Head of Wellcome Collection Digital in London

Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library. We believe everyone’s experience of health matters. Through our collections, exhibitions and events, in books and online, we explore the past, present and future of health. Wellcome Collection opened in 2007 and currently welcomes around 400k visitors per year, with over 4m online visits. We care for many thousands of items relating to health, medicine and human experience, including rare books, artworks, films and videos, personal archives and objects. We’re part of Wellcome, a charitable foundation supporting science to help build a healthier future for everyone.

We are looking for a Head of Wellcome Collection Digital to join our team.

You will be leading the Wellcome Collection Digital Team within the Collections and Digital Directorate, reporting to the Associate Director of Collections and Digital. The Digital Operations and Transformation team enables Wellcome Collection to deliver its mission through reliable, sustainable and user-centred digital services, systems and infrastructure. The team translates organisational strategy into operational delivery, ensuring digital priorities are aligned with Wellcome Collection's strategic objectives and that technology, digitisation and digital services support audiences, researchers and colleagues. Working across the organisation, the team develops and delivers digital strategies, leads major transformation programmes, and provides the technical expertise needed to make informed decisions about digital investment, systems and ways of working.

The role provides operational and technical leadership for digital practice across Wellcome Collection, translating the Strategic Plan into deliverable priorities that support the organisation's mission. Working closely with the Associate Director, Collections, Research and Digital and the wider Leadership Team, the role develops and implements short-, medium- and long-term strategies for digital services, systems and digitisation. As Wellcome Collection's lead technical expert, the role provides insight and advice that enables informed decision-making on digital investment, priorities and practice. The role is accountable for ensuring Wellcome Collection's digital infrastructure, systems and services are resilient, sustainable and centred on the needs of users. Its individual objectives include leading operational delivery, providing technical leadership, overseeing programme and budget delivery, and enabling strategic decision-making through expertise in digital systems and data.

As the Head of Wellcome Collection Digital, you will:

• Lead the operational digital processes for Wellcome Collection, translating and prioritising the Strategic Plan with team managers to deliver against Wellcome and Wellcome Collections’ mission delivery.
• Lead the development of Phase 2 of the Wellcome Collection Systems Transformation Programme to focus more on implementing human-centred transformations building on the systems and workflow upgrades of Phase 1.
• Operate as lead technical expert for Wellcome Collection, translating data and technical processes for the WC Directorate to make informed decisions on digital practice and prioritisation.
• Lead the technical approach to digitally reuniting Sir Henry Wellcome’s dispersed collections to promote accessibility, foster research to create shared knowledge, and capture approaches taken to manage the collections globally.
• Work closely with the wider WC Leadership Team to deliver strategic priorities across multiple disciplines, including those beyond the Digital remit.
• Contribute to a diverse and inclusive culture across the organisation, collaborating across departments.

This role is for an experienced digital leader who enjoys combining strategic thinking with operational delivery. You'll be comfortable leading complex digital programmes, translating organisational strategy into clear priorities, and working collaboratively across disciplines to deliver meaningful change. You thrive in environments where you can influence senior stakeholders, provide technical expertise, and help others make confident decisions about digital practice, systems and technology. You'll have a track record of leading high-performing teams through transformation, balancing day-to-day operational leadership with long-term planning. Whether it's developing digital strategy, leading large-scale systems change, shaping digitisation programmes, or ensuring digital services remain resilient and accessible during periods of organisational change, you'll be motivated by creating lasting impact. Above all, you'll be passionate about using digital to increase access to collections, knowledge and research, embedding human-centred, inclusive approaches that enable more people to engage with Wellcome Collection and its mission.

If these criteria resonate with your skills and experience, we encourage you to apply. To apply for this role please submit an updated CV and answer 2 application questions to demonstrate that you meet the minimum requirements for the role.

Minimum Criteria:

• Proven experience at a senior level working within the cultural, heritage, archive, library or museum sector, including influencing decision-making in complex organisations.
• Demonstrable leadership of teams delivering digital products, content or services, including senior product ownership and the application of emerging technologies such as AI.
• Significant experience managing digital infrastructure, content management systems and digitisation programmes within an archive, library or museum environment.
• Track record of influencing senior stakeholders, boards or policy bodies to deliver strategic organisational or sector-wide change on digital issues.

Diversity and Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do. Diversity and Inclusion is a priority at Wellcome. We are committed to cultivating a fair and inclusive environment, where everyone can be themselves and thrive. We are happy to discuss flexible working options for all roles. We work to ensure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition.