SW Fed Archive
Job opportunity at the SW Fed
Training Facilitator
The South Western Federation of Museums & Art Galleries is seeking to appoint a training facilitator to develop, promote, oversee the delivery and evaluate the South West Museum Skills Programme from October 2009 to December 2010.
Renaissance South West has engaged the Federation to provide 500 people days of training on a range of topics, through a variety of formats. The training facilitator will implement this contract on our behalf.
Fee: Fixed price of £1,120 per month (£16,800 for the full 15 month contract) including VAT but excluding travel expenses.
Training Facilitator
Brief and person specification for a contract with the South Western Federation of Museums and Galleries
Role: Training Facilitator
Location: The South western counties of England
Fee: Fixed price of £1,120 per month (£16,800 for the full 15 month contract) including VAT but excluding travel expenses
Status: Freelance Consultant
Reporting to: Chair of South Western Federation of Museums & Galleries
Period of the contract: 1 October 2009 to 31December 2010
1. Introduction: Following our successful delivery of the Museum Skills-sharing Workdays in 2008/2009, The South Western Federation of Museums & Art Galleries (SW Fed) has been awarded a contract by Renaissance South West to deliver the Museum Skills Programme for September 2009 to December 2010.
Under the terms of this contract the Federation has agreed to provide 500 people days of training on a range of topics, through a variety of formats. We are now seeking to appoint a consultant to implement this contract on our behalf.
The SW Fed is a membership organisation working to support and develop museums and their workforce in the South West (www.swfed.org.uk). It is a charity and company limited by guarantee run by an elected board which meets bi-monthly, generally in Exeter.
2. Aims and Objectives of the Contract: The purpose of the contract is to develop, promote, oversee the delivery and evaluate a range of training events and activities – from small workshops to full scale lectures - to paid and volunteer staff in museums and galleries in the South West.
3. Partners: The training programme will be developed in close partnership with our commissioning body, Renaissance South West and with other training providers in the region, for example the Group for Education in Museums (GEM) and the South West Lifelong Learning Network (SWLLN).
4. Main Contacts: The facilitator will principally have contact with the Chair and Treasurer of the SW Fed, the Training Sub-committee, County Reps, the Renaissance South West representative, representatives of other partners and Museum Development Officers (MDOs).
5. Timing of the Contract: The consultant will be expected to start work as soon as possible to ensure a smooth handover from the present facilitator who finishes work on 17th September and the delivery of the training events already planned to take place before Christmas 2009.
6. Job Specification for this Contract
- To work with the representative of Renaissance South West and the Training Sub-committee of the SW Fed to devise and develop a training programme which will deliver 500 people training days as required of the contract between the SW Fed and Renaissance South West.
- To identify and pursue links and contacts with other training providers in order to deliver and add value to the programme.
- To arrange and oversee training events including venues, lecturers and catering as agreed with partner organisations.
- To promote training events using the Federation website and other appropriate methods.
- To evaluate training events, analyse data and use it to plan subsequent training activities.
- To work within agreed budgets for training events.
- To work with a range of museum and learning professionals to keep abreast of training needs in the region and ensure the programme meets these needs.
- To have regard to the sustainability of training packages and advise on ways of ensuring the maximum number of people can benefit from the activities, eg through trickle down, ‘train the trainer’ events and printed/virtual learning packages.
- To work in conjunction with the Training sub-committee and the Treasurer to deal with the financing of agreed training programmes and obtain reimbursement of grant income.
- To provide quarterly reports to Renaissance South West and any other training organisations working in partnership with the SW Fed.
- To attend meetings of the Federation Training Sub-committee and with the officers of organisations working in partnership with the SW Fed.
- To attend the bi-monthly Board Meetings of the SW Fed and report on progress.
- Such other tasks as may be necessary to ensure the delivery of the outcomes of the Federation’s contract with Renaissance South West. Any variation or addition will be agreed in writing by both parties.
7. Contextual information: The consultant will be supported in his/her work by the considerable body of evidence gathered by Renaissance South West and the SW Fed throughout the delivery of the South West Museum Skills Programme and the Workdays in previous years. The Federation’s County Reps also have access to skills audits carried out at county level by MDOs. The consultant will benefit from partnerships already established with a range of organisations, including GEM SW, the SWLLN, the Museums Association, the National Trust, English Heritage and the South Western Social History Curators Group.
8. Copyright: The copyright for the written content, design and production of the training programme will be the property of the commissioning partners.
9. Location of the Contract: The person appointed will work from their own premises, but be expected to attend meetings and a number of the training sessions (to be agreed), which will be held throughout the South West.
10. Remuneration for the Contract: The fee for this contract is £1,120 per month, inclusive of VAT. An immediate start by the consultant would make the total value of the contract £16,800 over 15 months.
The consultant will be responsible for their own National Insurance and Tax. Travel expenses can be claimed at the rate of 35p/mile (40p if unleaded petrol is over £1/litre) or second class rail fares.
The contract will be administered by the Treasurer of the SW Fed. Payment will be made against invoice for 1/15th of the contract fee, monthly in arrears.
11. Qualifications, Skills and Experience required by this ContractThe Training Facilitator must be able to drive forward a range of activities, working with Federation members and partner organisations from the public, voluntary and private sectors.
Essential | Desirable | How demonstrated |
| A good understanding of, and empathy with, the museum sectors | Knowledge of MLA, Renaissance and Accreditation | Application, CV & interview |
| Awareness of the differing needs, characteristics and aspirations of public, voluntary and private sector museums in the region | Experience of having worked within more than one type of museum, or learning organisation either in terms of scale or public, private or voluntary | Application, CV & interview |
| Experience of effective partnership working | Ability to develop and manage partnerships, working with different museums and learning agencies | Application, CV & interview |
| Experience of managing projects, working to deadlines and within fixed budgets | Proven track record | Application, CV & interview |
| At least two years experience of working in the museum sector | AMA or equivalent level qualification | Application, CV |
| Excellent advocacy and influencing skills | Excellent report writing and oral communication skills | Interview |
| Excellent communication skills, including fluency in IT | Experience of managing websites desirable | Application, CV & interview |
| Ability to manage and prioritise their own work and to have excellent self-motivation | Experience of working and reporting to a Committee or Steering Group which draws together representatives from different organisations | Interview |
| Professional indemnity insurance | Able to travel throughout the South West region | Application |
12. Equal Opportunities: The SW Fed operates an equal opportunities policy and welcomes applications from individuals regardless of their gender, age, race, status, religion, culture or any physical or mental impairment. It values all people equally and celebrates the differences between them as an enrichment to society.
13. Insurance: The consultant will be required to have professional indemnity insurance providing a minimum of £250,000 cover.
14. Health & Safety: The consultant will be responsible for ensuring their own health & safety and those they work with, complying with all relevant legislation.
15. To apply for the Contract: Please apply by letter and CV addressing the points listed in section 11 above. Please indicate how soon you will be able to start work on the contract.
For an informal discussion or additional information please contact Liz Neathy, Federation Chair, on 01934 621028 ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
Application must be submitted in writing by post by 5pm on Tuesday 8th September 2009 to:
The South Western Federation of Museums & Art Galleries, c/o Liz Neathy, North Somerset Museum, Burlington Street, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, BS23 1PRWith an electronic copy sent to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Interviews to be held on 17 September 2009