Thank you for requesting an application pack for the post of:Head of Creative Engagement

Please find enclosed:

  • Job description, Person Specification and Key Competencies
  • Interview Guidance for Applicants
  • Application Form
  • Monitoring questionnaire

Please return completed application forms to or by post to -

Human Resources Department

National Museums Northern Ireland

Ulster Folk and Transport Museum

153 Bangor Road

Cultra

Holywood

BT18 0EU

PLEASE DO NOT DETACH ANY PAGES FROM THE APPLICATION FORM.

INCOMPLETE APPLICATION FORMS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

The closing date for return of applications for the above post is:

4.00pm on FRIDAY 25 AUGUST 2017

Applications received after the closing time and datewill not be considered.

JOB DESCRIPTION

JOB TITLE:HEAD OF CREATIVE ENGAGEMENT

GRADE:UG7

SALARY:£47,749-£52,334

LINE MANAGER:DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

GENERAL RESPONSIBILITY

This role is essential to the delivery of National Museums Northern Ireland’s (NMNI’s) key corporate objectives at both strategic and operational levels. The role holder will have corporate responsibility as an integral part of the Senior Leadership Team, and will lead and manage the development and delivery of an interpretation strategy, increasing access to collections and engaging new and existing audiences.

The role will be responsible for co-ordinating the development of collections interpretation and leading the visitor services teams across the sites to ensure that events, exhibitions, and outreach activity support NMNI’s corporate objectives of increasing participation and delivering key outcomes for a wide range of audiences and users.

MAIN DUTIES

Key objectives of the role include:

  • To design, develop and lead the delivery of effective and innovative Collections Access and Interpretation Strategies to maximise audiences and users of our collections, spaces and museum services.
  • To work collaboratively with key internal stakeholders on the development and delivery of Public Programming including events, exhibitions and collections outreach activity in line with corporate objectives.
  • To provide effective Leadership of the visitor services and interpretation teams across sites to ensure that resources are used efficiently and are appropriately directed to support the delivery of Business Plan objectives.
  • To play the key role in the development and delivery of an excellent visitor experience across all sites.
  • To identify and establish opportunities for Revenue Generation through the development of programming that will attract external funding and increase visitation, as well as from other sources such as memberships.
  • To act as an Advisor to the Board of Trustees, Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team on all issues related to interpretation, public programming and collections outreach.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

  1. Collections Access and Interpretation
  • Lead the development and delivery of the organisation’s collections access and interpretation strategies to maximise audiences and users of our services.
  • Demonstrate an innovative approach to the interpretation of collections and provide guidance on interpretation trends, methods and approaches, supporting colleagues as necessary.
  • Contribute to the development of the digital strategy in collaboration with collections colleagues, ensuring increased access to collections and enriching interpretation and user experiences.
  • Lead the use of design services in increasing the vitality and appeal of interpretation programmes and increasing access to collections information through the development of standards and guidelines.
  1. Visitor Services
  • Lead, motivate and manage the visitor services teams across all museum sites in the delivery of quality interpretative programmes.
  • Play a lead role in the development of the visitor experience ensuring high levels of presentation and customer care.
  • Liaise with other key staff across directorates to ensure the delivery of an effective, efficient service to the visiting public.
  1. Public Programming
  • Play a lead role in the development and implementation of a strategic, co-ordinated and creative approach to the permanent and temporary exhibition programme.
  • Ensure that events and programming support collections and exhibitions and is appropriately influenced by policy drivers and agendas from government, funders and the wider museum sector.
  • Contribute to the evaluation of public programming activity, reviewing user responses with key internal stakeholders and ensuring that this is used to inform future activity.
  • Play a lead role in embedding a culture of collaborative working across the organisation to develop interpretation and public programming activity.
  • Consider opportunities for implementing NMNI’s Section 75 duties for promoting equality of opportunity and good relations in the development of programming.
  1. Partnerships and Outreach
  • Lead the development and delivery of collections outreach programmes increasing access to and understanding of the museum’s collections.
  • Contribute to a strategic and innovative approach to marketing communications which build NMNI’s reach, engages target audiences and increases attendance and income.
  • Contribute to a strategic and innovative approach to digital/new media to increase virtual access to collections, engage audiences and support marketing communications.
  • Support the development of effective working relationships with key stakeholders across the public, private and local, national and international museums sectors, building strategic alliances and collaborative partnerships in support of NMNI’s corporate objectives.
  • Maintain productive relationships with funding bodies and other organisations to identify and maximise grant opportunities and attract external funding for interpretation and public programming initiatives.
  1. Financial Management
  • Manage the overall visitor services and interpretation budget ensuring that all financial targets are met.
  • To work with the Senior Leadership Team to deliver efficiency gains driven by inspiration, learning and creativity.
  • To consider and monitor the financial impact of new business initiatives against the approved business plan.
  1. Managing and Leading Teams

Within own area of responsibility:

  • Ensure that strong strategic planning capability, monitoring and reporting processes which deliver and measure business performance are in place.
  • Ensure that robust performance management arrangements and systems are developed and implemented for all staff.
  • Focus on the service delivery and cost efficiency of the functions considering a range of options to maximise effectiveness.
  • Ensure compliance with all relevant policy areas within NMNI including staff management and health and safety.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

Qualifications

  1. Educated to degree level with at least 3 years’ experience in a senior management role with experience in understanding the customer and delivery of exceptional services to meet their needs.

