The Prime Minister wishes to appoint three new Trustees for The National Heritage Memorial Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund Board. These Trustee roles will include an Audit and Risk Chair, (who will chair the Audit and Risk Committee) a Trustee to Chair the NHMF Panel and a Trustee who will act as the Grant-in-aid and non-lottery funded lead.
This appointment is made with the advice of the Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport (DCMS).
The role of the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee
In addition to serving as a Trustee, this role also encompasses chairing the Audit and Risk Committee. The Audit and Risk Committee’s remit is to advise and support the Accounting Officer and Board on their responsibilities for issues of risk, control and governance by reviewing the comprehensiveness of assurances, and the reliability and integrity of those assurances. The Chair reports on committee business to the Board throughout the year.
In addition to the Chair, the committee’s membership consists of another two Trustees and two Non-Executive Members, with invitees also including Internal Audit (BDO), National Audit Office, the Chief Executive (as Accounting Officer) the Executive Director, Business Services (as Finance Director), and a DCMS finance business partner. Other senior staff attend as required.
The role of the Audit and Risk committee includes advising the Accounting Officer and Board on:
The strategic processes for risk management and governance, including risk appetite and risk policies.
The Governance Statement for The Fund.
Adequacy of identification and management of strategic risks and The Fund’s internal control environment.
Reports received from Internal Audit (BDO are the external audit company used by NLHF/NHMF) and risks from those reports.
The planned activity, effectiveness, and results of both internal and external audits.
The capacity and capability of Internal Audit (BDO) to deliver its audit strategy and annual plan.
The accounting policies, the financial statements, and annual reports of The Fund, alongside Management’s Letter of Representation to the National Audit Office.
The adequacy of management responses to issues identified by all audit activities.
Assurances relating to the management of risk and corporate governance requirements for The Fund.
Anti-fraud policies and lessons learnt from any significant fraud or irregular activity.
Whistleblowing processes and arrangements for conflicts of interest.
Implications of new and revised accountabilities/accounting issues on governance and risk management.
Compliance with Financial Directions and Framework Agreements.
Major areas of risk through undertaking periodic “deep dives” into specific themes/topics e.g., cyber security.
The Audit and Risk Chair Role is remunerated at £13,500 per annum.
The role of the Chair of the National Heritage Memorial Fund Panel
In addition to serving as a Trustee, this role also encompasses chairing the NHMF Panel. The Panel is an advisory committee made up of heritage experts appointed by the NHMF Chair. Its role is to provide expert and technical advice to the Board of Trustees on applications to the Memorial Fund.
The NHMF Panel meets approximately four times a year to discuss the pipeline of up-coming cases which are seeking NHMF support. The NHMF Panel discusses how well cases meet the NHMF standards and recommends which are a priority for NHMF support. The Panel’s views on priority inform which cases are invited to submit full applications and are reported to the Board of Trustees when they make recommendations on those applications. Final funding decisions rest with the full Board of Trustees.
NHMF can support outstanding nationally important heritage which is at risk of loss, or which is of memorial character.
Examples of heritage NHMF can support include:
Works of fine and decorative art.
Museum collections.
Archives.
Manuscripts.
Items of industrial, transport and maritime heritage.
Historic buildings and land.
Projects involve buying, maintaining, or preserving objects, collections, buildings, or land that are of particular importance to the national heritage of the UK. In addition to being of importance to the national heritage, the heritage asset must also be in some way outstanding.
The NHMF Panel has played a key role in The Fund’s response to the Pandemic. The £40m NHMF Covid Response Fund launched and opened for applications in June 2021. The combined fund, comprising DCMS’s £20m Cultural Assets Fund allocated for England and NHMF’s own £20m allocation, is being delivered as a single UK wide fund to support nationally important heritage that is at risk due to the impact of COVID-19. Representatives from Historic England, Arts Council England and The National Archives join NHMF Panel meetings for discussion and prioritisation of Cultural Assets Fund cases. For applications to the NHMF Covid Response in the Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland representatives from appropriate devolved nation Arm’s-Length bodies join Panel meetings for discussion of those cases. The Cultural Assets Fund for England has now been fully committed, the UK wide fund will continue to be distributed until March 2023.
This role is remunerated at £10,500 per annum.
The role of the lead Trustee for Grant in Aid funding and other non-lottery income.
As a respected and effective funding distributor, The Fund’s role in delivering Grant in Aid funding and other non-lottery income has grown substantially during the last few years. The Fund has, for example, worked jointly with DCMS to deliver the Culture Recovery Fund, with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on the Green Recovery Challenge Fund and the Trees Call to Action Fund, with the Welsh Government on Nature Networks and Local Places for Nature in Wales, and with the Northern Ireland Executive on a scheme for Community Heritage.
