The British Museum is seeking a head of design management to join its team in London.

This is a permanent full-time position. The application deadline is 7 November 2023.

About the role

In this exciting role at the British Museum, the postholder will provide strategic guidance and lead the team delivering design management services to facilitate the delivery of the museum’s core capital and masterplan projects, alongside facilities management solutions. The team’s goal is to provide assurance that robust design management practices are integrated within service delivery and projects are fit for business requirements and befitting of a world-leading museum. This is a highly skilled role, requiring the postholder to draw knowledge on core-built environment disciplines as well as being able to successfully lead a team, manage and influence up and across, and drive performance.

A recent strategic review has identified the need to enhance and modify our service offer in response to the evolving needs and anticipated growth in capital activity, resulting in the creation of a range of new roles to complement the existing service. This will enable Estate and Capital Projects to improve both the speed and quality of service while delivering a safe and carefully assessed capital programme. This change will optimise the way that we work with colleagues across the Museum as well as address the need for additional capacity and skill required to respond to increased volume with improved management controls.

The benefits realised from the integration of the new structure into the existing operating environment will allow ECP to respond professionally to the emerging demands and exciting prospects of the two principal workstreams – critical and essential projects and our masterplan – as well as day-to-day operations.

About you

Working in a highly skilled role with a variety of stakeholders, you will be educated to degree level in construction or built environment-related discipline (or equivalent experience) and have excellent communication abilities. A competent manager, you will have had prior experiences line managing or leading teams and be able to monitor progress against action. A self-starter, you will work upon your own initiative, managing targets and timelines for various projects and briefing relevant stakeholders as necessary.

For specific details on job purpose, key areas of responsibility and person specification, please refer to the job descriptions.

About the British Museum

Founded in 1753, the British Museum’s remarkable collection spans over two million years of human history and culture. The museum is one of the leading visitor attractions and its world-famous collection includes the Rosetta Stone, the Parthenon sculptures, Egyptian mummies, the Admonitions Scroll and the Amaravati sculptures.

The museum offers a competitive benefits package including:

membership of the civil service pension scheme (employer contribution of 27.1 per cent)
free entry to a wide range of museums and exhibitions
participation in private and public museum activities, including talks by leading curators from around the world and behind-the-scenes
opportunities to learn how museums care for and manage their extraordinary collections
generous annual leave allowance (25 annual leave plus 2.5 privilege days)
interest-free travel, bicycle and rental deposit loans
professional and personal development opportunities
employee assistance programme
discounts on food and gift shop purchases
working in the heart of Bloomsbury, London in the new World Conservation and Exhibition Centre (WCEC)

Additional details

For more information about this role, please see the job description. The interviews are expected to take place in early October.

If you have any additional needs that we should be aware of in order to support you with your application, please provide details via the apply for job button below.

The British Museum is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all staff and job applicants. We aim to create a working environment in which all individuals can make best use of their skills, free from unlawful discrimination or harassment. We value the benefits that a diverse workforce brings to a museum which represents world culture. The museum is committed to ensuring that no job applicant suffers unlawful discrimination because of any protected characteristics. Our recruitment procedures aim to ensure that individuals are treated fairly because of their relevant knowledge, skills and experience.

We are also currently piloting a flexible way of working that allows our employees to work remotely in a way that suits them and the organisation. We welcome questions and conversations at interview stage and how flexible working could work for you.

The museum adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for pre-employment screening of civil servants.

British Museum

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Head of Design Management