Community and Youth Engagement Manager (maternity cover)

About Us

We are a world-class visitor attraction and leading science research centre. We use the Museum's unique collections and our unrivalled expertise to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. We care for more than 80 million objects spanning billions of years and welcome more than five million visitors annually and 16 million visits to our website.  

Today the Museum is more relevant and influential than ever. By attracting people from a range of backgrounds to work for us, we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things.

We employ 900 staff in a variety of roles, all united by our vision of a future where people and planet thrive. We need everyone to have the passion and drive to help us with our mission to create advocates for our planet and inspire millions to care about the natural world.

Diversity and inclusion matter to us.

Our vision is of a future where both people and the planet thrive. Diversity is one of our core values and we strive to build a workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging. All new staff who join us learn about the importance of diversity and inclusion to the Museum and how to contribute to creating an inclusive environment.

We know we have more to do, but we are committed to ensuring that everyone who works at the Museum feels they can thrive and feel valued and respected.

About the role

The Learning team creates opportunities for and supports young people aged 0-25 to understand, connect, care for and advocate for the planet. To create advocates for the planet, we need to engage and involve the widest possible audience.

The Community and Youth Engagement Manager (maternity cover) will play a key role in working with those who are currently under-represented and under-served by the Museum including structurally excluded audiences and young people.

They’ll forge new and strengthen existing relationships with local people and community organisations built on trust, respect and integrity, including our Community Advisory Group of local leaders. Alongside this, they’ll oversee the delivery of the ongoing programme, including the development of accessible and innovative activities that speak to developing a deeper connection with nature and science, and how we can act for the planet, that we can deliver in the Museum, as well as offsite in our surrounding three boroughs.

The post holder will also lead their small team in developing and rolling out a new programme of events and an advisory group for young people aged 0-25, creating opportunities for them to engage directly with scientists and the latest research, and giving young people a stronger voice in the most pressing issues of our time.

Through working directly with community and youth groups and understanding their needs, the Community and Youth Engagement Manager (maternity cover) will play a critical role as an advocate for these audiences, helping the Museum to understand the barriers to nature, science and the organisation. In listening to, and working collaboratively with them, the post holder will support the organisation to become more inclusive by championing and integrating diverse experiences and perspectives, building sustainable and lasting change.

Please note that an Enhanced DBS check with Barred Lists is required for this role.

About you

Due to the nature of how we work in this area, it is essential that the successful individual has a solid understanding and experience of good collaborative practice, as working together, listening and learning will be at the heart of our approach across our audiences. To that end, we’re looking for someone who has experience working directly with community and youth organisations as a practitioner or facilitator, is highly motivated, passionate for working responsively to audience need and able to use initiative to drive opportunities forward. They will also have experience influencing others with diplomacy, working strategically to identify opportunities for collaboration to support the removal of systemic barriers, and will understand the complexities of working in a multifaceted public sector organisation.

Though a background in science/nature and learning may be helpful, what is more important is the individual’s ability to connect with and build positive, meaningful relationships with a wide range of people internally and externally, oversee the development and delivery of high-quality programmes and to be able to advocate for diverse voices across the Museum’s work.

Thriving at the Museum: the way we work

We are proud to work at the Museum and have identified the qualities we all need to embody to reach our shared ambition. This sits alongside the Museum’s values and forms the framework for the way we work.

How to apply

If this sounds like you, please view the job description, our benefits and apply online on the Natural History Museum’s careers portal via the link below.

Please note that as part of our commitment to anonymised shortlisting, panels do not view CVs during the recruitment process. If you choose to upload your CV, our system will automatically pull information from your CV into our application form. We advise you to double-check your application form data before submitting as the tool may interpret CVs differently.

Closing date: 23:59 on 6th April 2025

Interviews expected: w/c 21st April 2025

Please note that this role does not qualify for Museum sponsorship so the successful postholder will need to have a valid right to work in the UK at the point of offer.

Museum Website: https://jobs.nhm.ac.uk