Head of Engagement and Programming

Do you want to bring the wonder of Antarctica and its unique heritage to life and inspire new generations to discover this incredible continent through innovative programming?

We are seeking an experienced Head of Engagement and Programming to lead our work to inspire and engage a range of audiences globally with our extraordinary heritage in Antarctica.

This is a new, permanent role within the UKAHT team to deliver our ambitions to bring Antarctica and its past to life for an increasingly diverse audience and to deepen public engagement with this important place on our planet. With a particular emphasis on high impact programmes for young people we are looking for someone with the energy, creativity and who shares our value and passion for Antarctica to join our team.

You will have a track record in delivering real impact through digital and in-person projects and will be inspired by the prospect of exploring Antarctica and its heritage with new audiences.

ABOUT THE UK ANTARCTIC HERITAGE TRUST

We are the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust, the principal organisation in the UK dedicated to advancing conservation, culture and education for heritage in Antarctica.

We aim to connect people with Antarctica's wonder and its stories of human endeavour to help promote a greater understanding of this extraordinary place and the role we all have in protecting it.

We help conserve Antarctic heritage by looking after six historic sites on the Antarctic Peninsula, delivering a range of vibrant and creative public programmes, and working with Antarctic policymakers on issues related to heritage conservation.

Through focusing on the layers of human history in Antarctica, we use their remarkable stories to explore Antarctica and why it matters to us all, helping current and future generations understand, value and protect this precious wilderness.

Building on our strengths, and learning from our experience, our ambition over the next decade is to: safeguard British heritage in Antarctica; engage a growing and increasingly diverse audience with this heritage and the broader questions concerning Antarctica and use our expertise and influence to help secure a sustainable future for this most remarkable place on our planet.

WHAT IT’S LIKE TO WORK FOR UKAHT

We are a small, highly collaborative team comprising full and part time staff, freelancers and agency support and we are distributed around the UK. We have an amazing range of knowledge and skills across the team with experts in heritage, operations and logistics, fundraising, retail, communications, finance, storytelling, policy and of course Antarctica.

Our office base is in the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge where we enjoy close collaboration with their team of scientists, operational staff, archives and environmental managers, and access to their facilities including meeting rooms, library, archives and cafeteria.

We have honed our hybrid working culture which harnesses the agility and efficiency of online collaboration, but we never pass up opportunities to gather in groups large and small for valued face to face sessions. We all come together in Cambridge on a quarterly basis, and our more local team members will work together in the office at least one day each week.

We recruit and deploy an Antarctic team each year to carry out work at Port Lockroy and our other sites. Port Lockroy is a museum, penguin colony and post office and is a popular landing site for visitors to Antarctica. For us it is where we can connect people from across the world with this fascinating heritage, it is an important income stream and it is a focus of considerable global interest. Our teams of conservators work across all of our sites maintaining, monitoring and digitally capturing these complex historic sites and their artefacts.

We are a team which embraces our organisational values of collaboration, aspiration, innovation, responsibility and openness, and are often praised for our professionalism, approachability and ambition. What unites us all is our infectious passion for Antarctica, its heritage and the precious responsibility we have for that heritage and for sharing that with as many people as possible.

We look forward to you joining us on this journey.

PROGRAMME OUTPUTS & OUTCOMES

Whilst not cast in stone, it is our hope that our public engagement programme will deliver the following, in support of our broader strategic goals:

