National Museums Liverpool x 8-10 Trustees
- Body
- National Museums Liverpool
- Appointing Department
- Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
- Sector
- Culture, Media & Sport
- Location
- Liverpool
- Skills required
- Audit and Risk, Communication / Media / Marketing, HR
- Number of Vacancies
- 8-10
- Remuneration
- Nil
- Time Requirements
- All new trustees will experience an induction process which will include orientation days at our museums, and the opportunity to meet with staff. The role of a trustee will be explained, in addition to any specific briefing regarding museum and public sector finance or other more specialist roles. In addition to attending four Board meetings per year, trustees may be asked to join a Trustee Committee and this would require a total time commitment of eight to ten days a year.
Campaign Timeline
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Competition Launched
04/09/2019
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Closed for Applications
23/10/2019 at 10:00
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Panel Sift
15/11/2019
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Final Interview Date
Interviews will take place on 13 and 16 December in Liverpool
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Announcement
08/06/2020
Announcement
An announcement has been made on the outcome of this appointment.
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has appointed Heather Blyth, Paul Eccleson, Rita Mclean, and Tony Wilson as Trustees for three years from 18th May 2020 – 17 May 2023. Isabel Chadwick has been appointed as Finance Trustee for four years from 18th May 2020 – 17th May 2024.
Date: 08/06/2020
Assessment Panel
- Panel Member
- Giles Smith
- Positions
- Deputy Director, DCMS Departmental Official
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- Panel Member
- Sir David Henshaw
- Positions
- Chair, NML Representative of Organisation
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- Panel Member
- Siobhan Kenny
- Positions
- Independent Member
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Vacancy Description
Who we are
National Museums Liverpool (NML) is the only national museum service in England based wholly outside London. We manage internationally recognised museums and art galleries, including The World Museum, Walker Art Gallery and Museum of Liverpool, which between them attract more than 3 million visitors a year. The range of the collections is immense, including archaeology, fine and decorative art, science, natural history, social history, and slavery. Reflecting this, approximately 50% of NML’s visitors come from outside Merseyside.
Our main venues are: ● World Museum (founded 1851, opened 1860/61) ● Walker Art Gallery (opened 1877) ● Lady Lever Art Gallery (opened 1922) ● Sudley House (built early 19th century) ● Merseyside Maritime Museum (opened 1980. Also home to Seized!, the national museum of the UK Border Force) ● International Slavery Museum (opened 2007) ● Museum of Liverpool (opened 2011)
National Museums Liverpool is an exempt charity by virtue of Schedule 2 to the Charities Act 1993. We receive grant in aid of over £18m per annum from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. We generate further income from a number of sources, employ over 500 people, and operate shops, cafés, publishing and event services through NML Trading Ltd, a registered company wholly owned by the charity.
Person Specification
Number and type of trustees required
NML want the membership of our Board to be representative of the diverse populations we serve. We welcome applications from everyone that feels that their Knowledge, skills and experience match the essential requirements and that NML would benefit from their knowledge, experience and enthusiasm.
We are looking to recruit between eight and ten new members to our Board across a broad spectrum of skills and experience but we will be flexible depending upon the applications we receive. You are welcome to apply for more than one role:
Category A ● Up to four general trustees.
Category B ● Up to two finance trustees ● One commercial trustee ● One estate management/ property trustee ● One marketing trustee ● One human resources/transformational management trustee ● One fundraising trustee ● One cultural or heritage sector trustee
For our all trustee positions we are looking for candidates who are able to demonstrate the following essential requirements;
● a passion for museums and galleries and/or a passion for Liverpool and the north west and a desire to support and develop a major cultural organisation there; ● an understanding of the work of National Museums Liverpool, especially as the only national museum service outside London; ● an understanding of operating strategically at board level, working constructively with fellow board members, wider stakeholders and executive management; ● an understanding of both the role cultural venues can play and the potential opportunities for delivering economic growth to the region; and ● a willingness to sit on or lead Trustee Committees.
In addition, applications for Category B trustee positions must demonstrate the following essential criteria relevant to the role.
