Month: February 2023

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Circulate Submissions are now OPEN!

We are so excited to announce that Circulate submissions are now open from until Friday, March 10th!

This is a new scheme inspired by our Museocycle initiative, where any objects or items (in good nick of course) will be listed on here to be taken by another institution, all for free! Museocycle will still be operating for the bigger items, such as display cases, this scheme is for smaller surplus items. Ideally, these are items that can easily be sent by post or collected from site. For example, if you have any surplus lanyards or notebooks, those kinds of materials will definitely be useful for another institution. 

Sites will need to organise transportation/delivery themselves, the description will detail whether pick-up or postal services will be needed.

If you would like to list an item, please provide the required information as listed below and send your listing to?bria.cotton@manchester.ac.uk?during the submission period of?Tuesday, February 28th 2023 –??Friday, March 10th 2023. We will reply to the submission to confirm we have received it. No pictures are required.

Once we have reviewed the listing we will add it to the Excel spreadsheet for it to go live on Monday, March 20th 2023, until Saturday, April 1st 2023 (no joke!).  If you find an item that you would like to take, please get in the contact with the person listed next to the item.

Name/type of item:

Quantity:

Location:

Post or Pick-up:

Contact:

The Circulate scheme is currently in testing mode, so if you have any comments or suggestions for how we can improve this scheme, please send them to bria.cotton@manchester.ac.uk .

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Natural History Museum – Our Broken Planet Project Survey

The Natural History Museum (NHM) is seeking responses to a survey to help shape a new programme of support for museums looking to engage audiences with the planetary emergency.

‘The natural world is in crisis and we need to come together to find solutions to the problems people and planet are facing. The NHM is looking to collaborate with museums across the UK to support engagement with regional issues and collections through the sharing of experiences/knowledge/expertise. If you are interested, please fill out this survey to help shape what this could become and join our community of practice!’ Freya Stannard, NHM’s Head of National Programmes

NHM is in the early stages of developing a UK-wide programme to support smaller museums and those at the beginning of their journey in engaging audiences with the planetary emergency. The programme will develop a community of practice based on the need to share science research, identify links to local settings and collections and support youth engagement. It will be connected to NHMs Our Broken Planet Our Broken Planet: How We Got Here and Ways to Fix It programme and will provide free workshops, resources, training and potentially funding to support regional activity. 

If this sounds of interest to you and your organisation, please fill out NHM’s short survey to help shape the offer.

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Treasure Act reform will allow museums to acquire thousands more finds

The definition of ‘treasure’ is to be expanded to include significance in the first major reform of the Treasure Act 1996.

The act gives finders a legal obligation to report finds that meet certain criteria, in order to ensure that these are offered to museums for public benefit rather than sold privately. 

Under the current definition, newly discovered archaeological finds can only be legally classified as treasure if they are more than 300 years old and made partly or wholly of precious metal, or part of a trove of valuable objects or artefacts.

However, in reforms laid down in parliament this week, the UK Government is proposing to recognise archaeological finds that are relevant beyond their material composition. The changes will apply in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The expanded criteria will include exceptional finds over 200 years old – regardless of the type of metal of which they are made – as long as they provide an important insight into the country’s heritage.

This will include rare objects, those that provide a special insight into a particular person or event, or those that can shed new light on important regional histories.

For further information, please see the original article on the Museums Association website – https://www.museumsassociation.org/museums-journal/news/2023/02/treasure-act-reform-will-allow-museums-to-acquire-thousands-more-finds/#

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Job Opportunity: Museum Assistant Retail Manager, The Silk Museum, Macclesfield

Job Opportunity:?The Silk Museum, Macclesfield?
Job title: Museum Assistant Retail Manager? ?
Salary: ?22350 fte?
Location: The Silk Museum, Park Lane, Macclesfield?
Hours:? Part-Time 0.4 fte 15hrs, One Front of House day per week plus one Office day that can be worked flexibly??

