Vacancy -- Appointment of Treasurer - Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales

Introduction

Amgueddfa Cymru is one of the leading cultural organisations and national institutions in Wales.  Amgueddfa Cymru is visited by 1.8 million people each year.

Background

Established by Royal Charter in 1907, Amgueddfa Cymru is one of the largest museums in the United Kingdom, and the most important cultural institution in Wales.  The Museum is the custodian of internationally significant, diverse collections and a leader in education and cultural participation.

Amgueddfa Cymru is responsible for Wales’ seven national museums: National Museum Cardiff; St Fagans: National History Museum; Big Pit: National Coal Museum in Blaenavon; National Wool Museum in Dre-fach, Felindre; National Roman Legion Museum in Caerleon; National Slate Museum in Llanberis, Snowdonia, and the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea.  Amgueddfa Cymru also has a National Collections Centre near Cardiff. There are over 5 million individual items in our collections, embracing art and design, history and archaeology, and natural sciences.

Amgueddfa Cymru is funded by the Welsh Government, as a Welsh Government Sponsored Body, and has a Board of Trustees whose role is to set the strategic direction of the organisation, and to ensure proper management of its resources.

Amgueddfa Cymru’s total Grant-in Aid from the Welsh Government in 2017-18 was £22 million. It employs over 600 staff.

 

Vision - Amgueddfa Cymru "Inspiring people, changing lives"

Our purpose is to inspire people through our museums and collections to find a sense of well-being and identity, to discover, enjoy and learn bilingually, and to understand Wales' place in the wider world.

Our work is based on the principle that culture is created by people and communities.  Our collections and other resources partly come from the society of which we are part, and are continually renewed through our work with the public. Our natural sciences collections affect the biodiversity and geodiversity of Wales and make comparisons on a global scale.  We are accountable for our use of these resources to the nation we serve.   

The Museum has important partnership schemes with local museums and galleries throughout Wales which involves the development of exhibitions drawing from the national collections held by the Museum.

The Vision is supported by the following commitments:  

• Prosper
• Experience
• Learn
• Participate

The Board’s Role and Responsibilities

The Board of Trustees is the governing body of Amgueddfa Cymru and holds the national collections in trust for the people of Wales.  The role of the Board is to provide effective leadership, define and develop strategic direction and set challenging objectives.  The Board promotes high standards of public accountability and upholds the principles of regularity, propriety and value for money.  It monitors performance against Amgueddfa Cymru’s aims, objectives and performance targets. 

 

Amgueddfa Cymru is a registered charity and a Welsh Government Sponsored Body.  Trustees have obligations to the Welsh Government and National Assembly for Wales. Amgueddfa Cymru currently receives c.80% of its annual funding (c.£22 million revenue funding in 2018-19) from the Welsh Government, as Grant in Aid. 

The Role of Treasurer

The role of the Treasurer is established in the Royal Charter and Statutes: http://www.museumwales.ac.uk/media/4413/Bi-lingual_Royal_Charter.pdf

 

In addition to fulfilling the requirements of a Trustee, the Treasurer is regarded as the lead Trustee on all the financial issues of the Museum. This includes:

 

Performance Review Committee

The Treasurer is the Chair of this committee. It:

• Monitors its Terms of Reference and makes recommendations to the Board for any changes. These include, but are not limited to:
• Monitoring the Museum’s activities against the annual Operational Plan and detailed financial budget
• Reviewing the preparation of the Annual Accounts, in conjunction with the Audit Committee, and approves the signing of the Annual Accounts on behalf of the Trustee
• Making recommendations and provides advice in respect of the Museum’s Pension Scheme
• Appraises capital projects on an ongoing basis
• Review as requested by the Board any major policy area
• Monitors the management of the private funds held by the Museum.

 

Other Standing Committees

The Treasurer is also an ex officio member of all of the other main committees of the board

 

Audit Committee

This Chair of the Committee is currently a Trustee of the Board. The Committee includes up to four other independent members.

 

Appointments and Remuneration Committee

The Treasurer is a member of this committee, which meets to determine the annual salary and performance of the Director General and oversees the appointment process for trustees. 

 

NMGW Enterprise Ltd

The Treasurer attends the meetings of the Museum’s Enterprise Company, which manages its commercial operations, including at present retailing, catering, car parking and corporate hire. 

 

Pension Fund Trustees

The Treasurer attends the meetings of the Museum’s Pension Fund Trustees. 

 

NWMS Ltd

The Treasurer may also be appointed as a Director of the National Waterfront Museum Swansea Limited, a joint venture with the City & County of Swansea, in providing governance to the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea.

 

Non-Executive nature of the role

The Treasurer’s role is not an executive position.  The Director of Finance and Corporate Resources undertakes all the executive responsibilities in support of the Director General who is formally designated as the Accounting Officer and personally responsible to both Board and the Welsh Government for the propriety and efficient use of all the Museum’s resources.  However, the Treasurer works closely with both officers, offering advice as need be, clarifying issues of which he/she determines the Board needs to be advised and being constantly mindful of the collective responsibilities of the trustees in financial matters.

