Porthcurno Telegraph Museum

Museum Director

Candidate Brief

December 2017

Our History

Housed in original cable station buildings and wartime tunnels, Telegraph Museum Porthcurno, Cornwall tells the extraordinary story of the scientists and engineers who developed and maintained a worldwide network of undersea telegraph cables. This network, the vision of Sir John Pender, formed the blueprint for today’s global optical fibre network.

In 1870, the Falmouth,Malta, Gibraltar Telegraph Company, the forerunner of the Eastern Telegraph Company (ETC), landed an undersea telegraph cable at Porthcurno’s sandy beach. Via a series of relay stations the cable stretched thousands of miles to Bombay (Mumbai) in India. Messages which would have taken six weeks to travel by land and sea could now be sent and received in nine minutes: business, government and politics were transformed forever. By 1872, the cable extended to Darwin in Australia, and by 1876 a cable had been laid to New Zealand. Communication across the British Empire was transformed.

Under the direction of Sir John Pender, chair of the ETC, Porthcurno quickly became the hub for global communications and a place of scientific experimentation, innovation and training. Lord Kelvin visited, keen to test new instruments, and Sir Oliver Lodge became Chief Scientific Advisor to the ETC. Eventually the ETC merged with Marconi Wireless to form Cable & Wireless (C&W), a company that dominated global communications for decades. Surprisingly few people realise that the origins of today’s global optical fibre networks that enable the internet, email, financial trading, to mention but a few applications, can be traced back to Cornwall.

Thanks to the foresight of staff at the training college, many of the historically significant instruments were saved when telegraph operations ceased in 1970. These, along with the C&W archive which was transferred to Porthcurno, formed the basis of the original Museum which opened in 1998 with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund and C&W. In 2012 the Museum secured a further £2.8 million of development funding, and new family friendly exhibitions, a bespoke archive and Clore Learning Space were opened in June 2014.

The Museum Today

Today, our award-winning Museum is one of the South West’s distinct attractions and, according to visitors, it provides an exceptional experience for all ages and all backgrounds. It houses important scientific collections but is far more than a science museum. We tell the story of the people who worked at Porthcurno, and the stories of the people who came to train here from all over the globe. Visitors see and learn about the secret World War II tunnels that hid the telegraph operations to provide secure communications with the Allies and British forces throughout the war. We go on to tell the story of the development of optical fibre communications and describe the role Cornwall currently plays in providing global internet access.

But we are more than a visitor attraction. We own the archive of documents and memorabilia that record the history of the Eastern Telegraph Company and Cable and Wireless dating back to the 1870’s, as well as items from other archives that relate to communication. This is one of the most important collections world-wide and, in today’s digital world, is an important reminder of the ingenuity, inventiveness and ambition of the Victorian pioneers.The collections and archive have Designated Status, an award made only to museums whose collections are of national and international significance. Researchers from all over the world visit to explore the archive as do the families of ex-Cable and Wireless employees seeking information about the lives of their ancestors. Postgraduate students and staff from the University of Exeter have also made considerable use of the facilities we provide.

The Museum Tomorrow

We rarely have quiet periods in the development of the Museum! We completed one phase of the re-development in 2014 and are now in the middle of a second phase of re-development focusing on telling the story of the World War II tunnels. We are also designing a new galley on fibre optics and lasers to explain how they have enabled the expansion of the internet and the impact that has had on us all.

As the Arts Council’s Major Partner Museums Project comes to an end, we look forward to working with six other museums in Cornwall on the National Portfolio Programme, which will bring £2.44 million of funding from the Arts Council between 2018 and 2022. The funding is part of a wider Cornwall Museums Partnership investment programme of £4.1 million, £450,000 of which will support programmes at the Telegraph Museum.

Digitisation of images has become a significant activity in most museums and, no doubt, will continue to feature in our future programmes. Our new state-of-the art archive building houses a full digitisation suite run by a Digital Engagement Officer and a team of volunteers.

We have links with a number of academic institutions: UCL, Imperial College London, Leeds University, the University of Exeter, and the University of Falmouth and we will seek to strengthen these links as time goes on.

In 2020 we will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of the landing of the first cable at Porthcurno.

The Post

We are seeking to appoint a new Museum Director. Our current Director, Tim Cooke, will take up the post of CEO at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust on 1March 2018. Tim leaves the Museum in a strong financial position with an ambitious,forward-looking programme of activities and a highly committed team able to implement these plans.