• Delivery of an integrated programme of projects with clear audience objectives, delivery models and KPIs.
• Inspirational and distinctive programme of digital content for engagement with audiences across the globe in line with our audience development strategy.
• Delivery of a high impact programme of activities to engage a younger audience with an emphasis on quality and impact with outcomes in developing skills and inspiring purpose whilst having fun.
• An ambitious programme that embraces creativity, arts, digital, the outdoors and science.
• A growing network of partners with common values sharing the success of our programme.
• Young people demonstrate genuine engagement with Antarctica and its heritage by learning something, or are inspired to take their interest further.
• We will provide unique access to Antarctica for young people to inspire them to engage more fully with the issues surrounding it.
• Our audiences will be measurably more diverse, in all respects.
• Our audiences will grow and those segments prioritised will derive benefit from and contribute to the Trust.
• The programme will grow over time, attracting significant grant and broader funding support and delivering real impact.
• UKAHT will be as well-known for the quality of its public engagement as it is for the heritage conservation.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Research, develop and deliver an ambitious, multifaceted annual programme.
• Using your own creative initiative and network to develop mutually beneficial partnerships to delivery an effective and inspirational programme for specific audiences.
• Work with the whole UKAHT team and our Board and stakeholders to share ideas, devise plans, secure income and monitor performance.
• Work with the UKAHT Heads of Department team to develop key audience segments and monitor the success of all activity against agreed KPIs.
• Oversee the development and delivery of projects, managing budgets, sub-contractors and partnerships appropriately.
• With the Head of Development support the fundraising efforts to secure project funding.
• With the Head of Communications and Marketing support publicity campaigns and promotion of the programme, the impact and taking on elements of promotion where necessary.
• Develop evaluation schemes to ensure the programme is achieving its aims and that evidence of impact is gathered.
• Take responsibility for setting plans and measuring against performance on an agreed schedule and against agreed targets for the Trust.
• Drive a culture of constant improvement and identify areas for development, working with the wider team to identify and deliver improvements to our activity.
• Monitor and manage resources within agreed plans and budgets.
• To line manage appointed freelance colleagues, ensuring they are high performing, continually developing, accountable and effective in their roles.
• To provide the Chief Executive and Board of Trustees (and relevant committees) with verbal and written reports on performance and to collaborate to develop strategy.
• To ensure at all times the work of the Trust is promoted and its reputation maintained and enhanced.
• To undertake any other duties commensurate with the role in support of the aims of the Trust.

To undertake all of these with UKAHT values at the core.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Accountability: Chief Executive, Board of Trustees

Leadership: Freelance staff (creative producers, project staff)

Collaboration: Colleagues across the organisation, representatives from stakeholder organisations where relevant, delivery partners, funders and audiences.

ABOUT YOU

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate a good proportion of the following attributes:

• You think and work creatively, inclusively, collaboratively and to achieve maximum impact.
• You are an excellent communicator and networker and able to build strong relationships with partners from across a range of sectors locally, nationally and internationally to deliver creative projects greater than the sum of their parts.
• You have a demonstrable track record of delivering impactful public programming for creative or heritage organisations.
• You have an understanding of digital content and online events for public engagement.
• You are organised, self-starting and focused on high standards of delivery with excellent project management skills.
• You keep good records and can write compelling reports and give presentations to stakeholders.
• You have an advanced understanding of audience development and in developing programmes to achieve the goals of an audience development strategy.
• You have a strong working understanding of developing programmes, projects or content for with and by young people
• You understand the symbiotic relationship between project development, audiences and fundraising.
• You have a working understanding of funding and fundraising, including public funds such as Arts Council England and the Lottery Heritage Fund.
• You are a fast-paced, multi-tasker able to work proactively and sometimes reactively.
• You are committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion through your practice.
• You are passionate about Antarctica, eager to communicate that passion and you embrace the opportunity of creative engagement with facets such as science, heritage and the environment to develop and diversify our audiences and create impact.

TERMS

Location

This position is based in our Cambridge office, where we operate a hybrid working model - a flexible blend of homeworking with office-based work at the office at High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0ET.

Salary

£44,000 pro rata

Working Hours

30 hours per week, Monday to Friday

We accommodate flexible working and a minimum of 30 minutes for lunch.

You will also be required from time to time to work occasional evening and weekends for which you will be granted time off in lieu.

Holidays

25 days pro rata per year of paid leave plus the usual public holidays.

Expenses

All reasonable travel costs incurred as part of the role will be reimbursed as per UKAHT policy

Benefits

UKAHT operates a contributory pension scheme.

Probationary period

The appointment will be subject to a six month probationary period

Notice period

Upon completion of the probationary period the period of notice will be three months by either party.

We are committed to equal opportunities and to learning how to increase the diversity of our people. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons and encourage applications from people currently underrepresented in the Polar regions, including people from diverse backgrounds, people with disabilities or those who identify as LGBTQI+.

We accommodate flexible working arrangements and we are proactive in creating opportunities for training and professional development.