Chair of Board of Trustees: Lead an accredited museum into its next chapter

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St Neots Museum is seeking an experienced and motivated individual to join us as Chair of Trustees.

This is a senior voluntary leadership role with responsibility for guiding the Museum’s strategic direction, ensuring strong governance, and supporting its long term sustainability.

This role sits at the heart of the St Neots Museum Strategy, with a clear mandate to ensure the Museum is fit for the future: resilient, relevant and ready to serve a growing community.

As St Neots continues to expand rapidly as a town, the Museum has an exciting opportunity to broaden its reach, strengthen its visitor offer and embed itself even more deeply in local life.

About St Neots Museum

St Neots Museum is an independent charitable museum dedicated to public education and community heritage, caring for and sharing the history of St Neots and its surrounding area.

The Museum is:

  • A registered charity regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales
  • Accredited under the Arts Council England (ACE) Museum Accreditation Scheme, meeting nationally recognised standards in governance, collections management, public engagement and sustainability
  • Supported by a small staff team and a significant, highly valued volunteer workforce
  • The Museum is ambitious for its future and clear that sustainability, inclusivity and public benefit must sit at the centre of its development.

The role

The Chair leads the Board of Trustees and works closely with the Museum Manager to ensure the Museum is well-governed, financially sound, and compliant with its charitable and statutory responsibilities. The Chair also represents the Museum externally, acting as an ambassador for its vision and purpose.

The Chair is elected at the Museum’s AGM or may be appointed on an interim basis until an AGM is held.

Key responsibilities include:

  • Leading the Board of Trustees and ensuring effective governance and decision-making
  • Overseeing financial stability, legal compliance, and risk management
  • Supporting strategic planning, including convening an annual strategy day
  • Ensuring the Board has the right mix of skills and experience
  • Working with the Museum Manager to maintain oversight of operations, collections, and accreditation requirements
  • Representing the Museum to stakeholders and partners

About you

You will bring strong leadership and communication skills, experience of organisational or people management, and an understanding of the UK charity environment. You will be impartial, collaborative, and confident in guiding discussion and decision-making.

What you’ll be doing

  • Chairing Trustee Board meetings and ensuring good governance
  • Supporting strategic planning and long-term resilience
  • Working closely with the Museum Manager to oversee the Museum’s affairs
  • Helping recruit and develop Trustees with the right skills and experience
  • Acting as an advocate and ambassador for the Museum

What we’re looking for

  • Strong leadership and facilitation skills
  • Confidence working with people and managing differing viewpoints
  • Understanding of charities, governance, or voluntary organisations
  • Commitment to the Museum’s purpose and values

The difference you’ll make

You’ll play a key role in ensuring the Museum remains well-run, financially sustainable, and able to meet national museum accreditation standards, helping it continue to serve its community for years to come.

This is an opportunity to:

  • Ensure excellent governance of an ACE-accredited museum at a defining moment
  • Help ensure a trusted local institution is sustainable for future generations
  • Shape how heritage, learning and community connection are experienced in a rapidly growing town
  • Leave a lasting legacy through thoughtful, inclusive and resilient leadership

Time commitment

Time commitment to be agreed flexibly, recognising the senior nature of the role and other commitments. Estimated commitment is 15 hours per month – around 4 half days per month, excluding any time spent promoting the museum at external events.

How to apply

We welcome applications from all sections of the community, and are particularly keen to reach people with leadership, governance, charity, business, public sector or community experience who may be interested in making a lasting contribution to the future of the Museum and the town.

For more information, or to express your interest in this role, contact Chris Jones, Deputy Chair of Trustees, on cjjones@live.co.uk

The deadline for Expressions of Interest is 18 September 2026.

Eligibility

The law places certain restrictions on becoming a charity trustee. For example, you cannot be under the age of 18, have previously been removed from trusteeship of a charity by a Court or the Charity Commission, disqualified under the Company Director’s Disqualification Act 1986, or been convicted of an offence involving deception or dishonesty (unless the conviction is spent).

If you are in any doubt about your eligibility, visit the Charity Commission website at www.charitycommission.gov.uk