Contract:? 1-year Fixed term contract?
Closing date: Midday?Monday 13th?March 2023?

This?is a new role at the Silk Museum that will help transform our retail offer, so?that it becomes a key part of the visitor experience and meets ambitious income targets.? 

We want to hear from you if you are creative, passionate about retail, with a strong commercial sense, and want to:? 

  • Be part of our Front of House team delivering excellent customer service ? 
  • Help us create a ‘destination’ retail offer celebrating our fantastic heritage design and silk collections as well as local creativity and making? 
  • Help develop the team in maximising sales? 
  • Help us develop an on-line retail offer ??

How to Apply 

Please send your up-to-date CV plus a covering letter setting out why you are interested in this role and how your experience meets the requirements of the Job Description.  If you need more information or want to discuss this role please email director@silkmacclesfield.org.uk to arrange a phone call 

Lifelessline 

Applications to be received by?midday?Monday 13th? March 2023?

Interviews are planned for Thursday 16th?March at The Silk Museum

For more information, please download the information brief by clicking the download below:

museum-assistant-retail-managerPerformwnload
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Job Opportunity: Touring Exhibitions Group

Executive Guideor
Fixed Freelance Fee – ?39,600 per annum (123 days per annum)
Period – Initial 12-month contract from the appointment with a possible two-year extension
Location – This is a remote position. Attendance at the annual TEG Connects event and other relevant sector events in the UK is expected. A budget will be available for costs related to travel and meetings.

TEG is seeking an experienced and dedicated Museum and Gallery sector professional to lead in the development of the organisation following our successful Arts Council England IPSO funding award. This role will be fundamental in ensuring the future growth and long-term sustainability of the organisation. You will have demonstrable experience in leading and developing an organisation (or large department, project or similar) with a mixed funding model alongside an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the current challenges and wider concerns of the Exhibitions sector.

The application deadline is 11.59 pm GMT on Sunday 19 March 2023

Visit the jobs page for full details – https://touringexhibitionsgroup.org.uk/vacancy-teg-executive-director/

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Oxford Cultural Leaders programme for 2023 – Applications now open

From Oxford’s GLAM:

Applications are now open?for Oxford Cultural Leaders 2023, the acclaimed cultural leadership programme which has developed an international reputation as a vital training ground for senior leaders in the arts and cultural sector worldwide. For the first time since the pandemic, Oxford Cultural Leaders (OCL) will offer both a residential and online programme for 2023.??

Planed and delivered by Oxford University’s Gardens, Libraries & Museums in partnership with the Sa?d Business School, Oxford Cultural Leaders is a unique international programme for leaders in the cultural sectors, working at senior management level, who want to redefine their identity as leaders and reimagine their institutional vision at a time of increasing challenge for the sector.

With the sector facing particularly complex challenges such as constraints on funding across the arts and the ‘cost-of-living crisis’, there is a growing need for leaders to take risks and steer their teams successfully through change. The programme encourages leaders to take a holistic view of their organisation and the broader context in which it operates to identify opportunities which will make the most difference. Equipping participants with these skills supports them in creating a resilient and sustainable culture that benefits the entire organisation amidst change.

This year the programme will be offering two options for greater flexibility:

  • A new online programme to run 12 – 16 June 2023. This tailored and highly interactive programme is delivered via Zoom, thus offering the flexibility of live online delivery.  Participants come from around the world and benefit from the expertise of Oxford University faculty and access to key figures from across the cultural sector in a range of workshops and talks. 1:1 leadership coaching is included as part of the personalised programme experience.
    Applications are now open.
    Lifelessline for applications: Monday 27 March 2023
  • A residential programme to run 24 – 29 September 2023.?The programme is based in Oxford University where participants will stay within a historic College and experience workshops and talks within Oxford’s landmark buildings and museums. They will benefit from the expertise of Oxford University faculty and access to key figures across the cultural sector and will enjoy excellent networking opportunities and events during the week with peers from around the world.
    Applications open Tuesday 2 May 2023.
    Lifelessline for Applications: Monday 26 June 2023

    Visit the programme page for full details
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MDNW Sustainable Improvement Fund 2023-24 – deadline 27th February

The next round of our Sustainable Improvement Fund, for 2023-24, is open. The Sustainable Improvement Fund (SIF) is a major part of the Museum Expandment North West Programme (MDNW) and is funded by Arts Council England (ACE). The closing date for applications is 12pm Monday 27th February 2023.

