Cabinet Office
Victoria and Albert Museum - 3 x Trustees
| Body: | Victoria and Albert Museum |
|---|---|
| Appointing Department: | Department for Culture, Media & Sport |
| Sectors: | Business, Finance & Skills, Culture, Media & Sport, Education |
| Location: | Board meetings are usually held at the V&A in South Kensington, however there is an annual away day for Trustees which may be held outside London. |
| Skills required: | Business / Commercial, IT / Digital |
| Number of Vacancies: | 3 |
| Remuneration: | The posts are unpaid but reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed, subject to the V&A’s expenses policy. |
| Time Requirements: | The role involves attending six Board meetings per year, and an annual away day. Trustees usually serve on Sub Committees of the Board, which meet between four and eight times a year. Additional time would be required to study papers and attend events at the Museum. From time to time, Trustees may be called upon to provide ad hoc advice. |
Campaign Timeline
-
Competition Launched
01/07/2019
-
Closed for Applications
07/08/2019
-
Panel Sift
09/09/2019
-
Final Interview Date
Interviews will be held 22nd and 24th October
-
Announcement
TBC
Assessment Panel
-
Helen Whitehouse Added 01/07/2019
Panel Chair
Senior Civil Servant • Departmental Official
-
Nicholas Coleridge Added 01/07/2019
Chair of the V&A • Representative of Organisation
-
Rosie Varley Added 01/07/2019
Senior Independent Panel Member
Vacancy Description
The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport wishes to appoint three new Trustees to the Victoria and Museum (V&A). This is an exciting opportunity to use your skills to benefit the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance.
Person Specification
The V&A and DCMS encourage applications from people from diverse backgrounds who have the ability to make effective contributions to the Board.
Essential Criteria
Candidates should be able to demonstrate the following abilities and attributes:
- An understanding of and an enthusiasm for the objectives and work of the V&A;
- The ability to contribute at Board level regarding current and future initiatives, within the context of the V&A’s overall strategy;
- The ability to work constructively with others in a governance or committee role;
- Excellent communication and ambassadorial skills;
- A commitment to equal opportunities and diversity.
Additional Criteria
In addition to the essential criteria outlined above, candidates for individual trustee roles should also be able to demonstrate additional criteria:
Creative Industries – 1 Trustee
- Be a leader in the field of the creative industries, particularly in the areas of public programming, architecture, design, digital technology, craft or performance;
- The ability to demonstrate access to international networks would be advantageous;
Business– 1 Trustee
- Be a leader and/or innovator in the field of commercial and/or digital business;
- The ability to demonstrate access to international networks would be advantageous;
- Familiarity in dealing with the challenges of operating a significant and profit-generating commercial undertaking;
- Experience in retail, publishing, digital, and/or online-business would be advantageous.
Education – 1 Trustee
- Be a leader in the field of education which could encompass schools, higher education, distance learning or academia;
- The ability to demonstrate knowledge of the educational programme and initiatives offered by the V&A.
- An extensive network in schools, universities, museums, and/or professional societies around the UK and beyond.
- The ability to offer guidance in the field of design education: this aligns with the V&A’s education programmes within English secondary schools and in east London.
Additional Information
The Role of Trustees
The Board of Trustees of the V&A is the statutory body which is responsible for the Museum and its collections under the terms of the National Heritage Act 1983. The main functions of the Board are:
- To care for, preserve and add to the objects in the collections.
- To secure that the objects are exhibited to the public.
- To secure that the objects are available to persons seeking to inspect them in connection with study or research.
- To generally promote the public’s enjoyment and understanding of art, craft and design, both by means of the Board’s collections and by such means as they consider appropriate.
Further information about the V&A Board can be found on the website: V&A Current Trustees – Link
About the Victoria & Albert Museum
The V&A houses a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects which span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The Museum holds many of the UK’s national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance.
The V&A is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and is a charity exempt from registration under the Charities Act of 1993. It operates at arm’s length from the Government and is governed by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Prime Minister.
The V&A receives Grant-In-Aid funding from Parliament, provided through DCMS, but also generates a significant proportion of its own income.
Further information about the V&A (including the museum’s Mission Statement) can be found on its website at www.vam.ac.uk
How to Apply
Applications should be made by submitting:
- a CV of no more than two pages setting out details of your education and qualifications, employment history, directorships, membership of professional bodies and details of any publications or awards;
- a supporting statement, also of up to two pages which sets out how you meet the essential criteria of the role.
- You should also complete the conflict of interest and the political activity/diversity monitoring form. The diversity monitoring form will be kept separately from the main form and will not be seen by the selection panel in order to meet the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments.
Please return your completed applications to: publicappointments@culture.gov.uk and put ‘Victoria and Albert Museum’ in the subject line. Please indicate which role you are applying for.
If you have any questions about the Public Appointments Process please contact:
Christabel Austen, Public Appointments Campaign Manager, Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Email: publicappointments@culture.gov.uk
DCMS promotes an equal opportunities policy. Appointments are made on merit, following a fair and transparent process, and these appointments are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Applications are welcomed regardless of gender, age, marital status, disability, religion, ethnic origin, political opinion, sexual orientation or whether or not you have dependents. More details, including the regulations that appointing bodies are required to follow, are available at the OCPA website: http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/
These vacancies are being advertised externally in the media, on the V&A’s website, on the DCMS website and the Public Appointments website in order to reach as diverse an audience as possible.
The Law places certain restrictions on becoming a charity trustee. These are set out in Section 3.1 of the Charity Commission Essential Trustee Guidance:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/451020/CC3.pdf
All applicants are expected to have adhered to the Seven Principles of Public Life.
Please note, interviews are scheduled for 22nd and 24th October in Central London. DCMS does not reimburse travel expenses.
Return to Search
