Deputy Director: Transformations - Barber Institute of Fine Art - 59934 - Grade 8

Position Details

Barber Institute of Fine Art

Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK

Full time starting salary is normally in the range £46,735 to £55,755 with potential progression once in post to £62,728

Grade: 8

Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to June 2027

Closing date: 21st May 2025

UK and International travel may be required for this role

Our offer to you

People are at the heart of what we are and do. The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.

We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.

We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.

Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University, and we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.

The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.

Background

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts is an internationally important art collection, gallery and concert hall housed in a Grade 1 listed Art Deco building, located at the heart of the University of Birmingham's Edgbaston campus. Established in 1932 'for the study and encouragement of Art and Music', our mission derives from the far-sighted vision of our founder, Lady Barber. The Barber uses its world-class collections to create inspirational opportunities for learning and enjoyment for students, staff and the wider public.

The Barber Institute is one of the UK's foremost university arts centres and enjoys an international reputation for its art collection and exhibitions and its concert programme. Often described as a mini National Gallery for the Midlands, its collection includes masterpieces by many of the major names in the history of western art, including Botticelli, Rubens, Vigée-Lebrun, Turner, Rossetti, Monet, Degas, Renoir and Van Gogh, among others. Its collection of Roman, Byzantine and mediaeval coins is one of the most important in the world. The Barber team organise a popular and successful programme of exhibitions and displays, along with an innovative, critically engaged learning and engagement programmes. Access to the Barber's collections, exhibitions and the majority of its public programmes is free for all.

The Barber is embarking on a transformation project in 2025. This is an exciting and critical project, which will encompass both physical and strategic change, transforming the museum. The Barber's building will be closed from the 27 Jan 2025 until 2026, when we expect to re-open. During its closure to the public, the Barber will tour its collections nationally and develop new core initiatives that will support its re-opening and ambitious future plans.

Role Summary

This senior position works closely with the Director and Senior Management team. The post holder contributes strategic and practical leadership for four core areas of exciting transformation that are taking place at the Barber over the next two years: its building, its identity, its business modelling, and its people and working culture.

The post holder is the Director's Deputy in these areas with a particular responsibility towards two major stakeholders, the University of Birmingham, its organisation, staff and students, and the Barber's public communities. The post holder works closely with the Director and the Deputy Director: Collections and Research (DD C&R) in setting the forward agenda for the Barber. They are a visible and active advocate for the Barber internally and externally, representing the Barber in professional networks, relevant sector sharing events and collaborations. The post holder researches, initiates, develops and sustains productive relationships across all Colleges of the University, actively promoting the Barber's unique contribution to the Birmingham 2030 strategic framework.

The Deputy Director: Transformations leads on the strategic-change and practical management of the Barber's forthcoming capital works programme. Acting for the Barber, they will work closely with its project managers in the University Estate's teams and with colleagues at the Barber including the Head of Operations (whom the post-holder line manages), ensuring that the capital programme is delivered to the highest standards that it reflects the Barber's mission and values. They will support the development of funding bids relating to the project and manage reporting and evaluation streams. This capital work (management, fundraising, reporting) is core to the role and it is likely to occupy a significant proportion of the post-holder's time initially.

Alongside these physical transformations, the Barber is working on a revised forward plan and visual identity and communications strategy that can better reflect its future ambitions and values. Working closely with the Communications and Marketing Manager (whom the post holder line manages) and the Head of Learning and Engagement, the post holder will lead the practical delivery of this aspect of the transformation.

Alongside these changes, the post holder will support the Director to reshape the organisation's business plans, with particular attention to income generation strategies. Lastly, the post holder will work with the Director and the College's HR team, to support staff through this period of change, particularly with regards to the development of working cultures, training, and supporting HR processes. The post holder has responsibility for ensuring that commensurate values and practices inflect day-to-day working and forward planning across the Barber, championing Wellbeing, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and a supportive and reflective whole team culture.

Main Duties

Strategy, Management and Leadership:

• Work closely with the Director, the DD: C&R, and Senior Management team to shape the Barber's forward planning and development: this includes its mission and values and business/financial planning. Work with the Senior Team to align the Barber to best and ambitious practice within both the museum sector and university context, keeping audiences in focus, capitalising on opportunities, and negotiating challenges as they arise.
• Act as the lead contact for the Barber for its physical transformation project. Support the Director to ensure that the project is managed effectively and delivered to the highest standards. Work closely and constructively with the Head of Operations and project leads in Estates, as well as the project architects and contractors.
• Work closely with the Director and Communications and Marketing Manager, shape the strategy for identity and communications at the Barber that reflects its mission and aims. Lead the development of a new identity, website and suite of marketing materials.
• Lead and support positive change to working environments and cultures that will result from the physical transformation of the Barber's building. Support HR processes. Lead on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at the Barber, including the development and implementation of an Equality Action Plan, working collaboratively with Barber colleagues across departments and key UoB contacts.
• Working closely with the Director, and supported by the Finance Officer and senior business partners within the College of Arts and Law, support the development of sustainable financial models for the Barber, with particular attention on the development of income generation from retail and events.
• Support the Director in formulating the Barber's fundraising and development activities relating to the capital project, identify relevant funding sources and build and sustain positive relationships with existing funders. Lead the management of evaluation and reporting in relation to these funding streams and ensure the agreed outcomes are met.

Additional Duties

Advocacy and Communication:

• Support the Barber in profile-raising activities, including cultivating donors/supporters/partners, hosting VIPs, promoting and representing the Barber.
• Present the Barber's ambitions . click apply for full job details