Candidate Brief for the position of

Historic Properties Director

English Heritage June 2020

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Welcome

I am delighted that you are interested in this role at English Heritage and in

playing a critical leadership role within our unique organisation.

This role of Historic Properties Director is responsible for all aspects of the care,

management and commercial development of our sites across the country and

for our on-site visitor experience. It is also a key role on my team that drives

forward and takes ownership of our capital investment programme.

At English Heritage we care for over 420 historic buildings, monuments and sites, from world-famous

prehistoric places to grand medieval castles; from Roman forts on the edges of the empire to a Cold War

bunker. Historically a public sector body, we made a bold transition to become an independent, charitable

organisation in April 2015. Our plans are rightly ambitious, but we believe we can achieve our aims and our

first five years of autonomous performance have been strong; we have met all key growth targets. Only just

over 100 of our sites are pay to enter. The rest are completely free, which means that the emphasis needs to

be more on involving local communities to tell their stories and provide a positive visitor experience on our

behalf.

Since 2015, we have completed close to 20 significant capital investment projects to bring history to life at sites

across the country. We have built new facilities for visitors, installed innovative interpretation and restored and

conserved important historic gardens. These projects have helped our annual visitor numbers to grow by over

800,000 to six and a half million, and our membership base has grown by a third to over one million. Our

visitor experience scores have improved year on year and, in the last five years, we supported 1.2 million

education visits to our sites, fulfilling our charitable purpose. The Historic Properties Director role is critical to

the sponsorship and delivery of this work and oversees an annual capital investment programme that drives

future growth.

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The Coronavirus pandemic has been tough for us. We shut all of our sites in March and we are only starting

to open some of them now. Like all visitor attraction organisations, we have suffered significant losses that will

take us at least 24 months to recoup and our activities may need to be pared back. The successful candidate

will be key to leading us through this recovery.

You will lead a skilled and committed national team of over 1,500 employees and 3,500 volunteers through six

direct reports, all senior managers in their own right. As well as steering this capable team, ensuring that

commercial and charitable objectives are met and developing strategy for future development, I need you to

play an active role on the Senior Management Team. All six of my Directors help me lead the organisation as

a whole and it’s critical to me that I appoint someone who cares about everything English Heritage does.

I am not seeking someone who is purely a commercial operator. Candidates need to understand that this role

is also about winning the hearts and minds of local communities. You need to have a strong charitable mindset

and appreciate that what matters is our care, interpretation and conservation of the National Heritage

Collection for generations to come. Of course, in order to fund this work, we need to think commercially but

that’s only one part of the story.

It is an enormous privilege to be the Chief Executive of English Heritage. Our Senior Management Team brings

valuable expertise and strategic insight to help us realise the untapped potential for the organisation. If you

are excited by this opportunity and have the experience required to help us become a thriving, community-

oriented and well-loved charity, then we would be delighted to hear from you. Our agents at Berwick Partners

will tell you more. You would be joining us at an interesting time, with the opportunity to shape the future for

the charity.

Yours sincerely,

Kate Mavor

Chief Executive

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About English Heritage

At English Heritage, we are a world leader in the care and presentation of historic sites and monuments. The

National Heritage Collection is the nation’s outdoor museum of national history, covering the whole timespan

of human habitation in England from Boxgrove man to the Cold War. In opening the collection to the public,

we aim to bring the history of England alive for visitors. English Heritage and its predecessor bodies have a

long record of presenting historic sites to the public. They have always based their work on the most

immaculate historical and archaeological research, pushing the boundaries of interpretation to bring the fabric

of our national history to life.

A new model and vision for the way England’s heritage is cared for came into force in April 2015. Two

organisations were formed from the previous English Heritage: a new charity, retaining the name English

Heritage, of which the purpose is conservation and public enjoyment of the National Heritage Collection. The

other, Historic England, is the Non Departmental Public Body, which leads the work to conserve the best of

our historic environment, delivering planning and conservation services and advice, and promoting the role

of heritage at the heart of sustainable growth.

Since these changes, we have been empowered to embrace ever more innovative ways to manage, protect

and promote the National Heritage Collection, which includes some of our most important historic places such

as Stonehenge, parts of Hadrian’s Wall, the Iron Bridge, Tintagel Castle, Osborne House and Gardens, the

home of Charles Darwin and Dover Castle. Innovative commercial growth has also been in evidence. English

Heritage holiday cottages have become an additional revenue stream, our retail and catering offerings are

growing and our venue hire and filming businesses, all under the sponsorship of this role, play a critical part

in allowing members, visitors and the general public to experience our extraordinary and unique sites in a

different way.

