Job Description Director of Operations and Commercial Services

THE JEWISH MUSEUM LONDON

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES

FULL-TIME

JOB DESCRIPTION – DECEMBER 2010

This document contains the following information:

1.  Basic details of the post

2.  Responsibilities of the post

3.  Person specification

4.  Museum mission

5.  Background to the Jewish Museum London

6.  Equal opportunities policy and monitoring form

To apply, please send your current CV and a cover letter, explaining your interest in this post and relevant experience and qualifications, together with details of at least two referees, your current salary and information regarding your availability.

Please also indicate if there are any restrictions on you taking up employment in the UK and, if so, provide details.

The Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form should be completed and included with your application.

Applications should be sent either via email to or to

The Director

The Jewish Museum

Raymond Burton House

129-131 Albert Street

London NW1 7NB

The closing date for applications is 10am on Friday, 7 January 2011

For further information about the Jewish Museum, please visit our website www.jewishmuseum.org.uk

THE JEWISH MUSEUM LONDON

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES

FULL-TIME

JOB DESCRIPTION – DECEMBER 2010

1. Basic details of the post

Job title: Director of Operations and Commercial Services

Salary: c £48,000 per annum, dependent on experience and qualifications

Holiday entitlement: 20 days with an additional allowance for Jewish festivals and public holidays, increasing to 22 days after two calendar years

Hours: Full time (38 hours per week)

Occasional out-of-hours work on Sundays or evenings may be requested, but time-off will be offered in lieu.

The post-holder will report to the Museum Director.

2. Responsibilities of the post

The Jewish Museum is a cultural and educational resource of national and international importance, which reopened in March 2010 after a £10m redevelopment project. With five new galleries and education facilities including a multipurpose Auditorium and Education Space, the museum is an inspirational place to explore culture, heritage and identity.

The Director of Operations and Commercial Services is a new senior, strategic post created to generate funds required to support the museum’s current operation and future plans and to provide support to the Museum Director in key areas of activity. The postholder will have particular responsibility in the areas of strategic management and development, Human Resources, operations and commercial activities. The Director of Operations and Commercial Services will have a crucial role in enabling the museum to achieve its objectives, contributing to the success of the museum, its sustainability and effective operation.

Main responsibilities:

Strategic management and development

·  To support and assist the Museum Director in the strategic management and development of the museum, and to act as the representative of the Museum Director, as required, in relation to operational issues

·  To contribute to Strategic Management Team Meetings. and, in consultation with the Museum Director, to lead, coordinate and supervise key aspects of museum management and administration, including the development and monitoring of the museum’s business plan and departmental work plans, the appraisal process and the museum meeting structure

·  To support the annual budget setting process undertaken by the Finance Director and to monitor the budgets for all areas of direct responsibility

·  In consultation with the Administration Manager, to oversee and contribute to the development and maintenance of museum-wide systems and procedures including databases, the recording of visitor/user statistics and the review and analysis of visitor feedback

·  In consultation with the Museum Director and other senior staff, to help ensure a joined-up approach, with effective relationships across the museum, close collaboration and team-working between departments; working at all levels of seniority but with a particular focus at strategic management levels to ensure the co-ordinated and effective operation of the museum.

Commercial Services

·  To provide the strategic management of commercial activities within the museum.

·  To plan, develop and implement, in close consultation with the Finance Director, Head of Operations, Marketing and other relevant staff, a commercial strategy and other initiatives in order to maximise the potential of the museum’s existing commercial activities, including admissions (individuals and group visits), the museum shop, café and catering, venue hire, picture library, sponsorship and other income generating activities.

·  To act proactively and creatively to identify and deliver new income streams, consistent with the brand values and ethos of the museum.

·  To increase the net profitability of the existing commercial services as required by the museum’s budget, while maintaining the museum’s current favourable Corporation Tax and VAT recovery position

·  To create budgets with the Finance Director to support the commercial activities and agree systems and procedures to monitor progress and increase profitability and activity where possible.

