We're looking for a creative and collaborative leader to shape visitor experiences, programming and community engagement at Stourhead.
You'll lead a multidisciplinary team, build partnerships, and work with colleagues across the property to create ambitious, inclusive experiences that connect more people with Stourhead's landscapes, collections, stories and nature.
What it's like to work here:Stourhead is an 18th-century Palladian mansion set in a world-famous landscape garden that already welcomes 400,000 daytime visitors a year. It is one of the National Trust’s busiest and best-loved places, and a natural meeting point for people who love history, gardens, nature and culture.
You’ll join a close-knit leadership team at a moment of real ambition. Over the next decade Stourhead aims to become one of the most welcoming, culturally vibrant and ecologically resilient historic landscapes in Britain — a place where people from every background feel they truly belong. Success here depends on genuine collaboration: you’ll work side-by-side with your peers and lead a dedicated team that includes Marketing and Communications, Visitor Experience, and Community and Participation colleagues, together with passionate volunteers.
For more information about our property please visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk/stourhead
What you'll be doing:You’ll lead the visitor plan so that everything we offer is ambitious, inclusive and rooted in Stourhead’s unique character — its architecture, designed landscape, collections, hidden histories and living nature. You’ll deliver this through your own team, while working in lock-step collaboration with your peers — the Visitor Operations Manager, Collections and House Manager, and Garden and Landscapes Manager — under the oversight of the General Manager.
Together you will design the full visitor journey, use feedback and insight to keep improving, manage budgets and review performance metrics, and share duty management as a unified leadership team. The strongest visitor experiences at Stourhead emerge when programming, operations, collections, gardens and landscapes are planned and delivered as one.
You’ll shape creative interpretation and programming that keeps the place emotionally alive for new and returning visitors. This includes the regular seasonal offers as well as exciting exhibitions, artist collaborations and installations, all firmly grounded in Stourhead’s own story.
A key part of your role will be to identify and build the external partnerships that help bring Stourhead to life, drawing on your experience of innovation in the cultural heritage sector. You’ll also work closely with local communities so that experiences are co-created and everyone feels welcome, while leveraging modern marketing and communication strategy to share what makes Stourhead special and attract new audiences.
Who we're looking forIn your application please show how you meet the following:
- Experience of leading high-quality visitor or public engagement work in a heritage, museum or cultural setting, including creating inventive interpretation and programming (both everyday seasonal trails and temporary exhibitions or installations) that feel true to the place
- Proven ability to identify and develop external partnerships that bring a historic place to life, based on your track record of innovation in the cultural heritage sector
- Ability to lead and unite a multidisciplinary team covering Marketing and Communications, Visitor Experience, and Community and Participation, while collaborating closely with peer managers across operations, collections and gardens to deliver a seamless visitor experience
- Strong people leadership skills, including training and coaching staff and volunteers, and experience of growing volunteering within an operational setting
- Confidence working with marketing and communications so that great experiences are shared widely and reach new audiences
- Excellent communication and relationship-building skills that inspire teams, engage partners and make cross-team collaboration productive and enjoyable
You’ll be passionate about bringing historic places to life, genuinely focused on people, collaborative by instinct, and excited by the chance to help make Stourhead a place where everyone can feel at home.
The packageThe National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.
- Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
- Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
- Rental deposit loan scheme
- EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)
- Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
- Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.
- Flexible working whenever possible
- Employee assistance programme
- Free parking at most Trust places
Requirements :Compliance.Eligibility to Work in the UK
Permanent p/t (30 hrs pw)
