We’re looking for a Senior Lead - Visitor Programming to join us. The Senior Lead for Visitor Programming is our organisational lead for shaping and delivering a compelling, integrated visitor programming offer. You’ll be responsible for setting the long‑term direction for programming organisation wide, ensuring it grows audiences, improves visitor satisfaction, and contributes to financial sustainability.
You’ll define a clear, forward‑looking roadmap for visitor programming, using audience insight, performance data, and sector trends to keep the offer relevant, high quality, and inclusive. Working across national, regional, and local teams, you’ll bring together visitor‑facing functions to deliver a cohesive offer, build organisational capability through a national community of practice, and represent us externally within the wider experience sector.
This is a fixed term contract, ending on 31st May 2027.
What it's like to work here
As part of the Visitor Experience Proposition team, you’ll join a collaborative, purpose‑driven environment where expertise is shared, ideas are tested, and learning is valued. People work across boundaries, bringing together national strategy with regional and local delivery to create experiences that feel joined‑up, welcoming and relevant throughout the year. You will not have direct reports but will be involved in and lead matrix teams across the organisation.
As this is a national role, there is flexibility on your contractual place of work. Our hybrid working policy means you can balance office and home working with site visits and meetings at other National Trust places. We’ll talk about this in more detail at interview, but you should expect to be at a National Trust site for 40–60% of your working week.
What you'll be doing
You’ll help to ensure members and paying visitors receive value for money through consistently high‑quality, repeatable experiences year‑round. This is a new and influential role supporting delivery of our strategy and future visitor growth.
You’ll use your experience, creativity, and leadership to shape and coordinate our national approach to visitor programming across the visitor journey, working with colleagues across programming, commercial and marketing teams. You’ll take a collaborative, inclusive approach, drawing on expertise from across and beyond the organisation to build compelling, data‑informed plans with a strong audience focus.
Working through matrix teams, you’ll lead the development and delivery of the ‘Programming for Growth’ workstream, creating a diverse and inclusive pipeline of visitor programming designed to grow visitors over the long term. Throughout this, you’ll bring together visitor‑facing functions to create a more integrated, cohesive offer, while also leading and inspiring a national community of practice that builds capability, confidence and shared learning.
Who we're looking for
You’ll bring a broad range of the following knowledge, skills and experience, shaped by different roles, sectors or career paths, and the judgment to apply them effectively at scale;
* Proven leadership in visitor programming, driving growth and audience engagement.
* Experience creating and executing long-term roadmaps, leading change and delivery at scale.
* Expertise in understanding, growing, and diversifying audiences.
* Experience using audience data to build clear narratives and inform decision-making.
* Ability to lead integrated offer development that unites visitor functions.
* Understanding of financial and operating contributions through programming.
* Championing inclusive learning culture and leading communities of practice.
The package
The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.
* Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
* Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
* Rental deposit loan scheme
* Season ticket loan
* EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)
* Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
* Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.
* Flexible working whenever possible
* Employee assistance programme
* Free parking at most Trust places