NATIONAL MUSEUMS LIVERPOOL

APPOINTMENT OF TRUSTEESAPPOINTMENT BRIEFING

June 2018

CONTENTS1. Introduction2. The role3. The person4. Terms of appointment5. How to apply

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR Dear Colleague,

Thank you for showing an interest in the role of Trustee at National Museums Liverpool.

The Trustees of NML and I have spent considerable time thinking about the challenges we face, the vision and strategy we currently have and the sort of capability and capacity we need going forward. Selecting the right Trustees to take NML forward is key to our future success. We are seeking recruitment of such a large number (8-10) as we are currently below our minimum Board level and also lose a number of our experienced Trustees in 2019 as their second terms in post come to an end.

NML has been very successful and we wish to build on this and respond to the rapidly changing environment that the museums and galleries work within, and the developing needs and expectations of audiences. We need to revisit our vision and strategy whilst not losing our commitment to the inclusive agenda which has informed so much of our work. We need to move on from some of our more traditional ways of thinking and be far more ambitious, claiming our place as the national museums and galleries of the North.

NML has dealt with austerity very well, but at some cost. Given the continuing financial challenges we need to make best use of all our assets and create a business model that enables us to care for our historic buildings and collections, and to grow our audiences through our exhibitions and learning programmes. We need to drive a far greater engagement with our City region stakeholders and continue to build our reputation, not only in the North of England, but also nationally and internationally. We must become indispensable to those that provide our resources, especially the DCMS.

We have been making considerable progress on this ambitious agenda and we are looking for Trustees who will push for an organisational culture that thinks very differently about what we do and how we deliver without losing the anchor of our extraordinary collections and the commitment of the staff. We need to refresh our academic core, working with a range of partners to deliver a strong long term platform for future development.

We are also ambitious about extending our offer through our existing sites, and perhaps developing new ones. Again, work is under way, but we need to move faster.

There is a lot more to explain, but I hope that I have captured the setting in which new Trustees will be entering. We are looking for individuals who share our ambition and have the skill set and experience to deliver.

Whoever we appoint can expect the fullest of support from a group of highly talented Trustees, Director, and senior team, who are at one in sharing a great ambition for NML.

Yours sincerely

Sir David Henshaw

INTRODUCTION • National Museums Liverpool is one of the world's great encyclopaedic museums. It holds in trust globally important museum collections that are universal in their range.

• The organisation comprises eight museums. They are the International Slavery Museum, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Museum of Liverpool, Sudley House, UK Border Force National Museum (Seized! The Border and Customs Uncovered, funded by the Home Office), Walker Art Gallery, and World Museum.

• National Museums Liverpool is the only national museum organisation in England based wholly outside London, and the museum service has a unique, fourfold role: NML is the core museum service for Liverpool and the Liverpool City Region; it is the North West’s largest cultural organisation and one of the largest and most important in the UK; it operates at national and international levels.

• National Museums Liverpool has a turnover of c.£34m and employs 710 staff. Due to NML’s national importance, the museum service is core-funded by central Government through the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

• The range of the collections is immense, including archaeology, fine and decorative art, science, natural history, social history and slavery. Reflecting this, approximately 50% of NML's visitors come from outside Merseyside.

• The last 15 years have seen considerable growth in the scale and breadth of operations at National Museums Liverpool. This has included the opening of two new museums (the International Slavery Museum and the Museum of Liverpool), the expansion of programmes with a strong social impact (such as flagship dementia awareness programme House of Memories which has trained more than 11,000 museum, health and social care workers and family carers) and many new international connections. The exhibition programme has gone from strength to strength with Victorian Treasures, organised by the Walker Art Gallery, being seen by over 209,000 people in Liverpool and across four major cities in Japan. This year the World Museum plays host to the Terracotta Warriors, a major show featuring a number of objects never shown in the UK before. Alongside this, commercial sales have increased from £1.7m in 2003/04 to a projected £9.2m in 2018/19 including Terracotta Warriors ticket income.

• National Museums Liverpool welcomed 3.3m visitors to its museums in 2017/18 (a 9% increase on the previous year). National Museums Liverpool is central in attracting visitors to the city and last year contributed £53m and 1,200 jobs to the City region. There is an aim for every child in the Liverpool City Region to visit a National Museums Liverpool venue and in 2016/17 over 393,000 school children and young people benefitted from one of the organisation’s education programmes.

• National Museums Liverpool has an international reputation for excellence and ethical behaviour. The organisation is influential and its professional advice and expertise is sought regularly by other museums, universities, agencies and national governments; particularly in the areas of audience development, human rights, health and wellbeing, shared service models and the development of large-scale capital projects. • NML is an innovative museum service, and its priority is to manage museums that are both professional and popular, with diverse audiences. It is acutely aware of its social responsibility to deliver a vibrant museum service that is used widely and valued highly. Its mission is to be the world’s leading example of an inclusive museum service. For further information about NML, including further detail about its 2017-20 strategic plan, its museums, and its mission and values please visit the website here: http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/about/index.aspx

THE ROLE NML’s wide ranging collections and active outreach work programmes are overseen by its management and Board of Trustees. The chief role of Trustees is to assist the Chair, Sir David Henshaw, in meeting the Board’s overall responsibilities, and in accordance with the guidance issued by the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Trustees offer guidance and expertise on NML’s strategy and its practical implementation.

