Senior Heritage & Cultural Project Manager in Harrow on the Hill

We are a forward-thinking, growing consultancy operating from the East Midlands and London regions working with a range of public sector and not for profit clients, particularly on heritage, arts and cultural projects. With strong sustainability credentials and a commitment to making a positive impact, we actively seek to drive change in our industry. Our innovative approach, coupled with a hybrid work environment, provides our employees with a dynamic and inclusive atmosphere where they can thrive and contribute to our collective success.

We are looking to recruit a motivated and resourceful Senior Heritage & Cultural Project Manager to be based at our London Office. The successful candidate will lead in the development and delivery of capital projects across the Heritage and Cultural sectors (£500k to £40m). Projects that we are currently working on include:

• Renovating the Natural History Gallery and external landscape works at the Horniman Museum
• Base build and exhibition fit out for a new permanent home for Fashion Museum Bath
• Conservation and renovation works to Holy Trinity Church in Hastings
• Conservation of a historic Tithe Barn to create a wedding venue at St. Osyth in Essex

The role will also include some travel across London and the South East and, on occasion, to elsewhere in the UK.

The Ideal Candidate Will

• Possess a strong technical experience of refurbishment/ conversion/ extension/ new build, possibly from a building surveying, quantity surveying, architectural, or engineering background
• Have a passion for and understanding of the Heritage and Cultural sector
• Demonstrate experience of contract administration (ideally NEC or JCT)
• Have direct experience of public sector projects including external funding e.g. NLHF, ACE, DCMS
• Have experience of working closely with and managing clients, professional teams and contractors
• Be competent in preparing reports, both written and financial
• Thrive as part of a growing team, helping to mentor junior consultants and apprentices
• Be chartered or working towards it e.g. MRICS, MCIOB
• Have experience of all stages of a project from briefing to completion
• Must have UK-based capital project experience.

We are committed to fostering a culture of continual professional development and collaboration, offering opportunities for growth within various disciplines and delivering exceptional client service.

Role

The role can be undertaken over 4 or 5 days per week. This will include:

• Managing projects holistically, including wider organisational development, community engagement programmes, interpretation development and business planning as well as the capital works
• Project concept and brief development
• Advising on project set up e.g. programme, governance, finances
• Procurement of consultants and contractors
• Chairing management and co-ordination meetings
• Developing and implementing strong programme and financial management and reporting
• Directing, monitoring and overseeing the design activity
• Undertaking risk management studies and implementing change control procedures
• Monitoring and overseeing the construction and handover phases of the project
• Contract administration under JCT and/or NEC
• Managing multiple projects (likely 3-4 but depends on scale)
• Supporting to secure new work.

Key Qualities

The key qualities that we expect of our staff are:

• The ability to work in and lead a team
• The ability to manage projects in challenging operational environments
• The ability to manage a busy workload with competing priorities
• The ability to support other members of the team in Focus
• Excellent people skills and ability to secure repeat work through first class service provision and high levels of client satisfaction
• IT literacy.

What We Offer

Opportunities to work across an exciting mixture of projects including:

• Some of the country's most important museums and significant heritage buildings
• Critical NHS projects to improve hospital capacity in London
• Local authority refurbishment and education projects
• Those of different scales from £500k to £40m
• Opportunities to work across the various discipline boundaries with the Focus organisation with an emphasis on sustainability and low carbon or front-end business planning and economic development
• Opportunity to grow support the growth of the project management team
• A friendly and supportive team
• A structured career path and to continue lifelong learning including support to become Chartered
• A different approach and a varied workload with potential to shape your career to your interests
• Regular socials and whole company activity days
• Stimulating multi-discipline environment
• Competitive salary package, benefit scheme and discretionary bonus scheme commensurate with experience and skills.

If you are a motivated team player with strong problem-solving skills looking for a new challenge, we would love to hear from you.

Application

Please forward your CV and covering letter to administration@focus-consultants.com. Please reference the subject line of your email: Application for Senior Heritage & Cultural Project Manager London.

Focus Consultants is an Equal Opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community: Our aim is to attract more people from diverse backgrounds to help us build on our inclusive culture.

Focus is unable to offer sponsorship to candidates under the Skilled Worker visa route following changes made in 2024 by the UK Government. We continue to welcome applications with visa types that do not require sponsorship now or in future.

Please note, due to candidate numbers, we are unable to give feedback on all applications received that are not selected for shortlisting.