The Arts Council has announced the appointment of Deirdre Behan as its new Strategic Development Director to join its senior management team.

Deirdre is an experienced senior manager with a long track-record of delivery, with a particular emphasis on strategy development, working in both the public and private sector, and has held previous positions in BT Ireland and DCU. She has worked in a number of roles in the Arts Council and led the project to develop the Arts Council online services website that annually manages the allocation of over €50 million to artists and arts organisations and which received the ICT Excellence Award and the Irish Internet Association Net Visionary Award.

Most recently, Deirdre has overseen the implementation of the Arts Council’s new organisation strategy Making Great Art Work and led out on the launch of the Funding Framework that sets out the Arts Council’s new approach to funding aligned to the priorities of the new strategy. She has also been responsible for the development of the new measurement framework which will allow the Arts Council to report more effectively on the outcomes of its investment.

Deirdre holds a BA in Communications from DCU, a MA in Interactive MultiMedia from DIT, and a Diploma in Applied Project Management from the Institute of Project Management. She is a member of the Portal Advisory Group for the Implementation Arts in Education Charter.

Deirdre has taken up the position of Strategic Development Director with immediate effect.