The Director reports to the Chair and Board of the Porthcurno Collections Trust (PK Trust) (Charity Number 1062233) and will be responsible for the following:

  • Providing leadership and strategic direction;
  • Management of staff;
  • Fundraising to ensure long-term sustainability;
  • Liaising with key local and national organisations;
  • Planning and overseeing the delivery of public programmesand
  • Management of the estate (including Health and Safety)

Four senior members of staff lead activities on Collections and Interpretation, Engagement, Visitor Experience and Operations, and Finance and Administration and supervise a staff (several part-time and seasonal) of 17 people. Our 40 plus volunteers play important and varied roles in the organisation.

Currently there are four Board Meetings a year and the Director will be required to provide the following:

  • An annual business plan in draft form for the December Board Meeting and in final form for the March meeting;
  • A corresponding budget;
  • A statement of management accounts;
  • A rolling three-year plan;
  • Advice on Good Governance practice; and
  • Advice on risk to the organisation

Our Finances

The museum has had a successful year, with visitor numbers and income well ahead of budgeted projections. A rationalisation of staff numbers and expenditure in 2016 led to a reduction in budgeted costs, helping transform the financial picture from one of structural loss in 2015/16 to a now healthy underlying position.Looking ahead, the Trust is projecting income in excess of £600,000 for the 2018/19 financial year.

Funding for many of our projects has come from sources including the Arts Council, the Heritage Lottery Fund, DCMS/Wolfson, The Royal Academy of Engineering, and The Rank Prize Funds. We are fortunate indeed to receive very significant support from the Vodafone Foundation and the Cable and Wireless Wilshaw Benevolent Fund.

Our Business Plan for 2018/19 and Beyond

The Trust has an ambitious business plan for the coming years. Principal targets and plans are as follows;

  • Boosting public engagements with the museum through new social media and schools’ programmes;
  • Devising and delivering a new digital engagement programme;
  • Devising and implementing a new marketing strategy;
  • Creating new talks and an audio visual programme related to the new WW2 and fibre optics exhibitions;
  • Devising and delivering a new events programme (to include half-term workshops, a science club and community outreach events);
  • Commissioning a new gallery space for collaborative and community exhibitions(including the devising and delivering of a new Citizen Curator programme);
  • Completing of Phase 1/devising and implementation of Phase 2 of the Tunnels Exhibition Development Project
  • Maintaining an online photographic catalogue with an online payment facility and
  • Introducing new partnerships including:
  • Working as a key partner museum with Cornwall Museums Partnership to deliver agreed targets as part of the NPO/ACE funding agreement;
  • Working with Cornwall Council to deliver funding agreement objectives;
  • Working with the Minack Theatre to support cross-promotion of the two sites and of the Porthcurno Valley;
  • Working with the Coastal Communities Steering Group to develop visitor experience, promoting Porthcurno valley; and
  • Developing our volunteering programme to integrate volunteers at the heart of Museum activity.

The person

The Director will need to be able to create a stimulating and exciting environment which will enable staff to take pride in and achieve satisfaction in their work.

As the public face of the Museum, he or she will need to be an excellent communicator and be responsive to the interests of stakeholders.

He or she should aspire to provide an exceptional visitor experience and to meet the needs of researchers accessing the archive.

He or she must be able to demonstrate an ability to maintain excellent financial control.

He or she must provide evidence of fundraising experience, project management and successful delivery of programmes.

He or she will be familiar with the workings of national organisations in the heritage, cultural and educational sectors, such as the Arts Council and Funding Councils, for example, and be aware of the regulations relating to management of collections including disposal of assets.

The person appointed is likely to have been educated to degree level and may have a professional qualification. A demonstrableinterest in the history of science and engineering, although not essential, would be of significant benefit to the Museum.

Salary and Benefits

  • We are happy to consider 4 or 5 day weeksand a salary in the region of£60,000 per annum (Full Time Equivalent) depending on experience;
  • Pension contribution: currently equal to 2.5% of annual salary;
  • Holiday entitlement: 25 days plus bank holidays for full time employees.

Applications

Applications for the role should be made using the application form at and submitted by e-mail to or in writing to the following address;

Professor Gareth Parry (Chair of Trustees),

Telegraph Museum Porthcurno,

Eastern House,

Porthcurno,

Penzance,

Cornwall,

TR19 6JX

Timetable for appointment

  • Closing date for applications: 5.00pm on Thursday 8th Feb. 2018
  • Shortlisting process will be completed by Thursday 15thFebruary 2018,with candidates invited to interview being notified no later than Wednesday 21st February 2018;
  • Interviews will be held at the Porthcurno Telegraph Museum on Thursday 1st March 2018.

Further Information

Further information about the Museum Director role is available from Professor Gareth Parry (Chair of Trustees) at r Chris Fyles (Deputy Chair of Trustees) at .

Additional information about Porthcurno Telegraph Museum is available from our website at

Equal Opportunities

The PK Trust is an Equal Opportunities employer and is committed to creating a culture where individual differences are valued and respected.

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