Chair and Trustee vacancies – Beamish Museum

Are you passionate about North East history, culture and heritage? Are you ready/interested in joining a brand new board (as chair or trustee) to help shape the future of Beamish – a unique institution that uses its collections to connect with people from all walks of life and tells the story of everyday life in the North East of England through time.

We are seeking expressions of interest from candidates from all backgrounds for the roles of chair and up to 13 trustees to join the board of one of the North East’s largest and most successful visitor attractions, turning over c. £12m p.a. 

Beamish is a unique living, working museum that uses its collections to connect with people from all walks of life, telling the story of everyday life in the North East of England through time. We are innovative, self-reliant, entrepreneurial and forward looking, and welcome over 800,000 visitors a year. The museum delivers significant economic and social benefits for communities in the North East. Some 50% of our visitors are tourists, boosting the region’s visitor economy, and we are one of the biggest non-public sector employers in North West Durham, employing 400 staff and supported by over 500 volunteers. Our community and learning work is nationally recognised, and we engage with many thousands of people both on and off the museum site through our community participation programmes.

We are a leader in how we use our Accredited and Designated collection to develop bold new ways of experiencing the heritage of the region, and others look to us as an exemplar in our field. Recently we were confirmed by VisitEngland as number 11 in the most-visited paid for attractions in the UK and we have an international reputation and reach, which we are keen to further build on.

There are many things that make us unique but what really sets us apart is offering a truly immersive experience, connecting people and communities together to share stories, experiences and learning and enabling visitors and local communities – many of whom have donated to our collection, to be integral to our ongoing evolution and development.

As we look forward we have taken steps to modernise and refresh our governance and now seek to build a brand new board – a board which is diverse and skills and expertise-based, reflecting best practice in thew cultural sector. As the incoming board, you will have a fundamentally important role in shaping the future development of the museum. Working alongside the CEO, executive team, staff, volunteers and other stakeholders, you will use your skills, knowledge and experience to help set the future strategic direction of the museum, building on Beamish’s success to date, and ensuring it continues to grow, develop and thrive.

You will join us at an exciting time as we move towards the completion of our flagship project Remaking Beamish, and move into new areas such as self-catering accommodation and further expanding our commercial development and partnership work.  As we complete these projects we expect to have a period of embedding and consolidation. However, we never stand still for long, and this is a great opportunity to play a pivotal role in shaping our future strategic direction for generations of people to come.

What we are looking for:

For all new board members we are looking for a diverse range of people who are forward thinking, open-minded, collegiate, constructive and have an entrepreneurial spirit.

We would also expect you to demonstrate a passion for Beamish and the unique and wide-ranging contribution it makes to the North East of England, its people and communities, who see Beamish as “their museum”. 

Chair

We are seeking expressions of interest from appropriately qualified individuals who can demonstrate the following:

• Experience of positively “setting the tone”, and developing close and productive working relationships between executive teams and board members, which have resulted in a demonstrable track record of organisations you have previously chaired thriving and achieving development goals, and operating in bold new ways.
• Have experience of chairing a complex organisation (or equivalent experience) and, ideally, experience of governance change.
• Being an inspiring leader for a forward-looking board and ability to harness the diverse thoughts and contributions of every board member, in an inclusive and supportive way.
• Being an impactful and authoritative ambassador and a champion for Beamish, with a reputation and standing in your professional field.
• Having keen commercial and financial acumen and an understanding of how this is applied in the context of a charity with a trading arm, with a consolidated turnover of in excess of £10M.
• Possess experience that will enable the board to provide the balance of challenge and support that drives strategic direction and growth.
• Have the knowledge and first hand experience of best practice governance and the operation of a high performing board.
• Build on Beamish’s excellent existing networks, and actively engage with an even wider community of key stakeholders and supporters at a local, regional, national and international level for the benefit of the museum and its constituent communities.
• Have an understanding of the wider policy context in which Beamish operates, including the cultural sector and the visitor economy.

 Trustees

We are seeking a diverse range of trustees with experience and track record in one or more of the following areas:

1. Commercial – hotel and or leisure, visitor attraction management, retail industries
2. Environment/ sustainability
3. Health and Safety
4. Human resources
5. Equalities, diversity and inclusion
6. Health networks and expertise, to support the future development of our health and wellbeing programmes: expansion of our nationally-recognised work with people living with dementia and other long term health conditions
7. Accounting/ financial services
8. An understanding of commercial trading arms
9. Construction and development/ capital development
10. Legal
11. Impact and evaluation
12. Fundraising networks, links and connections that are of mutual benefit to Beamish

 We are keen to welcome a diverse range of experiences and perspectives to the board and this includes people who may be at the start of their career and new to trusteeship.

Diversity, inclusion, and equal access are fundamental priorities for Beamish Museum. Access to the museum’s facilities, exhibits, collections, participation opportunities, diverse stories and experiences are offered to all irrespective of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex and sexual orientation. We constantly endeavour to improve our approach and foster a friendly, positive work environment supported by a culture underpinned by respect and fairness.

We particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic candidates as well as applications from LGB, Trans and non-binary candidates as underrepresented people within the museum. We also welcome applications from individuals at an earlier stage of their career and may be new to trusteeship.

Number of meetings per annum/time commitment: Chair – up to 3 days, Trustees – c. 1 day a month

Daytime or evening meetings: Evening

Closing date for applications: Monday 7 November 2022

Contact details or web link for applicants to find out more:

https://bit.ly/3Cyfkwh

This will direct applicants to our website where they can learn more about the role, view the role profile and apply as well.

Click here to visit Beamish Museum website>>