The Natural History Museum is recruiting two new Trustees to join its Board. We are seeking outstanding individuals who can contribute to the oversight of strategy and governance of this world class museum and scientific institution.
For one role we wish to appoint a scientist or engineer with experience in data science to provide further expertise to the Board as the museum undertakes a programme to digitise and extract knowledge and value from its over 80 million objects.
For the second role, we wish to appoint someone interested in education and learning as we seek to engage the widest possible audience, stimulate new advocates for the planet and connect young people to Nature. This Trustee would also provide a lead for all aspects of equality, diversity and inclusion for the Board.
While we're looking for Trustees with the specific skills listed above, we're also open to exceptional individuals with unique talents and experiences that could benefit the Board. If you think you have what it takes, even if your background doesn't exactly match the description, we encourage you to apply.
The Board is open to applications from candidates based outside of the UK.
The Trustees of the Museum have statutory duties under the British Museum Act 1963 and the Museums and Galleries Act 1992 for the general management and control of the Museum and for the appointment of the Director. Within the framework of these statutory duties, the role of the Trustees is primarily to establish Museum policy, review performance, support the generation of income and endorse appointments to key management positions.
Trustees participate in the Board’s decision-making processes including preparation for and attendance at all meetings of the Board and of any Board committees or other Museum structures to which they are appointed.
Trustees should have a commitment to the objectives of the Museum, uphold Museum policies and act as advocates for the Museum, including assistance with activities to generate funding from the corporate sector, trusts and foundations and other philanthropists. Trustees are expected to understand and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life as defined by the Nolan Committee. Those principles are: selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. In accordance with this commitment, Trustees must declare any pecuniary or non-pecuniary interests upon appointment and whenever a matter or decision arises in which the Trustee has an interest which might be perceived to prejudice their views or comments or to be in conflict with the interests of the Museum.
History of the Museum
Originally part of the British Museum, the natural history collections (founded on those generated by Sir Hans Sloane) were moved to South Kensington when the now Grade 1 listed Waterhouse building was opened in 1881. The Museum became a separate legal entity with its own Board of Trustees on enactment of the British Museum Act, 1963, but was known after that time as the British Museum (Natural History), until the Museums and Galleries Act 1992 when it was officially retitled the Natural History Museum. The Walter Rothschild Zoological Museum at Tring (now known as the Natural History Museum at Tring) was added in 1937 when it was given to the nation by the second Baron Rothschild. Responsibility was assumed for the Geological Museum (now the Earth Galleries) from the Natural Environment Research Council when the latter's British Geological Survey moved to Keyworth in 1985. The Natural History Museum is both a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), funded in part by Grant-in-Aid from the British Government provided through the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and an exempt charity. Approximately half of its expenditure is derived from sources of self-generated income, including bodies awarding grants for scientific research.
The Museum Today
The Natural History Museum’s mission is to create advocates for the planet – inspiring millions of people to care about the natural world and make the positive changes in their daily lives that will create a world in which both people and planet can thrive.
The NHM is the guardian of one of the world’s most important natural history collections of 80 million specimens and spanning 4.5 billion years of the Earth’s history. Through our own unrivalled expertise and by opening up access and participation for all, we are unlocking answers to the big issues facing humanity and the planet:
- The origins of our planet and life on it, and the impact of change;
- The diversity of life and the delicate balance of ecosystems that ensure the survival of our planet;
- Sustainable futures, for example the security of our food supply, the eradication of disease and the management of mineral and ore scarcity.
The Natural History Museum is internationally recognised for its dual role as a centre of scientific excellence and as a leading visitor attraction, presenting natural history to the general public through exhibitions, a programme of public events and a presence online and on social media. Its principal purposes are to discover and make available to the scientific community the information contained within its collections of natural history specimens and to entertain, interest and educate people of all ages in natural history.
The Museum is entering an exciting new phase in its development. There is an imperative to improve the conditions for storage of collections and plans to realise this by moving some collections to a new Centre at Thames Valley Science Park. New digital, analytical and genomic technologies are emerging which both increase the potential user base of the collections and enable greater information to be derived from even the oldest specimens. These changes are facilitating exciting new research opportunities. Finally, a vibrant programme of temporary exhibitions will complement a planned refit of major galleries, and the development of the Museum’s gardens, creating outdoor galleries and new outdoor learning activities for young people.
Our scientific research is aligned to ten strategic themes
- Biodiversity change: synthesising natural history data and information to understand past, present and possible future changes in biodiversity, supporting action on conservation, protection, restoration and management of biodiversity
- Resourcing the green economy: integrating expertise in earth, microbial and life sciences to support net zero and a sustainable future, delivering new materials, future positive mining and sustainable agroecosystems
- Biodiversity and health: tackling current and future health challenges using a biodiversity-informed approach to reduce the burden and risk of human disease while delivering positive biodiversity outcomes.
- UK natural futures: use scientific understanding and large-scale data on the UK’s natural world – past, present, and plausible futures – to support evidence-led nature recovery.
- Origin and evolution of planetary systems, Earth and life: delivering holistic insight into biotic and planetary change, evolution and human origins, and their geological and biological drivers, based on a dynamic world-class collection of terrestrial and extra terrestrial samples.
- Collections and culture: transforming understanding, narratives and insights into natural history, heritage and contemporary context through collaborative and cross-disciplinary research on natural history collections and the science and societies that shape and develop them.
- Genomics: enabling innovation in global research on populations, species, communities and ecosystems by providing genomic access to our collections at an unprecedented scale, and delivering novel techniques to drive genomic exploration.
- Phenomics and advanced analysis: the world’s first centre for phenomics and advanced analysis applied to the natural world will deliver technological innovations in high-throughput imaging and analysis for research on the past, present, and future of the natural world, and global collaboration including health, biotechnology, mining, food security, conservation biology, and sustainability.
- Digital, data and informatics: accelerating and supporting the digital transformation of the world’s natural science collections, as a basis for an innovative technology and knowledge network for mitigation of biodiversity loss and climate change, providing solutions for societal challenges.
These plans need to be resourced. The Natural History Museum is an Arm’s Length Body with the Department for Culture, Media & Sport is its sponsoring government department. NHM receives Grant in Aid funding to support a proportion of its cost-base, but much of the Museum’s income is generated from external commercial and fundraising sources. The ambitious Vision and Strategy to 2031 will make growing and diversifying this self-generated income even more important to success.
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