Science Museum Group Trustees x 7
- Body
- Science Museum Group
- Appointing Department
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
- Sector
- Culture, Media & Sport
- Location
- Board meetings are usually held at The Science Museum in South Kensington, London.
- Number of Vacancies
- 7
- Remuneration
- No
- Time Requirements
- The Group has four Board meetings per year, one of which takes place the day before a residential ‘strategy day’. In addition, trustees are expected to attend other committee meetings as necessary as well as occasionally attending profile-raising events at our museums. The total time varies depending on committee membership, but on average it will be one or two days per month.
Campaign Timeline
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Competition Launched
01/04/2018
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Closed for Applications
02/05/2018
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Panel Sift
11/05/2018
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Final Interview Date
06/06/2018
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Announcement
24/09/2018 at 12:00
Announcement
An announcement has been made on the outcome of this appointment.
The Prime Minister has appointed Sarah Staniforth, Steven Underwood, Iain McIntosh, Judith Donovan, Professor Ajit Lalvani, Sir Peter Hendy, Jo Foster and Dr Hannah Fry to the Science Museum Group Board. The appointments are for terms of four years commencing 8 August 2018 for Sarah, Steven and Iain, 1 February 2019 for Judith and Ajit, and 1 July 2019 for Sir Peter, Jo and Hannah.
Assessment Panel
- Panel Member
- Helen Whithouse
- Panel Role
- Panel Chair
- Positions
- Departmental Official
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- Panel Member
- Dame Mary Archer
- Positions
- Representative of Organisation
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- Panel Member
- Lucy de Groot
- Positions
- Independent Member
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Vacancy Description
Background
The Science Museum Group incorporates the Science Museum in South Kensington, London; the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester; the National Railway Museum in York; Locomotion in Shildon; and the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford. In addition, collections stores are located at Wroughton in Swindon and Blythe House in West Kensington, London.
The Science Museum Group’s mission is to ‘inspire futures’ and our five museums are a key national resource. With unparalleled collections in the fields of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM), the Group is the world’s leading group of science museums, attracting over five million visitors each year, and is uniquely placed to draw people of all ages to engage with science in an inspirational and informal way.
The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum has statutory duties under the National Heritage Act 1983 for the general management and control of the Science Museum Group. Within the framework of these statutory duties, the role of the trustees is to establish Science Museum Group’s strategy and policy, review performance and endorse appointments to key management positions.
Vacancy Description
The Science Museum Group is seeking to appoint seven trustees to its board (The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum). Three trustees are required to take up post in summer 2018, with four more to join the Board throughout spring/summer 2019. Trustees are appointed by the Prime Minister following a public appointments process administered by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and overseen by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
For the first three of the seven available vacancies (starting in 2018), the Group is seeking trustees with strong skills and expertise in the following areas:
- Railways and railway heritage
- Finance and risk management
- Property development and management
For the second round of appointments (spread across 2019), the Group is seeking trustees with strong skills and expertise in the following areas:
- Business and commercial leadership
- Collections
- Scientific research
- STEM education
Person Specification
Essential criteria
Candidates for all roles must demonstrate:
- a knowledge of and commitment to the Science Museum Group, and support of the purposes and values of its museums, including its public educational purpose;
- proven ability to take responsibility and demonstrate sound judgement in strategic decision making;
- excellent representational and communication skills;
- a clear understanding of the principles of corporate governance in the public sector.
Additional criteria
In addition to the essential criteria outlined above, candidates for individual trustee roles must also be able to demonstrate additional criteria:
Additional criteria: Railways and railway heritage trustee
- extensive experience in the railways, or railway engineering industry at a senior level;
- an understanding of networks within the regional, cultural, academic and industry railway sectors.
Additional criteria: Finance and risk management trustee
- extensive experience managing strategy, policy and processes for finance, risk and governance at a senior level (including controls relating to management of Health & Safety risks).
Additional criteria: Property development and management trustee
- an extensive background in property development or management at a senior level;
- the ability to oversee high-level capital projects, with an understanding of strategic management of complex estates;
- knowledge or experience of built heritage in a conservation or historical context would be advantageous.
Additional criteria: Business and commercial leadership trustee
- strong business and commercial acumen gained through an extensive background at an influential level;
- knowledge or experience of both the cultural and business sectors (including areas such as digital, media, brand strategy and consumer insight) would be advantageous.
Additional criteria: Collections trustee
- extensive experience in the museum and heritage sector, including a clear understanding of collecting and research strategies, and international standards in the management, care and preservation of collections, scholarship, programming, learning and advocacy.
Additional criteria: Scientific research trustee
- extensive and recent or current experience in scientific research in physical science or engineering, or a life, biomedical or clinical science;
- knowledge or experience of the national science ecosystem, including networks within the regional, cultural, academic and industry sectors, would be advantageous.
Additional criteria: STEM education trustee
- a strong understanding of the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) agenda;
- inspirational leadership in STEM education; experience of teaching STEM curriculum subjects at primary or secondary school level would be advantageous.
How to Apply
To apply, please send:
- A copy of your CV, of no more than three sides.
- A supporting statement, of no more than two sides, that evidences how you meet all the criteria in the Person Specification. Please provide examples of where your knowledge and experience matches the required criteria.
- You should also complete and return the OCPA monitoring form and the conflicts of interest form, both of which can downloaded from this advert.
Please ensure you include preferred telephone number, as well as a preferred e-mail address, which will be used with discretion.
Applications should be emailed to publicappointments@culture.gov.uk with ‘Science Museum Group Trustee’ in the subject heading. If you are unable to apply online, please post applications to the Public Appointments Team, DCMS, 4th Floor, 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ.
Should you have any questions regarding the campaign, please contact the DCMS Public Appointments team or Sian Thompson (Board Secretary) at the Science Museum Group at sian.thompson@sciencemuseum.ac.uk.