Funding decisions relating to non-lottery income sit with the Board and cannot be delegated (except to a decision panel of three of more Trustees). In these circumstances, The Fund regularly utilises expert advisory groups to ensure high quality funding decisions. We believe this area of our work will continue and grow, and we are, therefore, looking for a Trustee who will also serve as the lead Board member for Grant in Aid funding and other non-lottery income and chair any non-lottery and non NHMF related decision panels.
This role is remunerated at £10,500 per annum.
About the National Heritage Memorial Fund / the National Lottery Heritage Fund
The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was established in 1980 to save the most outstanding parts of our national heritage at risk of loss to the nation, as a memorial to those who have given their lives for the UK; it is the fund of last resort for the nation’s heritage. NHMF has an endowment that currently stands at approximately £50m and is in annual receipt of £5m.
In 1994, NHMF became the distributor of the heritage share of National Lottery money for good causes, which it now operates through the National Lottery Heritage Fund (‘The Fund’ formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund). Since its inception, The Fund has awarded over £8 billion to over 44,000 heritage projects across the UK from money raised by the National Lottery for good causes.
The Fund’s Strategic Funding Framework (SFF) 2019-2024: Inspiring, leading, and resourcing the UK’s heritage set out a radical new approach to delivering around £1.2 billion for the UK’s heritage over a five-year timeframe. Since then, new challenges and new opportunities for heritage have emerged during the pandemic, The Fund distributed some £200m of Grant in Aid (Government funding from a range of sources) through the Culture Recovery Fund and the Cultural Assets Fund as well as delivering Grant in Aid on behalf of DEFRA, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. We expect to continue to take opportunities to deliver non-lottery sources of funding where they support our heritage priorities and objectives.
In May 2022, the Board began a process of reviewing the SFF to ensure that The Fund continues to meet the needs of the UK’s heritage. At the point of advertising for the new Board posts this work is in progress but The Fund’s core ambitions set out in the SFF will not radically change. There will however, be an increased focus on place-based funding to maximise the impact that The Fund can have in improving places and landscapes through heritage. There will also be closer working relationships with other bodies who have similar, overlapping, or complimentary objectives.
The role of the Board of Trustees
NHMF was established by the National Heritage Act 1980 (NHA1980) and is vested in and administered by a body corporate known as the Trustees of the National Heritage Memorial Fund (the ‘Board of Trustees’). The functions of the Board of Trustees are set out principally in the NHA1980 (as amended) and the National Lottery etc. Act 1993 (NLA1993). Trustees are appointed by the Prime Minister.
The Board of Trustees sets the strategic and policy framework within which its statutory functions in relation to The Fund are discharged. The Board of Trustees makes decisions concerning the distribution of monies and currently delegates funding decisions up to £5 million to committees in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, and three geographical areas in England – North; Midlands & East; and London & South, and to staff (up to £250,000).
Six of The Fund’s Trustees chair the area and country committees acting as the bridge between national policy and local delivery. One Trustee chairs the Audit and Risk Committee, one chairs the National Heritage Memorial Fund Panel, and one is the lead Trustee for Grant in Aid funding and other non-lottery income and chairs any decision panels on non-lottery and non-NHMF awards.
Board meetings rotate between the three English regions and the three home countries, with additional meetings in London where necessary. Trustees are also expected to attend project openings, to represent The Fund in the media, and to speak on behalf of the organisation at public events in relation to the area they represent.
The role of the Trustee
The role of Trustee represents an exciting and challenging opportunity for an individual with a strong commitment to, and enthusiasm for, the UK’s diverse heritage, to make a lasting contribution.
As a member of the Board of Trustees, each Trustee will be expected to contribute to:
Strategic planning and management of the organisation.
The Fund’s objectives for leading and funding the UK heritage.
Making decisions regarding the allocation or distribution of monies from The Fund.
Overseeing the activities and performance of its committees and panels.
Financial planning and monitoring, including reviewing and approving the organisation’s business plans and annual reports and accounts.
Ensuring the effectiveness and adequacy of the organisation’s risk management, internal controls, and governance procedures and processes.
Managing change within the organisation and organisational development.
Ensuring the organisation and its executive team meet performance objectives.
Building relationships with stakeholders and supporting strategic partnerships.
Ensuring that equality and diversity are embedded at all levels of the organisation and across its activities.
Adhering to and demonstrating the values and behaviours of the organisation.
The Board of Trustees also bring skills, knowledge, and experience in the following areas:
Demonstrable understanding and experience of at least one aspect of UK heritage.
Awareness of the strategic context of heritage issues in the UK.
General business, commercial, and/or public sector management experience in either a medium sized or large organisation.
Chairing meetings.
People motivation and management.
Corporate governance and/or non-executive leadership.
Stakeholder engagement and public affairs at a national level.
Devising and implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Digital transformation, with a focus on ensuring IT systems have relevant audience insights and best customer care practice.
An insight into the processes of local government and community development.
This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the
Commissioner’s website 