Heritage manager

Heritage managers preserve historic sites and landscapes so that the general public can enjoy them for years to come

As a heritage manager, you'll be responsible for the conservation and management of heritage sites like historic buildings, landscapes, museums, ancient monuments and other properties.

You'll have a broad remit, with responsibilities ranging from the preservation of important sites, through to developing plans to maintain a community's culture or a region's industrial legacy. Your aim will be to balance the preservation of a site, with the need for income generation and business sustainability.

Responsibilities

As a heritage manager, you'll need to:

• manage budgets and carry out strategic planning
• secure funding from external sources
• generate income from commercial activities, such as catering and hiring out the venue for events and film shoots
• run a commercial shop
• administer the collection of entrance fees, donations, sponsorship and memberships
• organise and monitor building, renovation and conservation work
• recruit, supervise and motivate staff and volunteers
• deal with the media to promote the site
• use IT to generate market share, raise visitor numbers, etc.
• develop new ways to present the attraction or collection to maximise visitors' enjoyment and understanding
• ensure high standards of customer service and health and safety for visitors to the site
• write reports, policies and procedures, marketing documents and interpretive material
• project management
• relate at a senior level to local authorities or national bodies within whose remit the site may fall
• liaise with external agencies such as funding bodies, professional associations, other heritage organisations, tourist bodies and regional development agencies, perhaps to deliver co-funded and joint-venture projects
• develop outreach activities in the local community
• keep up to date with developments in the field and with historical research into topics related to the attraction
• deal with enquiries from researchers and the public
• design and analyse visitor feedback surveys.

Salary

• At assistant level in a curator/collection management role, your salary is likely to range from £19,923 to £23,640.
• In a team leader or supervisor role, you could earn between £27,511 to £34,685.
• As a manager or head of department, you may earn in the region of £35,111 to £52,469.

The Museums Association published Salary Research and Recommendations in November 2022, with the aim of addressing the issue of low pay in the museums sector.

Salaries may be higher with a postgraduate qualification, and salaries in London are usually at the top end or above these scales.

Income data from the Museums Association Salary Research and Recommendations report, November 2022. Figures are intended as a guide only.

Working hours

There can be early starts and late finishes. Expect to work unsocial hours if employed at visitor attractions that are open on weekends, or for evening events/filming.

Part-time work, job sharing and career breaks are possible.

What to expect

• You'll mainly be office-based but will likely spend some time outdoors at open-air heritage sites and on guided tours.
• Some jobs, for example in marketing, collection management or conservation, involve a variable amount of travel to sites within a region or to attend national meetings, including overnight stays.
• Jobs are available across the UK in both urban and rural locations.
• If you work as an area manager with a national organisation you may spend a significant proportion of your time travelling. As a manager of a museum in an urban local authority, you would be centrally based.
• Self-employment is uncommon, although there is some scope for consultancy work at a senior level. Private consultants and specialists, such as bid writers, can earn around £250+ a day.

Qualifications

This area of work is open to all graduates, but the following subjects may be particularly useful:

• administration
• archaeology
• countryside or estate management
• education - secondary or primary with a PGCE qualification
• geography
• heritage or museum studies
• history or history of art
• library and information services
• marketing or other business-related subjects, especially finance.

Entry with an HND or foundation degree only is unlikely. While lower-level jobs, such as seasonal posts or internships in visitor reception, interpretation or retail, do not require a degree, they are often sought by graduates as a direct entry post or by undergraduates and postgraduates as work placements or holiday jobs.

A role such as a heritage officer or interpreter would provide good experience and help towards achieving a management role.

A postgraduate qualification is not always essential, although a pre-entry qualification in heritage or museum management provides evidence of commitment and may improve your salary prospects. Search for postgraduate courses in heritage management.

A postgraduate course may provide you with the opportunity to complete a work placement or work-based project, which is valued by employers. Qualifications in areas such as teaching, marketing, communication, finance or digital and web-based technologies are useful for specific roles in the sector.

Skills

You'll need to show evidence of the following:

• the ability to deal effectively with a range of people
• excellent written communication skills
• a genuine interest in and understanding of the heritage sector, plus awareness of related current political agendas
• good negotiation skills
• administrative and budgeting skills
• digital media and IT skills
• commercial awareness and customer service skills
• an enthusiasm for learning
• the ability to use your initiative and work well in a team
• experience of partnership and collaborative working
• flexibility and creativity
• time-management skills
• project-management skills
• leadership ability.

Work experience

You'll need to gain some relevant experience as competition is fierce. Look for seasonal work as a tour guide, interpreter or visitor reception assistant. Spend some time researching organisations and approach them speculatively. This demonstrates proactivity and a commitment to a career in the heritage sector.

Organisations such as the Wordsworth Trust and the National Trust offer paid structured training programmes, for a variety of roles in their buildings and grounds.

Volunteering is a good way of gaining experience too. Search for opportunities with National Trust, English Heritage, National Trust for Scotland and The Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland (AHSS), as these recruit volunteers to work directly with the public and for practical conservation projects.

Find out more about the different kinds of work experience and internships that are available.

Employers

The main employers of heritage managers are:

• amenity societies
• cathedrals and churches
• conservation organisations and charities
• heritage charities and trusts
• local authorities
• museums
• privately owned historic houses, heritage centres and independent museums. Many of these are members of Historic Houses.
• tourist boards and other tourism operators.

Look for job vacancies at:

• English Heritage Jobs
• IHBC Jobs etc
• Museum Jobs
• Museums Association (MA)
• National Trust Jobs

Professional development

If you work for a larger national body, or a local authority, you may receive in-house training on heritage issues and have the opportunity to attend conferences. You'll usually be encouraged to study qualifications that will aid your career development and may be given some training on general topics, such as IT, and management skills.

Training may also be available through a local consortia of heritage organisations and museums. For further information, see The Heritage Consortium.

Smaller heritage attractions may not have the scope or money to offer regular training but joining a local heritage group can provide you with access to training opportunities and networks.

If you don't already have a postgraduate qualification, you may be encouraged to complete a part-time Masters in heritage management or museum studies, while you're working. Employers occasionally offer help with funding or study time.

The MA Careers section has information about training courses and continuing professional development (CPD). Including, details about the AMA (Associateship of the Museums Association), which is the MA's professional development programme. It takes, on average, three years to complete the qualification and requires approximately 35 hours of input per year.

Joining a relevant professional association such as Historic England, the Institute of Historic Building Conservation (IHBC), RIBA or any of the other associations listed on the Historic England site is also a good way to maintain your professional development.

The Association for Heritage Interpretation (AHI) also runs short courses and training events.

Specialist providers include:

• Group for Education in Museums (GEM)
• Society of Museum Archaeologists

Career prospects

Career paths within the sector are extremely diverse. You may begin at a fairly junior level but with a couple of years' experience secure posts with greater responsibility.

If you stay with a particular heritage attraction for a few years, it's likely you'll be given the opportunity to influence your job description, by developing areas of personal strength or professional interest.

The larger national organisations offer scope for widening your experience and gaining promotion internally, perhaps into an area or property manager role. You may work towards gaining Associateship of the MA, which demonstrates competence developed over several years and a commitment to continuing professional development (CPD).

Alternatively, you may be able to develop a career in the independent heritage or museums sector by applying skills you've gained in an associated area, such as from writing bids or funding applications.