Skills

  • Demonstrable experience at a senior level of the provision and management of interpretation, access or engagement strategies.
  • An understanding of the role of museums in contemporary society in supporting access for all.
  • Demonstrable track record of working in partnership and leading delivery of collaborative programmes.
  • Experience of working collaboratively with a diverse range of stakeholders, both internal and external to the organisation, to achieve successful outcomes.
  • Excellent programme and project management skills.
  • Excellent negotiating, influencing and communication skills and the ability to build good relationships with colleagues and partners communicating effectively at all levels.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

In the event of a significant number of applications, we reserve the right to increase selection criteria in the following order:

Skills

  • Experience in creative content development and/or design to support audience engagement.
  • Demonstrable track record of personally leading change, motivating and developing staff and creating effective and productive teams.
  • Strong leadership and motivational qualities – demonstrating ability to provide strategic insight and act with integrity.
  • Experience of successfully raising external funding to support programmes.

KEY COMPETENCIES

Key competencies identified for effective performance in the role include:

Strategic Leadership / Demonstrates proven ability in contributing to the strategic direction of an organisation. Demonstrates ability to create and contribute to a culture of innovation and continuous improvement to build a flexible and responsive staff resource to support strategy implementation
Making effective decisions / Demonstrates the ability to create evidence based strategies, evaluating options, impacts, risks and solutions to maximize return and minimize risk; balancing financial, economic, social and environmental considerations to provide sustainable outcomes
Leading and communicating / Demonstrates the ability to establish a strong and clear direction and a persuasive future vision. Using leadership, motivation, communication and influencing skills to promote understanding and agreement both with staff as well as external stakeholders. Promotes a culture of delegation and empowerment of staff
Collaborating and partnering / Demonstrates the ability to create and maintain positive, professional and trusting working relationships with a wide range of stakeholders to achieve business objectives and goals. Ensures collaboration and has the ability to build constructive partnerships for business/ organisational benefit
Commercial Focus / Demonstrates ability to make efficient, effective and economic use of resources. Demonstrates ability to create an environment to deliver operational excellence and creates the most appropriate and cost effective delivery models to ensure optimum service delivery. Ensures mechanisms are in place for the effective corporate governance of the organisation

INTERVIEW GUIDANCE FOR APPLICANTS

If this is your first experience of a competence-based interview, bear in mind that it does not require you to:

  • Talk through previous jobs or appointments from start to finish;
  • Provide generalised information as to your background and experience; or
  • Provide information that is not specifically relevant to the competence the question is designed to test.

A competence-based interview does however require you to:

  • Focus exclusively, in your responses, on your ability to fulfill the competences required for effective performance in the role; and
  • Provide specific examples of your experience in relation to the required competence areas.

In preparation for the interview you may wish to think about having a clear structure for each of your examples, such as:

  • Situation – briefly outline the situation;
  • Task – what was your objective, what were you trying to achieve;
  • Action – what did you actually do, what was your unique contribution;
  • Result – what happened, what was the outcome, what did you learn.

The panel will ask you to provide specific examples from your past experience in relation to each of the competences. You should therefore come to the interview prepared to discuss in detail a range of examples which best illustrate your skills and abilities in each competence area. You may draw examples from any area of your work experiences.

Application Form forHead of Creative Engagement

Please complete this form accurately and in as much detail as possible, using typescript or BLACK INK. Applications for this post will only be accepted on this form and CVs will not be accepted.Please note that the closing date for the return of completed application forms is4pm on Friday 25 August 2017

PERSONAL DETAILS

Surname / Forenames / Title
Address
Postcode
Email address
Telephone Numbers / Home / Work / Mobile
Do you require a work permit to work in the UK? / Yes / No
If yes, please provide details
Do you require any adjustments to take part in our selection process effectively? / Yes / No
If yes, please provide details
Please indicate any dates you will not be available for interview

ACADEMIC OR OTHER QUALIFICATIONS(Documentary Evidence will be required from the successful candidate)

School, college, university etc / Qualifications and date obtained

MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL BODIES

Name of Association or body / Status and date of membership

PRESENT/MOST RECENT POSITION

Employer’s Name
Address
Job Title
Start date / Current or final salary
Notice required / Earliest available start date
Reason for leaving or seeking other employment
Brief outline of your duties/responsibilities (please continue on a separate sheet if necessary)

OTHER PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT(List previous employment starting with the most recent)

From / To / Employer’s name / Job title and main duties / Reason for leaving
and address / and final salary


Please OUTLINE how you feel you meet each of the criteria below. Each of your responses should be limited to 300 words.

It is important that you demonstrate how you satisfy the full requirements of the post as NMNI will interview only those candidates who appear from the information provided to have the best knowledge, skills and experience associated with the duties of the post.