● Finance – for these roles we are looking for someone with senior/executive financial experience, preferably within a charitable/public sector, and with an accountancy qualification. At least one trustee will join the Finance Committee, and one will join the Audit Committee. ● Commercial – for this role we are looking for someone with senior/executive commercial experience, particularly in high street and/or online retail (shops, cafes and restaurants) and/or licensing and publications. Expertise in managing commercial growth strategies and implementation would also be an advantage. ● Property/Estate Management – for this role we are looking for someone with experience of managing an historic estate and the need for this to be adapted and used efficiently in a modern context, while protecting each venue’s individual character, historic nature, and heritage value. ● Marketing – for this role we are looking for someone with experience of strategic marketing, including advocacy, audience development, and digital media. ● Human resources/transformational management – for this role we are looking for someone with proven HR experience, and, in particular, experience of transformational management in relation to the culture and behavioural aspects of an organisation. ● Fundraising – for this role we are looking for someone with experience of developing and maintaining high-value relationships and growing the size and diversity of philanthropic income generation in a charity. ● Cultural or Heritage Sector – for this role we are looking for someone with experience and extensive connections in the UK arts/culture/heritage/tourism sectors.
Additional Information
Memorable Experiences – For Everyone – Challenging Expectations
NML is at an exciting moment in its history. Last year’s success has shown what we can achieve. We aim to build on that success year-on-year in terms of our visitor figures and commercial business without losing sight of what makes NML unique; our eight different museums, each providing different experiences to different audiences, but combining overall to create memorable experiences for everyone whilst challenging expectations.
The “for everyone” part of that mission is massively important to us and by 2030: We will have the most representative audience and colleague profiles within the UK museums sector. We will engage more than ten million people each year: more than four million visitors to our museums and galleries and a further six million through digital engagement, touring exhibitions and outreach work. We will be a place where people want to work, are happy to work and are proud to work. We will generate over £50,000 a day, more than half of our turnover, through commercial business, grants, gifts and donations. We will ensure that we provide great facilities in order to look after our valuable collections and colleagues, with accommodation fit-for-purpose for at least the next 30 years. All schools in the Liverpool City Region will visit at least one of one of our museums and galleries each year. We will be recognised as a valued leader of cultural and economic growth for the city, city region and North of England and as one of the World’s finest museum groups.
How we did last year
In 2018 World Museum was the most visited Museum outside of London, thanks to the overwhelming success of China’s First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors, which attracted more than 610,000 visitors, making it one of the best attended exhibitions in the UK. Museum of Liverpool was England’s third most visited museum outside of London, and this was in large part due to the heartfelt response of visitors to its powerful exhibition on love and creativity, Double Fantasy: John & Yoko. The Merseyside Maritime Museum was the fourth most visited museum outside of London, attracting 897,415 visitors. The Walker Art Gallery also had its most successful year since 2008, when Liverpool was European Capital of Culture, thanks to the huge popularity of Slaves of Fashion: New Works by The Singh Twins at the start of the year; and the biennial celebration of contemporary painting, the John Moores Painting Prize.
Our commercial and fundraising teams were able to secure increased financial benefit from that increased footfall and we saw our shops, cafes, events and tickets business have their best year ever, turning over more than £10 million. Our fundraising team have overseen a donations increase to their highest ever levels, up 22% on the previous year.
The amazing success in recent years of our House of Memories programme is spreading both within the UK and across the world, with partnerships now in place in Scotland, USA and Singapore. For more information please visit the NML website: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/
The NML Board of Trustees
NML’s wide ranging collections and work is overseen by its management and Board of Trustees. The chief role of trustees is to assist the Chair, Sir David Henshaw, in meeting the Board’s overall responsibilities in accordance with the guidance issued by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Trustees provide leadership, guidance and expertise on NML’s strategy and monitor its practical implementation.
How to Apply
Appointment Process and how to apply
The process for this public appointment will adhere to the Code of Practice published by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. To apply, please send: ● a CV of no more than three sides of A4; ● a supporting statement of not more than two sides of A4, setting out how you meet the person specification for the role you are interested in; and ● the two monitoring forms concerning your personal information and political activity (right-click on the link, select ‘Save Target As…’ then save to your computer – the forms can then be completed at your convenience).
Completed applications should be emailed to publicappointments@culture.gov.uk stating which trustee role/s you are applying for; General, if applying against the core requirements, or, Financial, Commercial, Marketing/Audience Development, HR/Transformational Management, or Estate Management, if you feel you have some of the desirable attributes we’ve listed. If you are unable to email your application please post a hard copy, to Priya Mistry, DCMS, 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ.
If you have any questions regarding your application please contact Priya Mistry at priya.mistry@culture.gov.uk
The closing date for applications is 10:00am on Wednesday 23 October 2019.
Each application will be assessed against the criteria for the roles, as published in this document. It is intended that interviews for shortlisted candidates will be held on 13 and 16 December 2019. Interviews will be held in Liverpool.
For further information regarding National Museums Liverpool please contact: David Spilsbury Director of Finance, Risk and Governance National Museums Liverpool Tel: 07900 828796 david.spilsbury@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk