Senior Interpretation Manager

Historic Royal Palaces is an independent charity that looks after six of the most wonderful palaces in the world: Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, Banqueting House, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace, and Hillsborough Castle and Gardens.

We create space for spirits to stir and be stirred. We want everyone to feel welcome and accepted. We tell stories about the monarchs you know and the lives you don’t. We let people explore and we set minds racing.

About the role and about you

We are looking for a bright, creative senior interpretation professional to join our team. You will be leading the development and delivery of major interpretation/exhibition projects; supporting the Head of Interpretation & Design in the shaping of strategy, future direction, and planning of the Interpretation programme; and, most importantly managing, developing and inspiring our Interpretation Officers.

The Interpretation & Design team works collaboratively with colleagues across HRP to lead the creative direction of the visitor experience, helping to provide the motivation for people to visit and re-visit our sites, surprising and delighting them once they are here. Working together, we reveal hidden histories, moving and inspiring new audiences, and working with people to make stories and collections relevant today. We want visitors to feel as well as learn – to bring depth and meaning to their visit. We want to speak to our visitors on their own terms and to find new ways to engage audiences who may not think that palaces are for them.

As a candidate for this role, you will: 

• Have experience of leading the interpretation and design development of large scale heritage interpretation projects and/or exhibitions;
• Have experience of and enthusiasm for managing, coaching, inspiring and developing people
• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of interpretation and design within historic spaces;
• Thrive on working as part of a team, working on multiple projects simultaneously;
• Have experience of leading multi-disciplinary teams and enthusiasm for working collaboratively with colleagues, partners, stakeholders, designers, exhibition build contractors and other specialists;
• Be able to put the needs of the visitor first and to think creatively and strategically about how best-practice interpretation can create truly exciting experiences that convey the stories of the palaces and collections to our audiences;
• Have excellent design judgement with creative flair and an eye for detail;
• Have experience of project, procurement and budget management;
• Possess strong organisational, relationship building, communication and project management skills;
• Have a willingness to work flexibly with occasional out of hours working during installation periods.

Benefits include:

• Hybrid working (N.B. this role is at least 3 days/week on site and more during installation periods)
• Enhanced holiday entitlement
• Generous Employers Pension Contributions (up to 11%)
• Annual Pay reviews & Bonuses
• Critical Illness Cover & Life Assurance
• Family friendly policies and benefits
• Staff discounts and membership to all palaces

Closing date: 23:55pm 20th October 2024

Interviews: 25th & 28th October 2024