Vacancy -- Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales Appointing a Vice-Chair

Vacancy details

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales
The Vice-Chair’s activities will usually be concentrated in the Cardiff area, but they will be required to visit other National Museums and other locations. Board of Trustees meetings are held 4 times a year, with most meetings held in south Wales

The role of Vice-Chair is not a paid role, but all  trustees can claim travel and subsistence expenses.

Travel to Board, Committee, events, and other meetings across Wales may be required although there may be flexibility to allow virtual as well as in-person attendance.

The Welsh Government and Amgueddfa Cymru are currently reviewing draft recommendations submitted by the independent Tailored Review Panel. You will be made aware of any recommendations to be taken forward that affect this appointment

12
year

Function of body

The role and responsibilities of Amgueddfa Cymru

Amgueddfa Cymru is one of the leading cultural organisations and national institutions in Wales and is visited by 1.9 million people each year.

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

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

Amgueddfa Cymru is sponsored by the Welsh Government. It has a Board of Trustees whose role is to set the strategic direction of the organisation and ensure proper management of its resources. As a Museum, we are also accountable for the use of our collections and resources to the nation we serve.

 Amgueddfa Cymru’s vision

Amgueddfa Cymru belongs to us all. Our vision is to inspire people through Wales’ national 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.

We believe that everyone has the right to participate in the cultural life of their communities and of their nation. We’ve developed a ten-year strategy for the Museum - Amgueddfa Cymru 2030 - which includes six clear commitments. We will work with people and communities across Wales, through collections, public programmes, and partnerships, to:

  • Make sure that everyone is represented
  • Inspire creativity and learning for life
  • Help protect and restore nature and our environment
  • Support well-being through inspirational spaces and experiences
  • Discover and explore the museum digitally
  • Build global connections

Our new Vice-Chair will have a critical role to play in making these commitments a reality and in supporting the delivery of the Welsh Government’s Programme for Government commitments for which the Amgueddfa is a lead or key partner, particularly developing plans for a Museum of North Wales, a National Contemporary Art Gallery, a new Culture Strategy and commitments to create an Anti-racist Wales.

 

 

The Board’s Role and Responsibilities

The Board of Trustees is the governing body of Amgueddfa Cymru.

The role of the Board is to provide effective leadership, to define and develop strategic direction and to 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 own strategic objectives and performance targets, and those set by Welsh Government.

Amgueddfa Cymru is a registered charity and a Welsh Government Sponsored Body. Trustees have obligations pursuant to charity law, those set out in the Royal Charter and to the Welsh Government and to Senedd Cymru and the Charity Commission.

Amgueddfa Cymru currently receives around 80% of its annual funding (£25.4 million revenue funding, and £4.75m capital funding in 2022/23) from the Welsh Government as Grant in Aid. The organisation employs over 600 staff across its sites.

A Tailored Review of Amgueddfa Cymru is currently underway – the recommendations of which are due in Spring 2023. The Board will be responsible for overseeing the swift implementation of the agreed recommendations.

 

Trustees of the Board

Trustees oversee, support and hold to account the Director General in implementing the Museum's strategic vision and delivering against the objectives as set out by the Welsh Government in Amgueddfa Cymru’s Remit Letter.

Trustees must also:

  • attend Board meetings regularly and prepare thoroughly for them;
  • be prepared to serve on sub-committees;
  • actively support the Museum’s management and staff in their work;
  • represent the Museum at public functions;
  • promote the profile of the Museum;
  • give the Museum the benefit of their experience and expertise;
  • facilitate contact with Museum stakeholders; and
  • contribute to the development of policy, strategies and priorities in relation to the management of the Museum's collections.

Trustees must be aware of their obligations arising from the position of the Museum as a Welsh Government Sponsored Body and as a registered charity. These are set out in the Framework Document, which sets out the Terms and Conditions relating to the funding provided to the Museum by the Welsh Government.

To be effective, the Board needs Trustees with a broad range of expertise and experience.

 

Role description

The Role of Vice-Chair

Amgueddfa Cymru is incorporated by Royal Charter and is a registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The Vice-Chair therefore has responsibilities under the Charter and, like all Trustees, must comply with charity law and Charity Commission guidance.

The Vice-Chair is accountable to Welsh Government Minister(s) (the Welsh Government provides some 80% of the Museums funding) and may also be held to account by   Cymru / Welsh Parliament.

In addition to the responsibilities of a trustee, the Vice-Chair will;

  • assist the Chair in leading the overall direction of the Board, taking on the role of the Vice-Chair if the Chair is absent, and advocating on behalf of Amgueddfa Cymru;

  • chair other Amgueddfa Cymru Committees in the absence of the appointed Chair;

  • with the Chair, act as a key point of contact between the Board and the Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, and Chief Whip and Government officials;

  • support the Chair as required in liaising with other officers and members of the Board, and with the Museum’s senior executive team;

  • scrutinise, challenge and support the executive to meet Amgueddfa Cymru’s aims, objectives and targets;

  • participate in the corporate planning process, including agreeing annual budget plans for operational programmes and corporate activities;

  • deputise for the Chair as required in representing Amgueddfa Cymru in its dealings with the Senedd and the Welsh Government;

  • actively promote the benefits of the diverse cultural heritage sector within Wales and further afield;

  • have a clear vision as to how Amgueddfa Cymru can continue to contribute as a main deliverer of Welsh Government’s cultural heritage policies;

  • have an understanding of how the public sector in Wales functions;

  • be actively engaged in encouraging board membership and the next generation of Trustees;

  • ensure Amgueddfa Cymru achieves value for money within a framework of best practice, regularity and property;

  • act in a way that promotes highs standards of probity and public finance;

  • be politically independent.

Essential Criteria

In your application, you will be expected to demonstrate the following essential criteria which will be tested further at interview:

 

  • experience of operating as a senior leader in a complex, multi-disciplinary organisation;

 

  • demonstrates a commitment to the values and the vision of Amgueddfa Cymru, and an appreciation of its role and purpose as a national organisation in Wales; including the cultural, learning, health and well-being, economic and socio-political contexts in which it operates; and an understanding of its obligations under the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015;

 

  • experience of developing strategic partnerships;

 

  • a proven commitment to increasing diversity, and promoting inclusion and equality and an understanding of, and experience of working with diverse communities or audiences, ethnically, socio-economic or other;

 

  • able to evidence a thorough understanding of good governance, accountability and financial responsibility, ideally including public sector finances; and

 

  • have a commitment to Nolan’s Seven Principles of Public Life.

Welsh language skills

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.
Not necessary to undertake the duties of this post

Person specification

Interview dates

23 May 2023
24 May 2023

Closing date

11/04/2023, 17:00

Additional information

Welsh language

This role is being advertised concurrently with the role of Chair. One of the successful applicants for either of these posts will need to be a Welsh speaker or commit to developing their Welsh language skills on appointment. We will fully support them with a bespoke training package. As is the case in respect of other requirements, reasonable adjustments can be discussed.

The Museum is a bi-lingual organisation and is pro-active in supporting and promoting the use of the Welsh language. The Museum is also required to comply with the Welsh Language Standards, as set out by the Welsh Government under Section 44 of the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011.

It is the policy of the Museum’s principal sponsor, the Welsh Government, to support the Welsh language, and its Welsh Language Strategy (Cymraeg 2050 – A Million Welsh Speakers) promotes and facilitates the use of the Welsh language.

How to apply

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 Team on  PublicAppointments@gov.wales.

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

Commissioner for Public Appointments logo

This vacancy is closed to applications.