Museum Governance and Board Development Consultant at Museums and Heritage Highland

Working Hours: This will vary due to the nature of the contract, but will be around 2-3 days each month.
Contract: Fixed Term – 6 months
Salary: £4,800  including VAT, covering preparation, development of the bespoke sessions and delivery of all eight workshops.
Location: Highland
Closing date: 5pm 15/09/2026

About the Role

Museums and Heritage Highland (MHH) is seeking an experienced consultant to deliver board development and charity governance workshops for eight small, rural museums across the Highlands. The opportunity forms part of our Museums Galleries Scotland funded Pathways to the Future project, a two-year pilot supporting the sustainability and resilience of small rural museums through practical support with administration, income generation, organisational development, leadership, governance and wellbeing.

The successful consultant will deliver eight half-day workshops, one for each participating museum: Strathnaver Museum, Waterlines Heritage Centre, Historylinks Museum, Tarbat Discovery Centre, Tain & District Museum, Highland Museum of Childhood, Grantown Museum and Mallaig Heritage Centre.

The consultant will use the information gathered by MHH to develop an appropriate session for each museum. We would particularly welcome an approach that enables boards to work through real issues and leave with practical next steps, rather than simply receiving information.

We are looking for someone with significant experience in charity governance, trustee development and board facilitation, ideally with experience of museums, heritage organisations or small, rural and volunteer-led organisations. An engaging and adaptable approach is important; this is not intended to be a highly formal or compliance-led training programme.

Workshops will take place between November 2026 and March 2027, with a preference for in-person delivery where practical. Each workshop should be approximately half a day and include two elements.

Part 1 – Board refresher A shared core session of approximately 60–90 minutes covering the fundamentals of effective board working.

We envisage this including areas such as:

• the role and responsibilities of trustees/board members
• the distinction between governance and operational management
• board/staff roles and relationships
• the importance of constructive challenge and diversity of thinking
• effective decision-making and appropriate use of risk
• strategic rather than operational thinking
• good communication and clear boundaries
• the importance of focusing on the organisation’s purpose and long-term sustainability.

We would like the session to be accessible, participative and relevant to small, rural museums.

Part 2 – Bespoke board development Following a short break, the consultant will deliver a bespoke session responding to the individual museum’s priorities.

MHH’s Museum Operations & Support Coordinator’s will work with each museum to identify its priority area in advance. Potential topics could include:

• succession planning and trustee recruitment
• identifying future skills and board development needs
• developing or reviewing a forward plan
• strategic thinking and planning
• decision-making
• board/staff relationships
• roles and responsibilities
• improving board meetings
• effective challenge and constructive disagreement
• delegation and accountability
• other governance or organisational development priorities identified by the museum

How to Apply

On our website, you’ll find the full tender brief for details of the required submission and assessment criteria.

For further information, contact Nicola Henderson at nicola.henderson@museumsandheritagehighland.org.uk.