A £10m investment has transformed Poole Museum’s spaces, displays, and facilities to create a uniquely historic, dynamic and flexible, quayside cultural venue. This isn’t just a refurbishment – the aim of the investment is to elevate Poole Museum from a town museum to an outstanding regional museum, gallery, and cultural venue.
We are seeking a freelance response for the OPENING PUBLIC PROGRAMME PROJECT to support our Ensuring Sustainability Project (ESP), funded by The Heritage National Lottery Fund. We are confident of a mid-July opening and are ready to commit to opportunities for our programme.
We are seeking a creative and experienced Programmer who is both Strategist and Co-ordinator helping us to take a strategic approach and to deliver over the line. We hope you will sprinkle some magic onto the opening public programme at Poole Museum to ensure we are that outstanding museum, gallery, and cultural centre in the historic harbour town of Poole. The Museum has been closed for over two years, and this project is pivotal in setting the tone, ensuring the opening success and helping shape the sustainability and growth of the Museum.
If you are passionate about our goals and have the expertise to deliver, we would love to hear from you!
Outputs: Design an inclusive and engaging WHATS ON programme that brings together people of all ages and backgrounds in our opening year to contribute to the Museum’s success.
- Development, Implementation and delivery of Opening Programme: Design and coordinate delivery to budget and evaluation of a diverse range of events, activities and programmes to align with our new galleries, exhibitions, creative spaces, and our enhanced environment. With the experienced team members, oversee all logistical aspects.
- Community Engagement and Collaboration: With current team members ensure strong community ties by collaborating with local organisations, local artists, local offers etc that bring people of all ages and backgrounds together.
- Evaluation: Evaluate programme to assess success. Prepare outcomes report
- Forward Planning: Prepare the outline 3-year programme for use in developing next steps and to evidence income opportunities and resourcing requirements.
A. Background
- Poole Museum is a place to come together. Completing a major capital project, with over £10.3m invested in new galleries and visitor facilities. The re-launched museum is a stone’s throw from Poole Harbour on the Historic Quayside. Strong community ties and legacy of families associated Poole’s heritage have enabled us to successfully fundraise during the redevelopment, with the opening public programme project highlighting community engagement opportunities, income generation, profile raising and funding opportunities.
- Poole Museum is a place to be inspired. Our galleries, exhibits, and events are designed to engage, entertain, and inspire people of all ages and backgrounds Three new permanent galleries will showcase our significant maritime and maritime archaeology collections as well as Poole Museum’s impressive art collections and holdings of Poole Pottery, which stand out as the largest and best public collection in the world.
- Poole Museum is a place to relax. Our uniquely historic buildings and curated things to do provide welcoming quayside spaces for people to come together for activities and events. The Museum will feature Creative and Co-working zones, a Learning Suite and a world-class exhibitions gallery, able to host a high-profile programme of touring and temporary exhibitions. We will also have an exceptional café/restaurant/bar and a secret garden! Poole Museum provides a place away from the bustle of everyday life for people to take some quality time. However, that looks to you, we’re here for it.
- Poole Museum Brand. Branding is being finalised with external consultants, with our initial external tagline being Poole Museum – Shaped by the Sea.
- Poole Museum Team are fully immersed in creating a robustly inclusive and accessible museum experience for all which makes the museum a place of welcome, comfort, relevance and inclusion for visitors, whatever their needs and interests and is rooted in sectoral best practice in terms of design, hosting, programming and advocacy.
- Café, Catering and Hospitality Services we are currently out to tender for a partner to join us and deliver superb food and drink at the museum. We’re looking for our new partner to develop and deliver a programme of events and activities based around food and drink that complements our own programme. This ‘complementary programme; as we’re calling it, will be a collaborative exercise and very much part of What’s On at Poole Museum.
B. Scope of services
- Programme Coordination: Together with Exhibitions Curator, Engagement Lead and Commercial Lead, review confirmed activities (such as exhibitions, hero pieces, building/public realm improvements, quayside events, school holiday schedules) to create the foundation of our What’s On programme.
- Creative Research: Undertake research on available programming opportunities for Summer, Autumn, Winter 25/26. Evaluate proposed suite of activities for desired audience profiles (see bullet points), identify gaps and take NPO into consideration for dual value/objective meeting.
- Young people in educational settings at a local and regional level, including Primary school pupils; Secondary and Further Education students; Higher Education students
- Families at a local, regional and national level, including family day trip visitors; Local families with children aged 5-11
- Older people 65+ at a local, regional and national level, including older day trip visitors; Lifelong learning groups
- Artists and Creatives at a local and regional level, including Local community artists looking for a platform for their working practices; Contemporary craft practitioners including digital creatives.
- Core audiences – Across the 30–60-minute drive time catchment areas there are higher numbers of people engaged with arts, museum and heritage than the regional average. Whilst some groups are well represented in the Museum’s audiences, there is considerable potential to grow. The most prominent audience agency segments are:
- Experience Seekers – this group which has the most potential to grow, currently underserved by the museum. Diverse, urban audience often students and recent graduates. Their interests cover mainstream, contemporary and culturally diverse offers and attendance is often a social activity.
- Commuterland Culture Buffs – affluent and settled, often with mature families or retirees. They are keen consumers of culture, with a leaning towards heritage. Tend to be frequent attenders, volunteers, and potential donors. They take part to socialise, for self-improvement, or supporting learning of older children.
- Dormitory Dependables – regular cultural attenders living in suburban areas and small towns and they show a preference for heritage activities.
- Home and Heritage – mature, conservative group generally over 60 years of age, engage with local activity and look for accessible day time opportunities to engage.
3. Project Coordination: Review and collate outputs, ideas, existing research and tentative bookings, confirm budget and contractual arrangements. Coordinate with external suppliers on pricing, audience. Create SOPs and any required training for well managed activity, ensure smooth execution of events and a seamless experience for attendees. Coordinate staff and volunteer assistance and internal messaging requirements with Departmental Managers
4. Accessibility & Inclusivity: Consider accessibility in all activities, adjusting where appropriate (i.e. tours and talks, dementia friendly run in parallel). Consider age and interest level in all activities. With Departmental Managers confirm participation targets – online, recorded, live and F2F.
5. Marketing & Promotion: Ensure What’s On translates onto new website with Marketing Manager. Identify any flagship activities for publicity. Coordinate and research pricing with Commercial Manager, ensure What’s On translates into ticketing system, any potential retail or commerce opportunity and take PMF membership into account.
6. Community Engagement: Work with Engagement Lead for anything which could be packaged/included in curriculum offer. Look for partnership opportunities such as Universities or Creative Industries across the programme. Coordinate a community advisory panel/ youth panel/ working group or similar to get input and feedback on plans.
7. Fundraising & Grant Writing: Confirm programme income targets and opportunities for donations or added value to the programme. With Director conduct desk research to identify or support any opportunities for programme fundraising.
8. Evaluation and Reporting: Coordinate insight and impact (audiences, publicity, artists etc) and present recommendations to support our business planning. Use this data to inform future programming plan and ensure continuous improvement.
9. Team Collaboration: Work collaboratively with Marketing, Commercial, Collections, Engagement, Visitor Experience. For example: Collaborate with Exhibitions Curator on programming options for 3-year planning.
10. Adaptability: Depending on availability and budget, the programmer may wish to commission screenings, musical performances, literary readings, tech/animation events, cultural festivals, art classes, meet the maker, therapy and holistic talks/classes on any of our museum subjects. Tours – multiple options on the exhibitions, refurbishments, research centre, our stored collection, curation techniques, local history and harbour. Consider different strands on each event such as relaxed early mornings, over-nights, costumed, garden/in-gallery cinema, picnic/garden events, murder mystery, silent discos, markets and festivals, or talk and experiences with local suppliers, artisans, performers and academics.
The programme should augment the Museum’s offer and reputation by being innovative, original, and creative in new spaces, draw in new audiences, maximise usage, generating income and enhance the museum’s role as a community hub.
C. Tender response
To respond to this tender opportunity please prepare a proposal covering the following questions in C1 (Quality) and C2 (Supplier information, timeline and fee proposal):
Proposals will be evaluated on 100% quality using the weightings given for each question in C1 below.
C1. Quality questions
| Question | Page limit | Score | |
| A | Please provide a CV detailing your relevant experience | 2 | 10% |
| B | Please detail recent assignments where you have carried out similar work | 3 | 30% |
| C | Please set out your method and approach to the outputs/ scope of services, identify any risks, challenges and opportunities, and anything you will need or want us to know for a productive relationship with Poole Museum | 3 | 50% |
| D | Please explain how both your working practices and your project outputs will be environmentally sustainable | 1 | 10% |
C2 Supplier information, programme and fee proposal
- Your name/company name (and registration number) and address, with email and phone contact details
- Please provide your fixed fee proposal not exceeding the maximum budget in D below.
- Please confirm you can meet the requirements in the timetable in E below.
- Please provide details of insurance and references.
D. Budget
The maximum budget is £350 per day inclusive of all travel and expenses but exclusive of VAT.
E. Timetable
Deadline for submitting a bid: Sunday 23 March 2025. Interviews: Following week
Appointment expected to be made by 1 April with an immediate start available. Variable days and blocks of days would be likely across the schedule to fit in with your other commitments.
We anticipate the following milestones:
- May 2025: Calendar 75% ready up to end of the year
- June 2025: Final 25% confirmed
- July 2025: Activity underway
- August 2025: Main delivery window, review successes,
- September: Review Summer, evaluation commences for outcomes report
- October: Planning workshops for 2026
- December: Publish Summer 2026 Calendar, draft 3-year plan and recommendations report.
F. Tender process
- Your tender should be submitted as a single PDF providing responses to each of the points in section C above. Please use Arial 12 and do not exceed the page limits specified. Please check you have provided answers to C1 (A-E) AND C2 and labelled your responses.
- Please submit your tender by the deadline specified in the timetable above, by email, to Jenny, [email protected]
- We encourage everyone to get in touch to discuss the opportunity, informal chats can be arranged by contacting Jaine [email protected]
G. Other information
BCP Council [Bournemouth Christchurch & Poole Council] will check the successful bidder’s employment status for tax.
The Council’s standard terms and conditions for the supply of services will apply to this opportunity.