·  To work closely with the marketing team and Museum Director, contributing to audience development strategies and the promotion of the museum, its products and services with the aim of enhancing the positive profile of the museum and maximising both visitor attendance and income generation.

·  To present strategies and reports on progress against targets to the Museum Director, Strategic Management Team and Board of Trustees as required.

Human Resources

·  To be responsible for managing Human Resources working in consultation with the Museum Director, the museum’s HR contractor and the Trustee responsible for the HR portfolio. This will include approving and/or issuing all employment documentation including employment contracts, letters of appointment, CRB checks where relevant, and any changes to terms and conditions of employment; ensuring that annual appraisals are conducted in an appropriate and timely manner, HR policies and the Employee Handbook are updated, as appropriate, and that appropriate records are maintained for staff including sickness, holiday, TOIL, etc.

·  To assist in optimising the performance of staff and the overall effectiveness and success of the museum, while maintaining a positive work environment and team spirit.

Operations

·  To ensure the effective operational management of the museum in support of its overall objectives, and to line-manage the Administration Manager and the Head of Operations who is responsible for two Front of House staff, contracted security and cleaning teams, a variety of contracted building maintenance teams, and a team of over 100 Front of House volunteers

·  To support and assist the Head of Operations in ensuring the safe and efficient day-to-day running of the museum, including the implementation of the museum’s Health and Safety policy and management of the Risk Register, the maintenance of the site and infrastructure, and the security and safety of the building, visitors, staff, volunteers and contractors.

·  To ensure that a high standard of visitor service and excellence in customer care is delivered consistently across all areas of museum activity.

·  To ensure appropriate systems for evaluation and customer feedback are in place and that staff track, monitor and respond; to report to the SMT on feedback and, in conjunction with relevant staff, to develop plans to address any issues.

·  To oversee negotiations and relationships with relevant contractors and suppliers, delegating to Operations and Administrative staff as appropriate.

General

·  To undertake appropriate training as available and determined in conjunction with the Museum Director.

·  To carry out any other reasonable duties as requested by the Museum Director.

·  To maintain high levels of discretion and confidentiality at all times.

3. Person specification

The successful candidate will possess the following experience and skills:

·  A proven track record in operations management and HR at a senior level

·  A proven track record of senior management in retail or other commercial activity with specific profit and loss responsibility

·  Previous demonstrable experience of managing and developing a sizeable team of staff

·  Proven experience of writing, managing and monitoring strategic plans and reports

·  A strong entrepreneurial spirit and proven track record in income generation, with the capacity and drive to deliver fresh opportunities

·  Highly organised and flexible in approach

·  Approachable, inspirational and supportive, with the ability to communicate effectively with people in all areas of the museum

·  Strong supplier/contractor management and negotiation skills

·  Integrity, diplomacy and professional skills to work effectively on cross-team initiatives and to consult as appropriate

·  Strong IT skills – MS Office, database skills etc

·  Proven ability to think and act strategically and to develop and implement practical and effective procedures

·  Budget management experience – previously managed budgets in the region of £1m or more

·  Very strong communication skills, both verbally and in writing

·  Excellent team-working skills

We are interested to hear from applicants with experience in the museums, galleries, heritage or cultural sectors, and those who come from other sectors.

4. The museum’s mission

The Jewish Museum London plays a leading role in celebrating Jewish life and cultural diversity.

We engage with people of all ages, backgrounds and faiths to explore Jewish culture,

heritage and identity as part of the wider story of Britain.

Our exhibitions, education programmes and activities encourage a sense of discovery

and creativity. They build interfaith understanding, inspiring people to take a stand

against racism and to look at the world from a different point of view.

