular work with the Marketing & Communications team. Digital tasks will focus on gathering, filing and tidying content from Towner’s current website, preparing web page copy and images, sourcing and resizing images and logos, learning image crediting procedures, proof-reading and editing copy, and contributing to the development of Towner’s new website and refreshed brand. 

Apply for the Communications and Digital Assistant role: Breakthrough - Communications and Digital Assistant, Eastbourne | Artswork 

Towner is partnering with East Sussex County Council work experience team to arrange student placements with selected secondary schools in Eastbourne. Students with an interest in creative careers will be will be chosen by the schools, and these opportunities are not open to application.

If you are interested in a creative career our partner Talent Accelerator has a range of programmes, resources and opportunities for young people.