The Welsh Government acknowledges the importance of developing and growing bilingual capabilities in public appointments in Wales, and welcomes applications from candidates who demonstrate their capability to work in both English and Welsh.  The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the recruiting body of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

As a Treasurer you will help determine policy, strategies and priorities in the Museum’s core activities.  You should be able to draw on your own knowledge, skills and experience to provide evidence of your abilities in a range of the following areas: 

• a commitment and enthusiasm for the Museum’s work in supporting change and development in Wales through cultural participation;
• an understanding and interest in the cultural sector as a whole and a sensitivity on cultural issues;
• excellent representational and communication skills;
• ability to work in a collegiate manner with fellow Trustees;
• management experience and/or a business, institutional, administrative or other context, with an appreciation of the distinction between the executive and non-executive functions;
• a commitment to equality issues and challenging discriminatory practices when appropriate.

 

Essential Criteria

Candidates should be able to demonstrate: 

• a commitment to the values and the Vision of Amgueddfa Cymru and an appreciation of its role and purpose as a national institution in Wales; including the cultural, learning, health and well-being, economic and socio-political contexts in which it operates, as well as understanding its obligations under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015;
• an ability to enhance the Museum’s role in serving and representing the diverse communities and regions of Wales;
• a working knowledge of financial management and accounting systems and processes, preferably within the public sector;
• a commitment to Nolan’s ‘Seven Principles of Public Life’ https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-7-principles-of-public-life

02/01/2019, 17:00

Eligibility

Applicants should be persons who conduct themselves at all times in a manner which will maintain public confidence

In particular, applicants are required to declare whether they are aware of anything in their private or professional life that would be an embarrassment to themselves or to the Welsh Government if it became known in the event of appointment.

Information about the eligibility of current or former Trustees to apply for positions on the Board is included in Amgueddfa Cymru’s Royal Charter.  https://museum.wales/charter-and-statutes/

Trustees are not eligible to serve on the Board for more than 8 consecutive years in the same role, and 12 consecutive years in total (in any combination of different roles as a Trustee and as an Officer; e.g. Treasurer, Vice President or President). Former Trustees may apply for appointment, provided that they last served as a Trustee more than 4 years ago.

Applicants should also note that being a member of the Board of Trustees of Amgueddfa Cymru is a disqualifying post for membership of the National Assembly for Wales under the National Assembly for Wales (Disqualification) order 2015. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1536/contents/made

Conflict of Interests

You will be asked to declare any private interests which may, or may be perceived to, conflict with the role and responsibilities as President of Amgueddfa Cymru, including any business interests and positions of authority outside of the role in Amgueddfa Cymru.

Any conflicts of interest will be explored at interview.  If appointed, you will also be required to declare these interests on a register which is available to the public.

Standards in Public Life

You will be expected to demonstrate high standards of corporate and personal conduct. All successful candidates will be asked to subscribe to the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies; you can access this document at:

http://www.bl.uk/aboutus/governance/blboard/Board%20Code%20of%20Practice%202011.pdf

Contacts:

For further information regarding the role of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales contact: Elaine Cabuts (Email: elaine.cabuts@museumwales.ac.uk Tel: 02920 573204)

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please email publicappointments@gov.wales

To apply for this role, click on the ‘Apply’ button below. The first time you apply for a post, you will need to complete a registration form for the Welsh Government’s online application system.  You will only need to register once, and you will be able to keep yourself updated on the progress of your application, and any other applications you make, via your registered account.

Once you’ve registered, you’ll be able to access the application form.  To apply you will need to submit two supporting documents. The first, a document outlining how your knowledge, skills and experiences meet the criteria for the role as outlined in the information for candidates.  This document should be no more than 2 sides of A4.  Your application may be rejected if you exceed this limit.  The second document is a full, up to date CV.  The two documents should be uploaded to the ‘Reasons for applying’ section of the online application form.

In your application, you will also be asked to provide details of any activities which have helped you to develop skills that would be useful in a public appointment role, and list the organisations for which you undertook these activities.  We also need to know about any political activity that you’ve undertaken over the last 5 years. 

It is recommended that you register for an account and access the application form as soon as possible so that you see how the application form is structured, before starting to prepare your evidence.  You don’t have to complete the application form all in one go.  You can save your responses, and log in and out as required, until you’re ready to submit – just follow the guidance in the application form.

If you’d like to apply for this opportunity in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

If you need any further assistance in applying for this role, please contact the Welsh Government’s Public Appointments Unit on 03000 616095 or PublicAppointments@gov.wales.

For further information about Public Appointments in Wales, please visit www.gov.wales/publicappointments