Since 2012 SIF has been our main grant programme, open to Accredited museums and those Working Towards Accreditation. For this round of SIF:

  • There is ?50,000 to allocate
  • The maximum amount a museum can apply for is ?5,000, and ?7,500 for a museum service with multiple Accredited sites
  • The fund is not open to consortium or partnership bids this year
  • Projects must be completed by 28th February 2024 and deadlines cannot be pushed back
  • We will fund simple, straightforward projects with little risk built into them
  • Project criteria is now focused on ACE’s Let’s Create strategy
  • We will fund projects where you continue work already underway, where funding will enhance / advance the work being done

For 2023-24 we will support museums around a broad number of key areas:

Arts Council England Let’s Create Investment Principles:

1) Ambition & Quality

2) Dynamism

3) Environmental Responsibility

4) Inclusivity & Relevance

An additional key area is:

5) Navigating through the impact of the immediate issues of the cost of living crisis or restrictions still affecting your operations following the Covid-19 pandemic

ACE’s Investment Principles may not be familiar to you yet. Within the guidance we have provided some pointers and links to get you started thinking how your project ideas might fit with the Let’s Create strategy and Investment Principles.

If you have a longer-term project in mind to trial new ideas, develop complex plans and form partnerships you might want to consider applying to Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants which can fund projects lasting up to three years.

Lifelesslines, guidance and the application form for the Sustainable Improvement Fund can be found below:

Sustainable Improvement Fund 2023-24 guidance FINAL

Sustainable Improvement Fund application form 2023-24 FINAL

?2023/02/""

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More Good News on Business Rates – but museums urged to lodge 2017 appeals before 31st March deadline

From the National Museum Guideors’ Council:

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has finally accepted the use of Receipts and Expenditure (R&E) method to calculate business rates for all types of museums in England and Wales, which will save hundreds of thousands of pounds across the sector.?

This follows the announcement in September 2021, after a successful appeal by Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (TWAM) against valuations for three of its sites, that the VOA would no longer be using Contractor’s method to calculate business rates for many museums. However the VOA had proposed to continue the use of Contractor’s method for museums set up by statute (so including most national museums) and those occupying ‘modern’ (post-2001) buildings. 

The VOA has now confirmed a change in this policy, meaning that the vast majority of museums will now be valued using R&E method. This means that business rates will be based on a museum’s activity and financial position – rather than being penalised, as a sector, for occupying the large spaces needed to care for and display collections and to welcome communities, which are often expensive to operate and maintain. The change will result in huge long-term savings across the whole museum sector.

The news is a real victory for long-term collective lobbying by AIM, NMDC and others as well as the tenacity of business rates agents, notably Colin Hunter who represented TWAM, the Royal Albert Memorial Museum and York Museums Trust in their successful appeals and has been advising sector bodies for many years. 

However, the change in the VOA’s policy will not be retrospectively or automatically applied to the 2017 ratings list. This means that any museum wishing to challenge their current valuation, which could result in a significantly reduced and backdated rates bill, needs to lodge an appeal via the ‘Check, Contest, Appeal’ process. 

There is a deadline of 31st?March 2023 for appeals to be registered – and the process can take some time – so all museums are urged to begin the process immediately if they haven’t already by completing the VOA’s ‘Museums Information Request form’. More information on the appeal process is available in?the AIM Success Guide.