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We have also invested heavily, through a detailed consumer research process, to identify and understand the

key benefits to individuals of engaging with history at English Heritage sites, and how these individual benefits

lead to wider social impact.

These include an increased sense of belonging and identity, as well as instilling a greater sense of connection

with the past and the responsibility to help preserve it. By helping our visitors experience these benefits, the

charity contributes to a wider shared identity and connection between people and communities, leading to

greater social cohesion through education and the desire to preserve our common inheritance.

The following resources will help you to understand our work, our impact and our future plans in more depth:

◼ English Heritage Website: www.english-heritage.org.uk

◼ English Heritage Annual Report: www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/annual-reports/

◼ English Heritage priorities: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/our-priorities/

◼ English Heritage vision and values: https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/our-values/

Context of the Role

English Heritage now seeks to appoint a forward-thinking Historic Properties Director who will be an influential

and pro-active leader. This role is a rare and exciting opportunity to lead a business towards a successful and

sustainable future and thereby preserve and enhance the National Heritage Collection for the enjoyment of

future generations. The Historic Properties Director will need to demonstrate a deep appreciation of heritage

and a passion for the collection. They will be an outstanding leader and an inspiring ambassador. It is a role

for someone capable of delivering substantial change who can achieve the charity’s ambitious goals through

a combination of creativity and commercial enterprise. They must also articulate a strong commitment to

conservation, the importance of history and the establishment of a world-class visitor experience.

The Historic Properties Director is a strategically important role with responsibility for a portfolio of income-

generating activity. Sitting at the heart of the organisation, the Historic Properties team works across a broad

portfolio including visitor operations, visitor experience, on-site membership sales, retail, visitor catering,

hospitality, events, holiday cottages, filming, commercial property and free-to-enter sites. The team under the

Historic Properties Director develops and delivers a strategy with the objective of optimising profits for the

business in a manner consistent with our brand and our position as one of the UK’s most important cultural

charities.

Whilst our commercial businesses and visitor operations are working well, there is a great opportunity for

whoever comes into this role to improve performance, profitability and community engagement across all

areas. There is definitely scope for creativity and innovation with opportunities for growth across the portfolio.

English Heritage is looking for a strategic and commercially minded individual with a proven track record of

success and accountability for business performance in a consumer-facing environment. Multi-site experience

would be a distinct advantage. Whilst they may not have experience of working with historic properties or the

heritage sector, they must be sensitive to the balance needed between commercial, curatorial and

conservation objectives and its nuances. It is also critically important that the successful candidate can

demonstrate strong financial acumen and the ability to manage a complex capital investment programme.

This individual will also have excellent leadership and management experience, strong communication skills

and the ability to build relationships with a wide range of stakeholders internally and externally.

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The Historic Properties Director is one of 6 direct reports to the Chief Executive as illustrated here:

The top-level structure under the Historic Properties Director can be seen below:

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The Role Reporting to the Chief Executive, the Historic Properties Director’s principal responsibilities are:

◼ The leadership and strategic development of over 420 properties in the National Collection, in particular

to develop and implement a strategy which ensures that the 111 staffed properties deliver the financial

and commercial targets set by the charity.

◼ Management of an annual P&L and capital investment programme which, in usual trading times, are

£75m and £15m, respectively.

◼ Leading a commercial, operations and visitor experience team which has responsibility for retail,

hospitality, holiday cottages, visitor catering, commercial filming and events across the country.

◼ To work with the SMT in developing the Capital Investment Programme (CIP). The CIP delivers a range

of projects across the portfolio to enhance interpretation at sites, visitor facilities, as well as the quality

of the visitor experience, strengthening our brand and delivering profitable revenue growth, which

contributes significantly to the financial sustainability of the Charity. There is a need to be able to

reprofile projects to reflect changing circumstances, whilst still delivering agreed financial targets, to time

and within budget.

◼ Collaborate with the CEO and SMT to contribute to the strategic development of the organisation and

represent English Heritage externally to a wide range of stakeholders.

◼ To lead and manage all visitor-centred aspects of the English Heritage historic estate, ensuring close

and productive relationships between professionals involved in all aspects of this enterprise – striving to

ensure that curatorial, conservation and commercial priorities are balanced in an even-handed and

collegiate manner which ensures the delivery of the highest achievable standards of customer service

and collections care.

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◼ To develop and implement a growth strategy for our sites which is aligned to the corporate strategy to

deliver trading P&L targets.

