Category: Museum Notices

Dear Colleagues

This more comprehensive message comes after my brief email on Monday.

We spent Monday and Tuesday speaking in-person with colleagues whose jobs at the Museum are affected the most by the restructuring proposals I first mentioned at my briefings during RESET in January, taking account of two colleagues on annual leave. It was very important to do this first before sharing the proposals widely. In this context, if you have not had an individual meeting, you can assume that your role at the Museum is not directly affected, by which I mean, your role is not at risk. However, that doesn’t mean certain other roles aren’t affected, more indirectly. These indirect changes – often in line-management – are driven by streamlining the Leadership Team, reducing it from five roles to three, called: (1) Chief Executive; (2) Content & Operations; and (3) Business Development. We are also proposing that we reduce the number of section Heads, from eight to six. This also drives changes in line-management.

An example of changed line-management includes Team Managers (Historic Characters) reporting into Public Programmes. Another example is a proposal to combine our marketing & audience and development teams under a new post of Head of Development & Communications. Our Costume Team also has proposed new line-management, moving to Interpretation & Collections. There are other examples.

You’ll see all these proposed changes set-out in the attached proposed organogram.

There are also examples where individual consultation involves identifying more than one alternative new role, and you’ll appreciate this can add to the complexity of the discussions, selection process and, in time, confirming colleagues in new roles.

I am also aware that certain roles, whilst remaining in the proposed structure, are vacant. There are examples in the Maintenance Team, Enterprises Team Managers, and Historic Character Team Managers. During the consultation we need to keep open as many vacancies as possible to offer potential alternative employment for the five colleagues at risk. All the time, our approach is to minimise or remove any job losses.

Attached to this covering message is the briefing pack which was shared with all the colleagues we spoke to earlier this week, as we enter a 30-day consultation. I encourage all colleagues to study it carefully, especially the proposed new organogram. The briefing pack also includes frequently asked questions.

• Document 1: Proposed Sustainable Business Planning 2025+
• Document 1.1: Proposed Structure Allocation of Functions  (proposed new organogram)
• Document 1.2: Draft Frequently Asked Questions
• Document 1.3: Draft Redundancy Plan

We will continue to update colleagues as we work through the consultation, listen and respond to views and suggestions, before finalising the staffing structure going forward, including certain new job profiles and the associated salaries. We shall use the Museum’s Intranet, PlanDay and all-staff emails to keep everyone as up to date as we possibly can. Helen Dinsdale, our HR Consultant ([email protected]) is also arranging some open sessions, designed for all colleagues, but especially those impacted less directly by the proposals.

I recognise that this is a challenging time, including during the next four weeks of consultation, where you may well be working closely alongside colleagues whose jobs are at risk, and I thank you for showing sensitivity, respect and courtesy. It will be enormously appreciated by your colleagues as we continue to open the Museum and head towards our first busy week of 2025, during the February half-term.

If anything in this note is unclear or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Helen.

Andrew