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

Qualifications

  1. Educated to degree level with at least 3 years’ experience in a senior management role with experience in understanding the customer and delivery of exceptional services to meet their needs.

Skills

  1. Demonstrable experience at a senior level of the provision and management of interpretation, access or engagement strategies.
  1. An understanding of the role of museums in contemporary society in supporting access for all.
  1. Demonstrable track record of working in partnership and leading delivery of collaborative programmes.
  1. Experience of working collaboratively with a diverse range of stakeholders, both internal and external to the organisation, to achieve successful outcomes.
  1. Excellent programme and project management skills.
  1. Excellent negotiating, influencing and communication skills and the ability to build good relationships with colleagues and partners communicating effectively at all levels.

DESIRABLE CRITERIA

In the event of a significant number of applications, we reserve the right to increase selection criteria in the following order:

Skills

  1. Experience in creative content development and/or design to support audience engagement.
  1. Demonstrable track record of personally leading change, motivating and developing staff and creating effective and productive teams.
  1. Strong leadership and motivational qualities – demonstrating ability to provide strategic insight and act with integrity.
  1. Experience of successfully raising external funding to support programmes.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please give details of any interests or activities outside work or any other information, which you consider relevant to your application.

REFERENCES

Please provide details for two people who are able to provide references relating to your work experience and suitability for the post for which you are applying. At least one referee should be a previous employer and if possible your present or most recent employer. Referees will only be contacted after interviews have taken place.

Name / Name
Position / Position
Address / Address
Telephone / Telephone
Email / Email

HEALTH

Please note that if you are under consideration for appointment you will be required to complete a Health Declaration Form and may have to attend a medical examination.

CRIMINAL RECORD

Please note if you are under consideration for appointment you will be required to be checked through ACCESS NI.

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that all the information given by me as part of this recruitment process is correct to the best of my knowledge and that all the questions relating to me have been accurately and fully answered.

A candidate found to have knowingly given false information or to have wilfully suppressed any material fact may be liable for disqualification or, if appointed, to dismissal.

SignatureDate

National Museums Northern Ireland is committed to equal opportunity in employment.

All applications for employment are considered strictly on the basis of merit.

/ MONITORING QUESTIONNAIRE
Post / Head of Creative Engagement
Reference / HCE/0817
National Museums Northern Ireland is committed to equality of opportunity as reflected in our Equal Opportunities Policy and Equality Scheme. Monitoring is an essential step in this process. We would therefore ask you to complete this form.
1a / Date of Birth / 1b / National Insurance Number
2 / Gender / Male /  / Female / 
3 / Martial Status / Single /  / Married /  / Divorced / 
Widowed /  / Separated / 
4 / Ethnic Origin / White / Indian / Pakistani
Black African /  / Black Caribbean /  / Black Other / 
Irish Traveller /  / Mixed Ethnic Group /  / Bangladeshi / 
Chinese /  / Other, please specify
5 / Disability / The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 defines a disabled person as someone with a physical or mental impairment which has a substantive and long-term adverse effect on his/her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Having read this definition do you consider that you are a disabled person or that you have a disability?
Yes /  / No / 
If you have answered ‘Yes’ to the above question please tick the appropriate boxes below to indicate the nature of your disability (tick as many as apply to you):
Visual Impairment /  / Hearing Impairment /  / Learning Disability / 
Mental Health Difficulty /  / Mobility Impairment /  / Speech Impairment / 
Reduced Physical Capacity /  / Physical Co-ordination Difficulties /  / Severe Disfigurement / 
Other, please specify
6 / Community Background / We are required to monitor the community background of applicants and employees, as stipulated by the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998.
Regardless of whether we practice religion, most of us in Northern Ireland are seen as either Roman Catholic or Protestant. We therefore ask you to indicate your community background below. If you do not complete this section we are encouraged to use the ‘residuary method’ of monitoring, which means that we can make a determination on the basis of personal information on file or your application form.
Protestant Community /  / Roman Catholic Community /  / Neither / 
7 / Religious Belief / We monitor the Religious Belief of applicants and employees. We recognise that there may be occasions where Religious Belief differs to perceived Community Background, especially where the residuary method has been used to make a determination.
In order to ensure that our records are correct, please indicate your Religious Belief by ticking one box below.
Christian /  / Muslim /  / Hindu / 
Sikh /  / Jewish /  / Buddhist / 
None /  / Other, please specify
8 / Dependants / We understand persons with dependants to be those with personal responsibility for the care of a child, the care of a person with an incapacitating disability and/or the care of a dependant elderly person.
Do you have dependants?
Yes /  / No / 
9 / Age / We monitor the age group of applicants and employees, in line with the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (NI) 2006.
We therefore ask you to indicate your age grouping by ticking the appropriate box below.
16 – 29 /  / 30 – 44 /  / 45 – 59 / 
60 - 69 /  / 70 – 74 /  / 75 +
10 / How did you hear about this vacancy?
The above information will be used for Equal Opportunities Monitoring only. The questionnaire will be kept separate from the application form and the selection panel will not have access to it.

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