Are you a project manager who thrives on cutting through competing priorities and turning them into one clear brief? Do you want to deliver a landmark gallery at the National Railway Museum?
About us
The Science Museum Group is the world's leading group of science museums - home to the Science Museum in London, the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester, the National Science and Media Museum in Bradford, Locomotion in Shildon and the National Railway Museum in York. Together we share a mission to inspire futures, caring for world-class collections and welcoming millions of visitors every year.
The National Railway Museum is the largest museum of its kind in Britain and holds the largest collection of railway objects in the world - and it's in the middle of the most exciting chapter in its history. Through Vision 2025, our £55m masterplan to transform the museum into the World's Railway Museum, we've already reopened the Grade II listed Station Hall following an £11m refurbishment, and construction is now underway on Central Hall - a stunning new welcome building that will unite the museum site for the first time and house a Railway Futures Gallery showcasing the latest innovations in rail technology. All of this sits at the heart of York Central, one of the largest and most ambitious brownfield regeneration projects in Europe. Join us now and you'll play a real part in shaping what comes next
About the role
As a Client Project Manager, you will be part of a highly successful Masterplan team that over the past decade has delivered transformational projects across the Science Museum, growing visitor numbers, engagement and the science capital of the UK. The Masterplan programme marks a step change in our aspiration to engage with the best design practices and create life enhancing experiences through beautiful, appropriate and well-crafted design.
In this role you will plan, manage and deliver projects within the overall Science Museum Masterplan programme focussing primarily on a new gallery about the future of the railways and supporting a site- wide wayfinding project.
Based at the National Railway Museum in York, you will report to the Masterplan Project Director and work with museum colleagues and professional teams to deliver projects derived from NRM’s Masterplan. You will manage projects through the complete lifecycle to agreed time, cost and quality standards, ensuring they are properly managed and integrated with site operations. You will be responsible for the project’s brief, design and delivery, acting as the main point of contact for the project and working alongside a Consultant Exhibition Project Manager. Excellent stakeholder management and collaborative working will be essential to the development and successfully delivery of projects.
You will also be part of a dynamic team of Client Project Managers and Project Directors across the Science Museum Group, sharing knowledge and expertise, training, establishing common practices and structures, and working collaboratively across the whole programme of Masterplan projects and strategic objectives across the Group.
This role is a fixed-term contract until September 2027, based at the National Railway Museum in York. We're open to flexibility on hours - anywhere between 28 and 35 hours per week - and the salary of £42,840 will be pro-rated if you work fewer than 35 hours.
Please note: the official job title for this role within our structure is Client Project Manager; it is advertised as Project Manager - Gallery Development to better reflect the day-to-day focus of the work.
About you
We're keen to see applications from candidates who can hit the ground running. This is a role for an experienced project manager who doesn't need close supervision - someone who thinks logically, stays one step ahead of the project, and takes the initiative when something needs sorting rather than waiting to be asked. You'll have delivered capital or exhibition projects from the client side, managed budgets of £1m or more, and have a practical grasp of health and safety, including CDM regulations. You'll ideally have worked in a museum, heritage or visitor attraction environment - or somewhere with similar complexity - so the world you're stepping into will feel familiar: working alongside conservation colleagues, consultant designers and a wide mix of internal stakeholders, each with their own priorities.
That's really the heart of this role - stakeholder management with good judgement. You'll be the person who brings all those competing voices together, works out what's a reasonable ask and what isn't, and cuts through the noise so the consultant team always has a clear, unambiguous brief to work from. You'll keep the client side delivering on time, manage specialist consultants with confidence, and know how to get people on board without losing sight of the programme. If that sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you.
Don’t feel you meet all the criteria? We welcome you to apply even if your experience doesn’t match directly. With your transferable skills, you could be the right candidate for this, or other opportunities that we have.
Applying
View the Vacancy Information Pack listed under ‘Attachments’ on the vacancy listing on our website for more details about the role and the application process or click ‘Apply Online’ to submit an application.
What we offer
Working with a world-leading museum group that offers access to truly unique environments and collections, you’ll benefit from the perks listed below, as well as full support for life events such as parental and adoption leave, sickness, and career breaks.
Meaningful work.We’re a mission-led organisation where the work you do supports us in Inspiring Futures.- Career growth.We offer enhanced support with personal and professional development.
- Work/life balance.We offer 27 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays, along with flexible policies which support you and your home life.
- All our colleagues can access an employee assistance programme, access to the Unmind app, and other wellbeing support.
- Colleague networks.Our colleague-led networks are an informal forum for colleagues to come together to discuss topics of shared interest and lived experience. They create a space for people to exchange ideas, discuss best practice, socialise and build a sense of community.
- Enhanced contributory pension. To support you in saving for the future.
- Interest-free loans.When you need a little extra cash for life events or home improvements.
- Great discounts.Free entry to exhibitions, discounts in our shops, cafes, and access to other museums in the NMDC network.
Open for All is one of the Science Museum Group’s five core values and sets out our important aspiration to be a place for everyone. We are working hard to understand our organisation better and to develop a culture that recognises and values different backgrounds, mindsets, skills, experience, knowledge, and expertise. By having greater diversity, we believe that we will be a stronger and better organisation, capable to continue to Inspire Futures.