◼ To be accountable for all aspects of risk management across HPD.

◼ To ensure that statutory compliance is achieved across a number of areas (health and safety, security,

equality and diversity, etc.), with additional emphasis on those elements monitored through the Safety

Critical Reporting process and to ensure proper monitoring and reporting.

◼ To provide leadership to the HPD management team, empowering the operational team and

encouraging a culture of entrepreneurship, cooperation and involvement.

The above includes:

a) Ensuring the development and safe deliverability of c.500 events and c.250 member events

through a team of 12 HPD Event Managers

b) Recruiting c.180,000 new members and selling c.55,000 Overseas Visitor Passes p.a. through a

team of 4 Membership Sales Managers

c) Ensuring through the Education Visit Officers that c.345,000 of education visitors p.a. are warmly

welcomed and leave our sites having had a valuable and memorable experience.

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The Candidate

Essential Requirements: ◼ Ability to lead a diverse team of specialists and experts creating a culture of mutual respect and

understanding and able to work together to achieve a common vision.

◼ Ability to balance the commercial and curatorial objectives of English Heritage, aligning them with the

values and expectations of our many audiences and stakeholders.

◼ Oversight of complex projects and their budgets (notably construction and infrastructure).

◼ Strategic vision and effective leadership of its delivery both within the operations team and with fellow

SMT members across the organisation as a whole.

◼ Experience of harnessing digital technology to deliver business objectives.

◼ Operational success in a consumer-facing environment, at a senior level, with an understanding of

relevant legislation including human resources, health and safety and access equality.

◼ Effective management of large budgets, demonstrating control and prioritisation, as well as the

development of sound investment cases, including understanding complex financial models and analysis

of financial returns, and business strategies.

◼ Highly analytical and numerate, with the ability to understand large quantities of diverse information

and identify the salient points with accuracy and speed.

◼ An appreciation of the whole scope of the work of English Heritage, and of the heritage, charity and

cultural sectors generally.

◼ Ability to represent the charity at a senior level, communicating confidently and authoritatively in public

in an accessible manner.

◼ A visible leader with strong organisational skills, able to inspire trust, foster a culture of innovation and

creativity, take personal responsibility for delivering ambitious targets, and match resources to business

priorities.

◼ A confident decision-maker with the experience of managing change.

◼ Strong negotiating, influencing and inter-personal skills and the ability to represent English Heritage

internally and externally with political and cultural sensitivity.

Desirable Requirements: ◼ A successful track record of working with historic buildings and collections.

◼ A higher education qualification or degree in management, leisure, hospitality or heritage management

or comparable experience.

Additional Details

You will ideally be based at one of the following offices: London, Swindon, Bristol or York, or at one of our

principal sites in central England. This role requires frequent travel to sites that are often in remote locations

and so a full driving licence is advantageous. Occasional overnight stays away from home will also be required.

The salary for this post is negotiable within the following band: c£110,000 - £120,000 plus c10% for central

London weighting.

The successful candidate will also be entitled to performance related pay of up to 7.5% of salary for exceptional

performance (subject to affordability, reviewed annually). There is a defined benefit pension scheme in

operation and English Heritage will match employee contributions up to 10% of salary.

Annual leave is 25 days rising to 28 days after 3 years of service. Employees may also purchase up to 10

additional annual leave days.

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How to Apply

The preferred method of application is online at www.berwickpartners.co.uk/73405

If you are unable to apply online please email your application to response.manager@berwickpartners.co.uk

All applications will receive an automated response.

In line with GDPR, we ask that you do NOT send us any information that can identify children or any of your

Sensitive Personal Data (racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union

membership, data concerning health or sex life and sexual orientation, genetic and / or biometric data) in your

CV and application documentation. Following this notice, any inclusion of your Sensitive Personal Data in your

CV/application documentation will be understood by us as your express consent to process this information

going forward. Please also remember to not mention anyone’s information or details (e.g. referees) who have

not previously agreed to their inclusion.

If you have any queries or would like more information in regard to this document please contact:

William Pringle

Partner, Head of Charity, Arts, Culture & Heritage Practice

E: William.Pringle@berwickpartners.co.uk

or

Leia Clancy

Principal Researcher, Charity, Arts, Culture and Heritage Practice

D: 020 7529 3090

E: Leia.Clancy@berwickpartners.co.uk

Closing Date: Friday 17 July

Preliminary interviews with Berwick Partners: w/c 27 July

1st stage interviews with English Heritage: w/c 10 August

2nd stage interviews with English Heritage: w/c 17 August