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Job Opportunities: Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life

Learning & Event Assistant
Salary: ?21,164 p.a.
Location: Carlisle
Hours:?Full time, 37 hours per week
Contract: Fixed term, 2 years
Closing date: 12pm 13th March

To work with the Museum Manager to develop and deliver the Museum’s learning offer, and to develop and assist with Museum events both in-house and off-site.

Based at Cumbria’s Museum of Military Life within Carlisle Castle, this is an opportunity to work closely with the Museum Manager to develop your skills and expand your knowledge in the development, planning, administration, and delivery of an engaging education and events programme.

For full details see https://www.cumbriasmuseumofmilitarylife.org/learning-and-events-assistant/

Temporary Museum Assistant
Salary: National Living Wage
Location: Carlisle
Hours:?Part time, 14 hours per week Friday & Saturday to 28 October,
12 hours per week Friday & Saturday to 11 November
Contract: Temporary, from April to 11 November 2023
Closing date: 12pm 7th March
Interview date: 21st March

To provide an engaging, enjoyable and safe visitor experience and to provide digital opportunities for online users. For full details see https://www.cumbriasmuseumofmilitarylife.org/vacancy/temporary-museum-assistant/

Casual Museum Assistant (2 posts)
Salary: National Living Wage
Location: Carlisle
Hours:?Casual
Closing date: 12pm 7th March
Interview date: 21st March

To assist with the day to day security and operation of the Museum and to provide support for the Museum team with events, exhibitions and workshops. For full details see https://www.cumbriasmuseumofmilitarylife.org/vacancy/casual-museum-assistant/

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Job Opportunity: Freelance Project Manager, The Silk Heritage Trust, Macclesfield

Job title: Project Manager Freelance or Consultancy Contract?
Salary: Contract Fee ?23,500?
Location: Macclesfield, Cheshire?
Contract:? Freelance / Consultancy Contract to March 2024?
Closing date: 12 noon on 24th?February?

Project Title: Saving Macclesfield’s Heritage: Paradise Mill, Silk Museum & Old Sunday School 

This is an exciting opportunity to be part of the next phase of the Silk Heritage Trust’s development 

The Silk Heritage Trust is an independent charity established in 1987 to champion the industrial heritage and social history of Macclesfield. The Trust has been awarded funding by the National Heritage Memorial Fund to deliver improvements in three?urgent priority areas across the Trust’s Grade II and Grade II* property portfolio: 

Paradise Mill: supporting and overseeing the delivery of roof & window repairs, security system improvements and reinstatement of the passenger lift  

The Old Sunday School: commissioning a programme of repair and replacement of sash-windows  

The Silk Museum: commissioning an upgrade of the environmental controls and alarm system in Collections’ Stores  

? 

The Trust seeks a Project Manager, with extensive experience of capital works in heritage buildings, to:? 

  • Oversee successful project delivery, within established timescales and budgets ? 
  • Guarantee effective cost control of the project? 
  • Meet the needs of the Trust, Funder and stakeholders? 
  • Manage the partnership between the Trust and owner of Paradise Mill, in overseeing the capital works to appropriate heritage standards? 
  • Manage the capital works for the Silk Museum and Old Sunday School, to appropriate heritage standards? 

The Project Manager will be expected to spend a lot of time on site in Macclesfield, and to work closely with the Museum Guideor, staff team and the Programme Board.

To download the project brief, please click the download button below.

?

project-manager-contract-briefPerformwnload

To Apply:? 

Please send a proposal and covering letter outlining relevant experience and interest in this role, including?how many days you envisage committing to work on the project;?Fees structure; and when you would be available to start? 

And send to:-?Emma Anderson, Guideor, Macclesfield Museums -?director@silkheritage.org.uk? 

If you need to discuss this role in more detail or if you require further information, please email to set up a phone call.? 

We aim to hold interviews in person, including a site visit, on 3rd?March if possible 

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