SPAB IRELAND TRAINING AND SUPPORT CONSULTANT

CONSULTANCY BRIEF:
SPAB IRELAND TRAINING AND SUPPORT CONSULTANT

Contract Summary

• Outcome-based coordinator role within a fixed budget
• Contract Type: Consultancy Agreement
•
• Fixed budget + flexible time allocation aligned to reporting cycles and event

Term: 12 months, with potential for renewal

delivery (estimated at approximately 1-2 days per week on average)

• Fee: £11,800 total (12-month fixed term).
• Based on the Island of Ireland.

BACKGROUND

The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) is one of Europe’s oldest
buildings conservation charities, founded in 1877. Today, it is statutory adviser in parts
of the UK, a campaigning organisation, a provider of training and expert technical
advice, and a membership organisation with a network of regional groups.  It has
branches in Scotland and Ireland, and a specialist group dedicated to the protection
and use of historic wind and watermills.

The SPAB Ireland branch is delivering a 12-month programme of education, outreach
and training activity across the whole island of Ireland, funded through the Heritage
Council’s Heritage Organisation Support Fund.

Our programme includes a focused pilot of skills development activities designed to
address critical gaps in traditional building conservation. This comprises three
specialist hands-on masterclasses, three public lectures exploring traditional building
conservation, three podcast episodes to extend learning nationally, and a supervised
SPAB Ireland Working Party providing practical, site-based experience and peer
learning.

We are seeking a consultant to support end-to-end delivery of this pilot programme,
including coordination, administration, stakeholder liaison, and financial and grant
compliance.  We welcome proposals that prioritise essential tasks, suggest eWiciencies
or systems, and identify what may fall out of scope within budget.

PURPOSE OF THE CONSULTANCY

The consultant will play a key role in enabling the eWective co-ordination, delivery and
oversight of SPAB Ireland’s pilot training and engagement programme. Working closely

with the voluntary SPAB Ireland Committee, who provide overall oversight of the
programme, the consultant will ensure that activities are well-planned, eWiciently
delivered and meet required standards of governance, reporting and impact.

The role is designed to provide essential programme infrastructure within a volunteer-
led organization, supporting delivery partners, managing key processes, and ensuring
the programme remains focused, realistic and compliant within available resources.

Specifically, the consultancy will support:

•  The structured delivery of a tightly defined programme of training, events and

outreach

•  Clear co-ordination across trainers, partners and participants
•  Robust financial tracking, administration and funder reporting
•  EWective communication and alignment with SPAB Ireland’s wider aims and

capacity

The consultant will operate independently, agreeing outputs and timelines in advance,
and will bring a pragmatic, solutions-focused approach to prioritization, systems and
delivery within a constrained budget.

The consultant will not be responsible for strategic decision-making, which remains
with the SPAB Ireland Committee, but will provide practical recommendations to
support delivery within available resources.

SCOPE OF SERVICES

The consultant will be expected to provide services across the following areas:

Events and programme coordination

•  Supporting the delivery of 3 pre-arranged training events, and organising 3 public

lectures and 3 podcasts

•  Attending events; liaising with trainers, venues, participants
•  Managing participant registrations and related communications; maintaining

attendance records.

•  Co-ordinating logistics with event venues, liaising with trainers and progressing

practical arrangements for events and the delivery of any required event
materials; ensuring Risk Assessments are completed and circulated as
necessary.

•  Keeping records and compiling information required for Heritage Council

reporting cycles (November); including data collection, participant feedback,
and KPI tracking.

•  Liaising with colleagues across the SPAB

Committee Administration

•  Committee administration support, including preparation of agendas, minuting

meetings, and tracking follow-up actions

•  Coordination across Committee sub-groups and workstreams, supporting

alignment and progress across training, lectures, podcasts and communications

Financial Administration

•  Tracking event income and expenditure; maintaining financial records
•  Co-ordinating payment of invoices for trainers and venues; arranging payment of

trainer fees and reimbursement of volunteer expenses

•  Participant communication
•  Documentation and reporting

Communications

•  Working with SPAB’s Communications Team to ensure events are submitted in a
timely fashion to appear on the SPAB website, and are well-promoted to SPAB
members and target audiences

KEY ANNUAL DELIVERABLES

The Consultant will work closely with the SPAB Ireland Committee, who have oversight
of the programme to deliver:

•  Three intensive, hands-on masterclasses led by specialist conservation

craftspeople. The masterclasses have been selected based on risk to heritage
and the potential for skills transfer:

o  Traditional metal roofing – lead and copper
o  Breathable insulation and natural materials
o  Specialist decorative plastering

•  Three public lectures exploring traditional building conservation, and repair-led

practice

•  Three podcast episodes capturing knowledge and learning from the programme
•  One SPAB Ireland Working Party, oWering supervised practical experience and

peer learning

METHOD OF WORKING

•  The Consultant will be expected to manage their own time in order to deliver the

agreed outputs for the programme

•  The Consultant will work closely with the voluntary SPAB Ireland Committee, but
will be directly managed by the SPAB Senior Membership Manager in London,
who will agree a schedule of regular check-ups

•  The consultant will be expected to attend regular meetings of the SPAB Ireland

Committee (every six weeks)

•  Work will be delivered independently, using the consultant’s own equipment
•  There is no obligation to either party beyond the agreed consultancy days and

deliverables.

TO APPLY

Please submit a CV (max. 2–3 pages) and a short cover letter (max. 1 page) outlining
your relevant experience and your approach to delivering a programme of this nature
within a fixed budget, to Dr Michael Nelles, Senior Membership Manager at
Michael.nelles@spab.org.uk.

Candidates may also include a brief outline (max. 1 page) of their proposed approach to
coordinating the programme.

Deadline for applications is Tuesday, 28 April 2026, at 17.00.