REWARDSAs well as knowing that you have contributed to the running of a highly successful organisation, and played a crucial role in the cultural life of one of the UK’s most vibrant cities, we like to say thank you by giving you discount in our shops and cafes. There is no remuneration for these roles.

TIME COMMITMENTAll new trustees will experience an induction process which will include orientation days at our museum, and the opportunity to meet with staff. The exact role of a trustee will be explained, in addition to any specific briefing regarding museum and public sector finance or other more specialist roles.

In addition to attending four Board meeting per year, trustees may be asked to join a Trustee Committee which would require a total time commitment of eight to ten days a year.

CRITERIANML want the membership of our Board to be representative of the diverse populations we serve and as such we welcome applications from those with relevant background and experience, both nationally and locally, and supportive of our mission

‘To be the world’s leading example of an inclusive museum service.’

We are looking to recruit between eight and ten new members to our Board across a broad spectrum of skills and experience, and, as such, are looking for both General Trustees alongside other trustees with specific skills, where we are able to match experience and skills to a desirable role.

Applications are welcome from everyone who matches the core requirements and feel NML would input from your input and enthusiasm, and/or if you have these core requirements and relevant skills sought for specific roles such as finance or commercial.

NUMBER AND TYPES OF TRUSTEES REQUIREDWe are looking for the following trustees, but can be flexible depending upon the applications we receive. You are welcome to apply for more than one role:

● up to 2 Finance Trustees

● 1 Commercial Trustee

● 1 Estate Management/ Property Trustee

● 3-4 Trustees, specialising in one or more of the following areas: Marketing, Digital, Creative and Human Resources/ Transformational Management.

● 3-4 General Trustees (depending upon the specialist Trustees appointed)

PERSON SPECIFICATIONFor all Trustee positions, we are looking for candidates who are able to demonstrate the following essential requirements;

● a passion for museums and galleries and/or a passion for Liverpool and the north west and a desire to support and develop a major cultural organisation there

● an understanding of National Museums Liverpool work, especially as the only national museum service outside London

● an understanding of operating at board level, working constructively with fellow board members and wider stakeholders

● an understanding of the potential opportunities for shared service provision and partnerships, particularly working alongside education and health organisations

● an understanding of both the role cultural venues can play and the potential opportunities for delivering economic growth to the region; and

● a willingness to sit on or lead Trustee Committees.

In addition, we welcome applications that can demonstrate the following desirable criteria. For the finance, commercial, and property/estate management roles these are also essential:

● Finance – for this role we are looking for someone with senior/executive financial experience, preferably within a charitable/public sector, and with an accountancy qualification. At least one trustee will join the Finance Committee, and one will join the Audit Committee.

● Commercial - for this role we are looking for someone with senior/executive commercial experience, particularly in high street and/or online retail (shops, cafes and restaurants) and/or licensing and publications. Expertise in managing commercial growth strategies and implementation would also be an advantage.

● Property/Estate Management - for this role we are looking for someone with experience of managing an historic estate and the need for this to be adapted and used efficiently in a modern context, while protecting each venue’s individual character, historic nature, and heritage value.

● Marketing – for this role we are looking for someone with experience of strategic marketing, including advocacy, audience development, and digital media.

● Digital – for this role we are looking for someone with proven digital experience to take forward NML’s vision of ‘Digital in Everything We Do’.

● Human resources/transformational management –for this role we are looking for someone with proven HR experience, and, in particular, experience of transformational management in relation to the culture and behavioural aspects of an organisation.

● Creative – for this role we are looking for an innovative thinker who will challenge the age old ideals of what museums should be, and bring fresh and new ways of working

TERMS OF APPOINTMENTTerms of appointment are for up to four years. To help with future planning we envisage making some appointments as two and three year appointments. The financial, commercial and property/estate management roles will all be for four years. For other roles applicants may indicate how long they wish to serve for.

START DATEAutumn 2018

LOCATION OF MEETINGSLiverpool.

REMUNERATIONThe Chair and trustees give their services on an honorary basis, however, reasonable expenses are paid.

APPOINTMENT PROCESS AND HOW TO APPLYThe process for this public appointment will adhere to the Code of Practice published by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments

To apply, please send:

● a CV of no more than three sides of A4;● a supporting statement of not more than two sides of A4, setting out how you meet the person

specification for the role you are interested in; and● the two monitoring forms concerning your personal information and political activity (right-click on

the link, select ‘Save Target As…’ then save to your computer – the forms can then be completed at your convenience).

Completed applications should be emailed to publicappointments@culture.gov.uk, stating which trustee role/s you are applying for; General, if applying against the core requirements, or, Financial, Commercial, Marketing/Audience Development, Digital, HR/Transformational Management, or Estate Management, if you feel you have some of the desirable attributes we’ve listed. If you are unable to email your application please post a hard copy, to 4th Floor, 100 Parliament Street, London SW1A 2BQ. If you have any questions regarding your application please contact Priya Mistry at Priya.Mistry@culture.gov.uk.

The closing date for applications is 5pm on 5 September 2018.

Each application will be assessed against the criteria for the roles, as published in this document. Interviews will be held in Liverpool.

For further information, please contact:

Claire Harvey

Tel: 0151 478 4202 claire.harvey@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk