Operations Manager – Huguenot Museum

An exciting opportunity for an energetic individual with business development skills to drive a successful future for an established museum.

The Huguenot Museum in Rochester is seeking to appoint an entrepreneurial, business-focussed Operations Manager to lead the reopening of the museum following temporary mothballing due to the impact of Covid 19. The museum, which opened in 2015 following generous support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, illustrates the story of the French Protestant refugees. Having escaped persecution to settle in Britain, they subsequently made an enormous and enduring impact in the worlds of finance, industry, medicine, literature, arts, and crafts.

Reporting to the Chair of Trustees, the successful candidate will be able to demonstrate their ability to develop, lead and motivate a team of dedicated volunteers to provide visitor, research and collection focussed services; promote the museum locally, nationally and internationally; work closely with other Rochester attractions and Medway Council to fully integrate the museum into the area’s visitor offer; develop activities and programming to encourage visitation and maximise financial outcomes to the charity from the museum’s operation.

Overall Responsibility:
Working with an engaged and supportive board, the post-holder is responsible for the day-to-day management and operation of the Huguenot Museum – which illustrates the story of the French Protestant refugees who escaped persecution to settle in Britain, and subsequently made an enormous and enduring impact in the worlds of finance, industry, medicine, literature, arts, and crafts. The operations manager will develop the business plan and operational model agreed with trustees and funders.

Works closely with:
The Chair, Treasurer, and other Huguenot Museum trustees and advisors; the Clerk to the French Hospital (The French Hospital was co-grantee to the original HLF grant that established the museum, owns the museum’s principal collections and is the Museum’s landlord).

Key tasks and responsibilities:

Day to Day Museum Operations
Day to day operation of the museum supervising a dedicated group of volunteers to ensure the museum is opened in a safe and secure manner in accordance with published opening times and dates. Take responsibility for the preparation of regular reports to trustees including monthly financial, quarterly board and stakeholder reports as required.

Financial Management
Work within agreed budgets with the objective of meeting both income and expenditure targets. Work closely with the museum’s Treasurer to implement appropriate systems for handling, accounting and reporting financial information including income and expenditure. Take responsibility for ensuring appropriate records are maintained including those related to Gift Aid donations by visitors.

Health & Safety
Ensure all operations and activities, including those delivered by volunteers, are undertaken in accordance with the Museums Health & Safety Policy and all appropriate health and safety legislation, regulations, and guidance, including development maintenance and implementation of risk assessments and method statements as required. Ensure procedures are in place to record and report any accidents, incidents (including near misses) to the Chair of Trustees and if required to external regulators.

Security of Collections and Premises
Collaborating closely with the Clerk of the French Hospital and Medway Council’s Visitor Information Centre (located on the ground floor) to ensure appropriate measures are in place to ensure the physical security of the museum premises and its collections.

Volunteers
Recruit, manage, and motivate a group of dedicated volunteers to staff the museum in required positions to ensure safety of visitors, collections, building; income generation and retail stock management; and deliver interpretation and soft programming as required.

Marketing & Promotion
Take responsibility for the marketing and communications of the Huguenot Museum to promote the museum to a local, national and international audience, with a focus on building visitor income and numbers.

Develop and manage the museum’s social media accounts and develop and manage the museum’s CRM activities to maintain its profile with key stakeholders, supporters, visitors and volunteers.

Develop a good understanding of the museum’s visitor(audience) profiles, both actual and virtual, and drivers for visits to the museum. Work closely with the Rochester Attractions Group (Cathedral, Guildhall Museum, Castle, Eastgate House and Restoration House) to promote the museum as part of the wider Rochester tourist attraction.

Events, Programming and Activities
Lead the development and implementation of events, activities, and other programming to extend the Museum’s reach, visitation, and income – including tours of the French Hospital (by arrangement with the Clerk) and to respond to other developments and programming by members of the Rochester Attractions Group and wider Rochester/Medway Council events programming.

Venue Hire and Corporate activity
Develop and implement strategies to secure non-visitor income through the commercial letting of the museum’s lecture theatre to local societies, corporate and other users.

Retail Sales
Take responsibility for developing and purchasing stock for the museum’s shop in accordance with budgets and the museum’s role and purpose and managing the museum’s retail activities through volunteer support.

Collections Care and Development
Monitor environmental conditions in galleries, display cases and stores to ensure appropriate preventative conservation measures are in place, alerting the Chair of Trustees if issues arise. In such circumstances work with the museum’s care advisor as required. Arrange a programme of conservation on collections as necessary in consultation with Museum and French Hospital trustees.

Support the development of collections by putting appropriate procedures in place to manage offers of collection items (including unsolicited gifts) in accordance with the museum’s Collection Development Policy and oversee volunteer cataloguing and other collections related activities.

Other Duties
Undertake any other appropriate duties or activities as might be required from time to time to fulfil the overall objectives of the role.

Required skills / qualifications:

Essential:
• Experience of working in an entrepreneurial visitor-focussed environment, developing visitation and income, whilst minimising expenditure.
• Interest in working within the museum /heritage /arts sector.
• Experience of managing, motivating, and working with volunteers.
• Ability to forge and maintain excellent personal relationships and partnerships with other organisations.
• Ability to use both social media and traditional forms of marketing and communication to promote visitation and maintain relationships with volunteers, stakeholders and other supporters.
• Ability to demonstrate a sound knowledge of Health & Safety and its application.
• High level of literacy and numeracy.
• High level of computer literacy including social media and CRM applications.

Desirable:
• Experience of working in an independent museum, or cultural organisation.
• Interest in and knowledge of Huguenot history and heritage.
• Understanding of collection care and conservation principles.
• Understanding of the requirements of Arts Council England’s Museum Accreditation scheme.
• Experience of making applications for small grants and other charitable fundraising.

Application instructions:

To apply for this position, please send your CV with a letter of application, addressed to the Chair of Trustees, Dr Tessa Murdoch, by email to [email protected]. Closing date: Monday 21 March.

Successful applicants will be contacted by Friday, 25 March 2022. We intend interviews to take place on Wednesday, 30 March 2022.