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Victoria and Albert Museum Trustees x 4
Reference: SEP20185507
Expiry date: 2018-10-08 23:59:00.000
Location: South Kensington
Salary: Unpaid
Benefits: The post is unpaid but reasonable travel expenses will be reimbursed, subject to the V&A's expenses policy

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport wishes to appoint four new Trustees to the Victoria and Albert (V&A) Museum. This is an exciting opportunity to use your skills to benefit the world’s leading museum of art, design and performance.

The V&A houses a permanent collection of over 2.3 million objects which span over 5,000 years of human creativity. The Museum holds many of the UK’s national collections and houses some of the greatest resources for the study of architecture, furniture, fashion, textiles, photography, sculpture, painting, jewellery, glass, ceramics, book arts, Asian art and design, theatre and performance.

The V&A is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), and is a charity exempt from registration under the Charities Act of 1993. It operates at arm’s length from the Government and is governed by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Prime Minister.

The V&A receives Grant-In-Aid funding from Parliament, provided through DCMS, but also generates a significant proportion of its own income.

Further information about the V&A (including the museum’s Mission Statement) can be found on its website at

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

Candidates should be able to demonstrate the following abilities and attributes:

  • An understanding of and an enthusiasm for the objectives and work of the V&A;
  • The ability to contribute at Board level regarding current and future initiatives, within the context of the V&A’s overall strategy;
  • The ability to work constructively with others in a governance or committee role;
  • Excellent communication and ambassadorial skills;
  • A commitment to equal opportunities and diversity.

Additional Criteria

In addition to the essential criteria outlined above, candidates for individual trustee roles should also be able to demonstrate additional criteria:

Creative Industries – 1 Trustee

  • Be a leader in the field of the creative industries, particularly in the areas of design, digital technology, craft or fashion;
  • The ability to demonstrate access to international networks would be advantageous;
  • An interest in education in the fields of art, design and technology would be advantageous.

Cultural Heritage/Museum and Galleries specialist– 1 Trustee

  • Be a leader or former leader in the fields of cultural heritage or museums and galleries;
  • An understanding of the challenges facing national museums, with regards to collections management, public access, and ‘soft power’;
  • The ability to demonstrate significant national or international standing.

Business– 1 Trustee

  • Be a leader in the field of business and commerce;
  • The ability to demonstrate access to international networks would be advantageous;
  • Familiarity in dealing with the financial and management challenges of operating a significant and profit-generating commercial undertaking;
  • Experience in retail, publishing, digital, and/or online-business would be advantageous.

Development – 1 Trustee

  • An understanding of the need to raise private, commercial and philanthropic support for the museum;
  • The ability to support creatively fundraising initiatives for capital projects and endowments;Strong international networks at senior level.

How to Apply

Applications should be made by submitting a CV of no more than two pages setting out details of your education and qualifications, employment history, directorships, membership of professional bodies and details of any publications or awards; accompanied by a supporting statement, also of up to two pages which sets out how you meet the essential criteria of the role.

You should also complete the conflict of interest and political activity/diversity monitoring information, which will be kept separately from the main form and will not be seen by the selection panel in order to meet the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments.

Please return your completed applications to publicappointments@culture.gov.uk with ‘Victoria and Albert Museum’ in the subject line or by post to: Public Appointments Team, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 4th Floor, 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ. Any queries relating to the public appointments process can also be directed to: publicappointments@culture.gov.uk

DCMS promotes an equal opportunities policy.  Appointments are made on merit, following a fair and transparent process, and these appointments are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.  Applications are welcomed regardless of gender, age, marital status, disability, religion, ethnic origin, political opinion, sexual orientation or whether or not you have dependents.  More details, including the regulations that appointing bodies are required to follow, are available at the OCPA  website:  http://publicappointmentscommissioner.independent.gov.uk/

These vacancies are being advertised externally in the media, on the V&A’s website, on the DCMS website and the Public Appointments website in order to reach as diverse an audience as possible.

The Law places certain restrictions on becoming a charity trustee. These are set out in Section 3.1 of the Charity Commission Essential Trustee Guidance:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/451020/CC3.pdf

Closing date for applications is 08/10/2018