Head of Cultural Programme

Who are we?

Chatsworth House Trust

Chatsworth House Trust (CHT) is a charity, established in 1981 to care for the House, Collections, and Ground, working closely with the Devonshire family and governed by a Board of Trustees, chaired by Lord Burlington. CHT responsibilities comprise the lease of a Grade 1 listed house and stables, a 105 acre garden, a 1822 acre park as well as caring for one of Europe’s most significant art collections – the Devonshire Collection. Today over 600,000 visitors visit Chatsworth House and Gardens, and many thousands more, to the surrounding woods and parkland. There is a vibrant learning and engagement programme, underpinned by research and conservation, and a commitment to demonstrate that Chatsworth is more than a house, it is a place of creativity and community.

The Devonshire Group

Chatsworth House Trust is part of the Devonshire Group, which comprises the Devonshire family interests, charities and businesses throughout the UK and Ireland, including Chatsworth, which sits within the Derbyshire Estate, the Bolton Abbey Estate in North Yorkshire, the Lismore Estate in County Waterford, and the Compton Estate in Sussex. 

The group is committed to benefitting heritage, people and a shared future, by preserving, restoring and enhancing their heritage assets, by being a significant contributor to their communities and by being seen as a leader in the way they do things.

About the role

As part of our new strategy, brand and programming ambitions, we are excited to introduce this ambitious new role, which will sit on the Senior Leadership team for Chatsworth House Trust (CHT) to lead on the development and delivery of a more cohesive, new and ambitious Chatsworth Programme, to support our strategic ambitions for greater cultural engagement; a wider, diverse and more loyal audience; and a greater resilience for the charity. As Head of Cultural Programme you will be responsible for shaping our ambitions to grow programming across our heritage, collections and landscape. The programme aims to enrich research and artistic practice through creative collaboration in the public arena, increasing public engagement with Chatsworth through culture and the arts.

You will work with colleagues, external curators, artists, designers, thinkers and makers to create an ambitious programme, rooted in our collections and heritage, building on the legacy of exhibitions, events and talks to date, in order to deepen engagement, address the urgent issues of our time and drive loyalty with our visitors’ onsite and our wider communities online and off site.

You will do so by using and celebrating our landscape, heritage, and art collections, in order to demonstrate our continued relevance and growing audience reach. You will be ambitious, creative, innovative and bold in your development of our future programme to have a positive and long lasting impact.

Who are we looking for?

As a member of the senior leadership team for CHT, and reporting to the Director of Chatsworth House Trust, you will be natural leader with the ability to influence and articulate a clear vision and ambition to internal audiences, external funders and the target audience. 

You will work closely with colleagues, particularly across Collections, Learning and Engagement, Grounds and Gardens and the Commercial teams to shape the programme and liaise closely with Development and the Marketing and Communications team to support the fundraising and promotion of the programme. You will build excellent relationships with the Devonshire Family, the CHT Trustees and colleagues across the Devonshire Group.

To succeed in this role you will need to be a strong negotiator, with commercial acumen, strong budgetary control and the ability to challenge, identify and execute business growth and fundraising opportunities.

You will have demonstrable experience in programme development and delivery within a historic setting and/or public spaces, both here and overseas, along with a deep understanding of audience research and segmentation.

Being able to work under pressure and to tight deadlines will not phase you with your positive and pragmatic approach to achieving results.

Understanding the importance of building key relationships, you will have the ability to network proactively and work collaboratively to build these relationships with colleagues and external audiences.

This is a full time permanent position working Monday to Friday, however; flexibility is required to travel, attend occasional out of hour’s events and meetings and network with potential partners for Chatsworth.

Further details can be found on our careers page using the link provided.

You must be willing to undergo a Basic Disclosure.

In return

We pride ourselves on our commitment to building friendly and efficient teams who are focused on delivering exceptional customer service.  We are committed to ensuring the happiness and wellbeing of our staff and as such offer fantastic benefits, which include:

• Working in the beautiful surroundings of Chatsworth House and the Derbyshire Estate.
• Competitive full-time salary of circa £65,000 p.a. 
• Excellent personal development and career opportunities.
• Free entry to the Chatsworth and Bolton Abbey Estates, in addition to the Chatsworth Country Fair and many other events.
• Membership of the Life Assurance Scheme.
• Competitive annual leave (and opportunity to buy more).
• Free on-site parking.
• Employee assistance programme.
• Wellness calendar of events.
• Subsidised sports massage.
• Discount in our retail, catering and hotel establishments
• Annual staff and children’s parties.

Our core values include “Being Inclusive” and we particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates who are currently under-represented. We also welcome applicants from the LGBTQ+ community. Requests for flexible working will always be considered.