DiSSCo UK Head of Digitisation

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 1100 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

Join us at a pivotal moment as we transform access to the UK's natural science collections through one of the most ambitious digitisation programmes of its kind. As Head of Digitsation, you will play a leading role in delivering DiSSCo UK, helping to unlock millions of collections records and specimens for research, innovation and public benefit. Your work will enable new insights into biodiversity, environmental change and the natural world whilst shaping the future of collections digitisation across the UK,

The Head of Digitisation will lead a complex portfolio of digitisation activity, driving best practice, strengthening capability and ensuring successful delivery across multiple organisations, workstreams and funding streams.

The postholder will have dual responsibility, within the DiSSCo UK. Nationally, the postholder will provide strategic coordination, relationship management, delivery assurance and performance support across independently led hubs. As the recipient of DiSSCo UK digitisation funding, the role is also responsible for the delivery of local digitisation targets and expert leadership of the NHMs Digitisation Workstream.

Working closely with funders, partners and senior stakeholders, the Head of Digitisation will build trusted relationships and help shape the future of collections digitisation in the UK, ensuring a major national investment delivers lasting impact.

This is a fixed term contract until 31 March 2029.

About you

You are an experienced leader with a strong track record of delivering large–scale, effective digitisation, or other transformational collections based programmes in a mission–led environment.

You'll bring significant experience of leading multidisciplinary teams, governance, delivery, and working successfully across organisational boundaries to achieve shared outcomes. A skilled relationship builder, you are confident influencing senior stakeholders, funders and partners, and leading through collaboration in complex, matrix environments.

You combine strategic judgement with practical delivery expertise and have experience driving change, developing capability through mentoring and knowledge sharing, and creating inclusive, high–performing teams.

Most importantly, you are motivated by the opportunity to contribute to work of national significance, fully realising the value of world–leading collections to advance research, support innovation and deliver lasting public benefit.

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.

Find out more on our website.

What we offer

• 27.5 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays (full time equivalent)
• Generous defined contribution Natural History Museum Pension Scheme (employer contribution 4 – 10%)
• Season ticket, bicycle and rental loan
• Life insurance
• Free admission to our exhibitions and many other paid exhibitions at museums, galleries and institutions across London and the UK.
• Staff discount at our Museum shops and cafes
• We offer a wide variety of training initiatives and opportunities to build skills. Investing in staff development is important to us, and we are ambitious about helping staff to grow and fulfil their potential.
• Affordable membership to the Civil Service Sports Council which offers a range of benefits including an extensive list of special offers and reduced entry fees at a selection of cinema chains, theme parks, theatres, retailers and supermarkets. It also provides entry to up to 300 English Heritage sites and other national treasures.
• Membership to our Sports and Social Association (for a small fee), which includes access to our in–house gym and clubs such as football, softball, table tennis and tennis and classes in Middle Eastern dance, yoga and Tai Chi

Hybrid working

We are working towards a vision where both people and planet thrive, and nothing gives a greater connection with this, than seeing first–hand, the visitors, scientific research and collections that all of our work is inspired by and working side by side with the teams delivering the visitor experience and events. We also recognise the benefits and flexibility that hybrid working brings. We operate a hybrid working model that requires regular, weekly attendance for this role, with the precise pattern of days on site and worked from home to be agreed with your manager.

How to apply

If this sounds like you, please apply on our website.

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 14 October

Interviews expected: w/c 26 October

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.