This is an exciting opportunity to join People’s History Museum (PHM) at a time of reflection and change, as the museum develops new ways of working for the future.
PHM is delivering a bold project to redevelop its Learning Programme, with a vision focused on empowerment and social change. The role is in the Learning Team, which is part of the wider Programme & Engagement Team. Over the last six years, the Programme & Engagement Team has delivered a ground-breaking programme of co-curated activity; 2017 explored the fight for LGBT+ rights, commemorating fifty years since the Sexual Offences Act partially decriminalised homosexuality in England and Wales, 2018 looked at representation, marking 100 years since the first women and all men won the right to vote in Britain, in 2019 the focus was on protest to mark the bicentenary of the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester, the 2020-2021 programme explored the theme of migration, and the programme for 2022-2024 explores disabled people’s rights and activism.
Every year, the team engages participants and visitors through a programme of workshops, events and activities. The museum’s Learning Programme is integral to the team’s work, ensuring a wide range of audiences can meaningfully engage with PHM’s programme themes and our permanent collection.
We are looking for a collaborative individual with youth engagement experience and project management skills to support this work. In particular, you will have experience of developing and delivering youth engagement activities in a museum, heritage setting, or similar organisation. You will be confident in establishing and maintaining partnerships. You will be experienced in evaluating workshop programmes, with strong project management skills.
People’s History Museum (PHM) is the national museum of democracy, telling the story of its development in Britain: past, present, and future. The museum provides opportunities for all people to learn about, be inspired by and get involved in ideas worth fighting for; ideas such as equality, social justice, co-operation, and a fair world for all.
PHM currently welcomes a local, national and international audience, attracting up to 125,000 visitors annually (pre-covid), as well as reaching people online through digital activities. The museum involves audiences and communities in all aspects of its work, using models of co-curation, collaboration and crowd-sourcing when developing and delivering programmes of activity. Engaging people directly in the work of the museum helps to build a passionate and committed audience who become supporters and advocates for PHM, while ensuring we are shaping authentic content representative of diverse audiences, providing an inclusive space for their voices, stories and ideas. PHM’s innovative programme-led approach explores important subjects and issues relevant to us all today.
PHM has an annual turnover of around £1.5 million, employs 36 members of staff and has a team of freelance staff and volunteers. PHM is funded by Arts Council England (ACE) as a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) and by Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) Culture and Social Impact Fund. PHM is an independent museum, charitable trust and company limited by guarantee, with a Board of Trustees, a Trading Company Board, and an Audit and Risk Committee.
Salary: £24,948 pro rata (plus pension contribution to the Greater Manchester Pension Fund)
Hours: Part time (28 hours a week) with flexible working and some evening and weekend work
Annual leave: 24 days plus bank holidays (pro rata)
Contract: Fixed term 10 month contract (maternity cover) until March 2024, with the possibility to extend subject to funding
Responsible to: Programme & Engagement Manager
Location: Based at People’s History Museum with the opportunity for agile working in line with PHM’s flexible working policy
PHM is delivering an exciting project to redevelop its bookable learning offer which will be targeted at children and young people in both formal (schools and education) and informal (youth groups) settings. Our vision for the Learning Programme is to empower people with an understanding of how change can be achieved through individual, social and political activity. We want to ensure our workshops are up to date with current practice, unique to PHM and our collections, and responsive to changes over the last few years that have shaped the way we view the world.
Over 2022, the team has been reviewing our previous learning offer and undertaking research with partners to inform our new approach. In 2023, we are embarking on a wide ranging consultation to develop workshops and supporting resources as part of our new Learning Programme which will launch in 2024.
You will jointly project manage the Learning Review alongside our other Learning Officer. This will involve supporting freelancers to develop new workshop packages, recording and collating information for reporting to funders and the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), managing relationships with stakeholders, and promoting the new offer once it is launched.
You will also support the delivery of the ongoing Learning offer, updating resources and information to help groups prepare for visits, welcoming groups on arrival, supporting participants and liaising with group leaders and other departments to arrange visits when the Engagement Assistant is on leave.
As part of the wider Programme & Engagement Team, you will support the running of public events and community engagement sessions when needed.
You will work within the Learning Team with another Learning Officer and our Engagement Assistant. This department sits within the wider Programme & Engagement Team, which also includes an Exhibitions Officer and a Programme Officer, under the management of the Programme & Engagement Manager.
This position has close working relationships with our freelance network of actors, artists and creative facilitators, and other teams, particularly Communications & Marketing, Visitor Experience and Collections.
We are looking for a candidate who can demonstrate experience, knowledge and skills across the following criteria, with the opportunity for ongoing training and development to support the successful candidate once in post.
| Experience, knowledge and skills | Assessed through |
| Experience of delivering youth engagement activities with clearly defined outcomes in a cultural or heritage setting, or similar organisation.
|
Application and interview |
| Project management skills, with experience of co-ordinating workflows and resources. | Application and interview |
| Experience of establishing and maintaining effective partnerships with stakeholders. | Application and interview |
| Experience of consulting on and developing workshops and resources for children and young people in formal or informal settings. | Application and interview |
| Experience of evaluating workshop programmes in a museum, heritage organisation, or similar organisation; including collating and reporting of data to funders and stakeholders. | Application and interview |
Please complete the online application form. You will be prompted to write up to 300 words to demonstrate how you meet each of the five criteria listed under ‘Experience, knowledge and skills’.
If you’d prefer to submit a video application, please email a recorded response to each of the five criteria to Charlie Corkin, Executive Support Officer at charlie.corkin@phm.org.uk.
Deadline for applications: 5.00pm on Friday 17 March 2023
Interviews: Thursday 30 March 2023, in person at PHM
If you have any questions or would like to arrange to discuss the role please contact Charlie Corkin at charlie.corkin@phm.org.uk.
PHM prides itself on being a welcoming and inclusive organisation, profoundly committed to advancing equality and diversity in the broadest sense. We highly value the benefits that diverse perspectives bring to PHM’s mission.
We recognise the museum currently underrepresents people of colour, disabled people, LGBTQI+ people and those with intersecting identities in our workforce; PHM is actively working to address this and encourages applications from these backgrounds. While the successful candidate will be selected purely on merit, in the event of a tie between two candidates with equal experience, we may select a candidate who helps us better represent the communities the museum serves.
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