The Glossary: Alice Vyvyan-Jones | Station Manager at Foundation FM

What does a station manager do?
A station manager is responsible for the general running of the station. This involves overseeing all the programming, managing all Assistant Producers and Volunteers, organising events externally and internally within the station, as well as being across general admin and technicalities of radio. Alongside this, you are required to conceptualise the bigger picture of the station as an identity and ensure all components are achieving that goal.

Essentially you are the driving force behind the whole operation - without the station manager, there is no
radio station.

What makes a great radio station manager?
There are a number of things that make a great station manager, the most important amongst them being the ability to multitask to a high degree, patience and immeasurable innovation.

The role requires a high level of due diligence; being able to constantly have your finger on the pulse and your eye on the ball, in fact multiple balls. You must simultaneously be amongst the details whilst growing the business which is a huge challenge. An additional and crucial factor that makes a great station manager is being good with people as the job requires a lot of front-facing communication with different people every day. Being able to constantly facilitate social interactions is non-negotiable.

What are the professional requirements for a successful station manager?
The key professional requirements for a successful station manager are attention to detail, organisation, time-management, interpersonal communication, leadership skills, problem solving and a moderate degree of sufficiency in technical skills.

What are the common misconceptions about the role of a radio station manager?
I think the common misconceptions of the role of a radio station manager is that you just operate internally within the station. People forget that we exist in spaces outside of the station itself; we are the brains behind the operation of everything you see, from festivals to events to talk panels and beyond.

What changes would you like to see happen within your sector and the music industry in general?
Over the years, the change I have witnessed in the industry already has been magical. Those marginalised voices that were once struggling to be heard in music are now becoming louder and louder. However, I’m still seeing a lot of heavily male line-ups, more than we should in this day and age, but simply because our message hasn’t reached larger corporations within the industry. I think the biggest challenge is pushing the agenda beyond grassroots communities and into higher spaces where our challenges could be met with even bigger solutions with real financial backing. For diversity to work, it needs to be wide-spread. I want to see the revolutionising of the music industry across the board, not just at the bottom.