Head of National Programmes
We are the independent charity that loves and looks after six of the most wonderful palaces in the world. The palaces are the setting for the stories that shape us all, and we’re bringing them to people in ways that mean more to them. We want everyone to find themselves in the spaces and stories we share.
Departments: Schools & Communities
Home Palace: Hampton Court Palace
Status: Fixed Term Contract
Salary: £64,902
Salary Rate: Per Annum
Days/Hours of work: Fixed term until October 2028, with the possibility of extension. Full time, 36 hours per week, Monday - Friday
About the role and about you
A charity for everyone
Historic Royal Palaces is the independent charity that cares for six of the most extraordinary palaces in the world. Our mission is to bring their stories to life for everyone, everywhere. We believe heritage should be accessible, relevant, and inspiring—no matter where you live or who you are.
As our new Head of National Programmes, you will lead the design, governance, and delivery of our cross-organisational National Programme. This is a strategic leadership role within our Public Engagement Directorate, with the power to shape how we reach audiences across the UK and ensure our charity truly serves everyone.
Your Impact
Strategic Leadership: Review and build on our newly formed National Programme Strategy, driving innovation and national impact.
Champion Inclusion: Tackle inequality and geographical disparities in access to heritage and culture, prioritising work with local and national partners.
Collaborative Delivery: Work across HRP to coordinate activity, align plans and resources, and maximise reach.
Programme Excellence: Establish robust governance, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and pilot initiatives that scale to UK-wide delivery.
Team Leadership: Lead and develop a new National Programmes team (we will ask you to help recruit your first member of staff upon confirmation of this role), deputising for the Director of Public Engagement on national partnership matters as required.
About You
You are an experienced leader with a track record of delivering national or multi-region cultural and/or learning programmes. You thrive on designing place-based interventions in areas with high barriers to cultural access, and you excel at building partnerships across education, culture, youth, and civic sectors.
You bring expertise in:
* Managing complex stakeholders, budgets, and risk for off-site delivery
* Line-managing senior practitioners and leading matrix delivery across teams and sites
* Reporting to senior staff and trustees
* Setting up and conducting evaluation using qualitative and quantitative evidence
* You are collaborative, strategic, and passionate about reaching new audiences.
What We Offer
* Hybrid working model
* Enhanced holiday entitlement
* Generous employer pension contributions (up to 11%)
* Annual pay reviews and bonuses
* Critical illness cover and life assurance
* Family-friendly policies and benefits
* Staff discounts and membership to all palaces
* We are committed to flexible working arrangements and open to discussing what works best for you and the charity.
Closing date 23:55pm 19th October 2025
Join Us
Historic Royal Palaces is an equal opportunities employer and values a truly diverse workforce. Applications are welcome from candidates regardless of background.
Ready to make a difference?
We are also committed to high quality Safeguarding practices and to ensure everyone is kept safe in our palaces. We have procedures in place to ensure this commitment is delivered and will deal firmly and swiftly with anyone representing our charity who does not meet our required standards
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