5. Background to the Jewish Museum

Founded in 1932, the Jewish Museum relocated in 1994 to an elegant, early Victorian listed building in the vibrant neighbourhood of Camden Town. In the same year it amalgamated, on a two-site basis, with the former London Museum of Jewish Life, in Finchley. Following the amalgamation, the museum operated as a single organisation with a unified management structure, but with two locations (the Jewish Museum - Camden Town and the Jewish Museum - Finchley), with complementary collections, displays and activities. In September 2007, both sites of the museum closed in preparation for a major capital development project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The combined museum reopened on a single expanded site in Camden Town in March 2010, bringing all its collections and activities together for the first time.

The museum’s collections cover Jewish history, culture and religious life in Britain and beyond. The Judaica collections were awarded Designated status by the Museums Libraries & Archives Council in 1997 in recognition of their outstanding national importance, and are widely considered to be one of the world’s finest collections of Jewish ceremonial art. The history collections span from the medieval period through to the present day, reflecting the diverse roots and heritage of different waves of Jewish migration to Britain, with a particular emphasis on the Jewish East End of London and the experience of refugees from Nazism.

Since the merger, the museum has built up a wide range of exhibitions and activities, including an acclaimed programme of Holocaust and anti-racist education, Discovering Judaism programmes for young people and events for all ages.

The Museum Chairman is Lord Young of Graffham and HRH The Prince of Wales is the museum’s Royal Patron.

Our new museum

Following its £10m transformation, the Jewish Museum offers a range of facilities and displays which aim to engage visitors from all backgrounds and ages, and to build interfaith understanding and connections.

Welcome Gallery

·  Multimedia installation highlighting the diverse backgrounds and multi-faceted identities of Jewish people in Britain today

·  A medieval mikveh, excavated in 2001 in the City of London – a key exhibit illustrating the long history of Jewish settlement in Britain

History: A British Story

·  Vibrant, interactive exhibition, illustrating the diverse roots and history of Jewish people, as part of Britain’s diverse cultural heritage

·  Lively and evocative displays on Jewish migration from around the world, the East End, refugees from Nazism and many other areas of British Jewish history, drawing on our wide-ranging collections of photographs, testimonies and artifacts

·  Highlights include ‘Migration game’, East End street with immigrant kitchen and tailoring workshop displays, Yiddish theatre karaoke

Judaism: A Living Faith

·  Displaying and interpreting the Museum's outstanding collection to illustrate Jewish religious life in the context of living Judaism today

·  Audio-visual and hands-on displays, including an immersive Sabbath experience and ‘Ask the Rabbi’ interactive

The Holocaust Gallery

·  Building on the museum’s highly acclaimed Holocaust and anti-racist education programmes

·  Based on testimonies of survivors and refugees who settled in Britain

Changing Exhibitions Gallery

·  To show wide-ranging exhibitions including high profile displays from international venues such as the Jewish museums of the world, and to provide extra space for the Museum’s own highly regarded exhibition programme

Displays for Children and Education Space

·  Hands-on displays for children and families throughout the galleries

·  Dedicated Education Space for school visits and creative workshops

Auditorium

·  A 100-seat multipurpose auditorium to house a wide variety of educational activities and cultural events

Research Library and Stores

·  Photographic archives, collections and print stores

A new café and shop

·  Attractive kosher café providing visitors with an opportunity to sample Jewish food

·  Enlarged shop stocking books and gifts, including high quality contemporary Judaica

For more information, please visit our website on www.jewishmuseum.org.uk

THE JEWISH MUSEUM

Equal Opportunities Policy

1.  Statement of Policy

The Jewish Museum endeavours to be an equal opportunity employer and has a policy for this purpose.

The aim of the policy is to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less than favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, age, marital status, sexual orientation or disability or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be seen to be justifiable.

This policy covers all aspects of employment including vacancy advertising, selection, recruitment, training, conditions of service and reasons for termination of service.

To ensure that this policy is operating effectively and for no other purpose the Museum maintains records of employee’s racial origins, gender and disability. The Museum will ensure that there is ongoing monitoring and analysis of such records to provide the basis for appropriate action to eliminate unlawful direct and indirect discrimination and promote equality of opportunity.