Victoria & Albert Museum
https://www.vam.ac.uk/ Thank you for your interest in joining the V&A at what is an extraordinary moment in our history; I am delighted to share details of our Head of Membership position, a key role in the newly created Commercial division.
A part of its commercial proposition the museum has been developing its membership offer over many years, and recently has seen significant growth in membership in part due to the very successful ticketed exhibition programme. The membership programme is rich and varied and includes exclusive tours, events, previews and an award-winning members’ room. As a result, membership has developed into our most valuable commercial asset over the last 10 years.
The V&A has an ambitious and diverse public programme, not only at South Kensington, but across our family of sites. The newly transformed Young V&A at Bethnal Green recently won the 2024 award for Museum of the Year, and we are due to open two new sites in the Olympic Park as part of the Mayor of London’s East Bank development. Our membership offer encompasses all the V&A museums, with the expanding portfolio offering exciting new opportunities for the membership proposition.
The role of Head of Membership is to develop and deliver a new membership strategy, which is a fundamental pillar of our overall commercial strategy. Sustainable commercial growth is vital for supporting the overall V&A experience and brand position, and it underpins the museum group’s future financial sustainability.
The Head of Membership will be a part of the leadership team and will work closely with a diverse group of stakeholders, including colleagues in the Commercial, Exhibitions, Marketing, Technology and Finance teams. They will also act collaboratively with peers to drive forward the wider V&A organisational strategy, delivering our mission to champion design and creativity, in all its forms, for everyone.
With this in mind, we are very keen to hear from a diverse range of candidates. If you can see yourself in the above description, please contact our search partners (details below) for a confidential conversation and we look forward to receiving your application.
The V&A is a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity— its power to entertain and move, to enrich our lives, open our minds and change the world. We celebrate and share that power through a programme of exhibitions, events, educational and digital experiences, a collection of 2.8 million objects, and through our support for new works and commitment to conservation, research and sustainable design. Together our work tells a 5,000-year-old story of creativity, helping to advance cultural knowledge everywhere, and inspiring the makers, creators and innovators of today and tomorrow. We are always working to broaden our audiences so that everyone can be part of the V&A – because the V&A and the power of creativity belongs to us all.
Our values
Learn more about us and our strategy here.
The V&A is a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity – its power to entertain and move, to enrich our lives, open our minds and change the world. We celebrate and share that power through a programme of exhibitions, events, educational and digital experiences, a collection of 2.8 million objects, and through our support for new works and commitment to conservation, research and sustainable design. Together, our work tells a 5,000-year-old story of creativity, helping to advance cultural knowledge everywhere, and inspiring the makers, creators and innovators of today and tomorrow.
We are committed to creating a world class visitor and learning experience across all V&A sites and collections while looking to diversify and increase private and commercial funding sources. The V&A’s newly created Commercial division is responsible for delivering best-in-class commercial propositions for our audiences that augment and enrich their experience of the V&A, whether that be at our sites or online. The division leads the V&A’s business-to-customer commercial activity, helping to deliver rewarding experiences and build lasting relationships with current and V&A audiences whilst driving value and financial contribution. The Commercial Division is made up of 6 departments: (Membership, Academy, Retail, FOH& Catering, Omni-channel:eCommerce, ticketing & contact centre, and Publishing).
V&A Membership is the most profitable element of our commercial portfolio and as such it is the cornerstone of our commercial strategy. Having achieved significant growth in members over the last year there is now an exciting opportunity to develop a new strategy to better develop and engage our membership community, to build loyalty and to deliver commercial growth that is critical to supporting the overall mission of the V&A.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title Head of Membership
Duration Permanent
Division Commercial
Hours/FTE Full time
Dept Membership
Reports to Commercial Director
Direct Reports 4 (tbc)
Main purpose of the job
The Head of Membership will hold accountability for the business activity at the heart of the V&A’s commercial strategy. The focus of the role is to develop and deliver to a new membership strategy that creates value propositions with high appeal to existing and new members, to drive acquisition and build loyalty. The strategy will deliver sustainable commercial growth, on which the V&A relies to deliver its mission.
The Head of Membership will manage the multi-disciplinary membership team, spanning operations, events, publications, engagement and communications and data analysis. As a senior leader in the organisation, the Head of Membership will also lead cross-functional teams and work closely with other stakeholders to develop, transform and deliver the membership offer across all platforms, engaging creatively in new ways with our members and ensuring members have a world class experience.
The membership strategy and the implementation of retention and acquisition campaigns will be underpinned by insights from data, so our Head of Membership will be an expert authority on the use of data, technology and digital techniques to drive loyalty.
This is a leadership role, focused on delivering change for commercial growth.
Key Responsibilities
The above job description is intended to be an outline of the duties and responsibilities for this role. This is not exhaustive, and it is likely to change over time. You may be expected to undertake other duties that are commensurate with this role
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Professional requirements
Behavioural requirements
Salary
£75-80,000
Location
Hybrid (Minimum 3 days on site in South Kensington)
Annual leave
29 days plus 8 days public holidays (pro rata for anyone working less than 36 hours per week)
Pension benefits
You will be auto enrolled into the museum’s Group Personal Pension Scheme and have the opportunity, upon completion of probation, to benefit from an enhanced pension provision, with the V&A contributing 10%.
Other benefits include:
Anderson Quigley is acting as an advisor to The V&A. An executive search process is being carried out by Anderson Quigley in addition to the public advertisement.
Applications should consist of:
The closing date for this role is 16th September, 2024.
For a confidential discussion, please contact our advising consultants at Anderson Quigley:
Kiersten Avery at kiersten.avery@andersonquigley.com or +44 (0)7510 384 735 or Elyse Turner Pearce on +44 (0)7808 648 559 or elyse.turner-pearce@andersonquigley.com
| Longlisting | Monday 23rd September |
| Preliminary Interviews with Anderson Quigley | 30th September - 10th October |
| Shortlisting | Friday 18th October |
| Final Panel Interviews | Monday 28th October & Tuesday 29th October |
| Second Round Interviews | Thursday 7th November |
