Project Director, Collections, NHM Unlocked

About Us

We are a world-class visitor attraction and leading science research centre. We use the Museum's unique collections and our unrivalled expertise to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. We care for more than 80 million objects spanning billions of years and welcome more than five million visitors annually and 16 million visits to our website.

Today the Museum is more relevant and influential than ever. By attracting people from a range of backgrounds to work for us, we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things.

We employ 1100 staff in a variety of roles, all united by our vision of a future where people and planet thrive. We need everyone to have the passion and drive to help us with our mission to create advocates for our planet and inspire millions to care about the natural world.

Diversity and inclusion matter to us.

Our vision is of a future where both people and the planet thrive. Diversity is one of our core values and we strive to build a workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging. All new staff who join us learn about the importance of diversity and inclusion to the Museum and how to contribute to creating an inclusive environment.

We know we have more to do, but we are committed to ensuring that everyone who works at the Museum feels they can thrive and feel valued and respected.

About the role

NHM Unlocked is an ambitious programme to secure the future of our irreplaceable collection, accelerate scientific research and innovation, and enhance our public offer. Made possible by a £201 million government investment, Unlocked will build a new collections digitisation and research centre at Thames Valley Science Park (TVSP), relocate 28 million natural history specimens to the new centre, and a further 10 million to new fit-for-purpose stores at the South Kensington site, capturing digital specimen data that will make the collection available for use by researchers around the world. The programme will not only enhance the UK s leading role in tackling urgent global challenges, but also unlock the redevelopment of our galleries in South Kensington, transforming our public offer and mission to create advocates for the planet.

The newly created and high-profile role of Project Director, Collections is a rare and career-defining opportunity to lead one of the most significant collection transformation projects in the museum sector. You will inspire and lead multidisciplinary teams responsible for collection moves, storage, datasets and systems to deliver a reorganisation of the collection, driven by collection care and research priorities, that will create the foundations for a new phase of world-leading science, discovery and public engagement. A key part of the programme s senior leadership team, you will be central to guiding strategic and operational planning for TVSP, turning vision into reality on the build and fit-out projects, and leading the launch of the new centre through to full operation and public opening.

This is a once-in-a-generation chance to shape the future of one of the world s great natural history collections, helping to create a new centre that will enable ground-breaking research and innovation for generations to come. If you re excited about the opportunity to make your mark on a project that will redefine how the Natural History Museum cares for, shares and celebrates its world-class collections, we want to hear from you.

About you

The ideal candidate will be a strategic thinker with a background in delivering complex, large-scale projects in the museum, cultural, or heritage sectors, or in similarly dynamic environments where innovation, precision and partnership are key to success. You will be a confident manager of people, capable of inspiring and leading high-performing teams, and adept at bringing together diverse stakeholder groups to deliver meaningful change. Demonstrated excellence in resource and budget management is essential, as is significant experience in procurement, financial and risk management. Experience in delivering construction or fit-out projects, and working with large datasets and systems, is highly desirable. A genuine passion for science, culture and the role of collections in shaping the future will help you thrive in this extraordinary role.

Thriving at the Museum: the way we work

We are proud to work at the Museum and have identified the qualities we all need to embody to reach our shared ambition. This sits alongside the Museum s values and forms the framework for the way we work.

Find out more here

What we offer

• 27.5 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays (full time equivalent)
• Generous defined contribution Natural History Museum Pension Scheme (employer contribution 4 - 10%)
• Season ticket, bicycle and rental loan
• Life insurance
• Free admission to our exhibitions and many other paid exhibitions at museums, galleries and institutions across London and the UK.
• Staff discount at our Museum shops and cafes
• We offer a wide variety of training initiatives and opportunities to build skills. Investing in staff development is important to us, and we are ambitious about helping staff to grow and fulfil their potential.
• Affordable membership to the Civil Service Sports Council which offers a range of benefits including an extensive list of special offers and reduced entry fees at a selection of cinema chains, theme parks, theatres, retailers and supermarkets. It also provides entry to up to 300 English Heritage sites and other national treasures.
• Membership to our Sports and Social Association (for a small fee), which includes access to our in-house gym and clubs such as football, softball, table tennis and tennis and classes in Middle Eastern dance, yoga and Tai Chi

Hybrid working

We are working towards a vision where both people and planet thrive, and nothing gives a greater connection with this, than seeing first-hand, the visitors, scientific research and collections that all of our work is inspired by and working side by side with the teams delivering the visitor experience and events. We also recognise the benefits and flexibility that hybrid working brings. We operate a hybrid working model that requires regular, weekly attendance for this role, with the precise pattern of days on site and worked from home to be agreed with your manager.