Design Manager

The British Museum; City Of London; On-site; GBP 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading cultural institution in London seeks an experienced Design Manager to lead significant design projects within the Museum. This role requires expertise in architecture and project management, focusing on fit-out and refurbishment in cultural settings. Ideal candidates will possess strong communication skills and a degree in a relevant field, contributing to major transformational projects at the Museum.

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level in relevant discipline or equivalent experience.
• Professional accreditation in Architecture or related field.
• Significant experience delivering fit-out projects in cultural settings.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning, design, and delivery of enabling works.
• Act as client design representative for long-term projects.
• Guide teams and stakeholders through project stages.

Skills

Architectural expertise

Project management

Excellent communication

Fit-out and refurbishment experience

Education

Degree in Architectural/built-environment

Post-graduate degree in relevant field

Job description

Design Manager

Full‑time, Permanent contract

£54,992

Vacancy Closes: 19 November 12.00

About The Role

We're seeking a skilled Design Manager to lead the planning, design, and delivery of our Western Range enabling works. This is an ambitious programme within the oldest and most significant areas of the Museum.

Acting as the client design representative, you'll help shape how the Museum operates over the next decade, supporting object decanting, temporary displays, and reimagined visitor experiences. You'll also contribute to wider Museum projects, including renewal and replacement works across a unique heritage estate.

This role covers a broad range of disciplines including architecture, gallery and display design, signage and wayfinding, MEPh engineering, structural and civil works, vertical transportation, and fire safety. You'll bring strong architectural and project management expertise, excellent communication skills, and experience delivering complex fit‑out and refurbishment projects in the cultural sector. Your ability to write clear strategies, briefs, and scopes will be key to guiding teams and stakeholders through every stage of delivery.

About The Programme

The British Museum is undergoing an extraordinary transformation, both physical and intellectual. We have built a new state‑of‑the‑art research centre in Reading, begun work on a new energy centre that will help us in our drive to become net‑zero, and we have just appointed world‑renowned architect Lina Ghotmeh to rejuvenate and redevelop our Western Range - accounting for over a third of our galleries.

This will be the biggest building project the Museum has undertaken since the Victorian era - indeed it will be one of the biggest and most exciting cultural renovations in the world. And that makes it a uniquely exciting time to join the Museum.

And while the physical transformation will be spectacular in the service of a wider intellectual transformation. Alongside redesigning our galleries, and rethinking how we display the collection, we are documenting and digitising our entire collection and expanding our national and international loans programme. Taken together we are determined to make our collection the most accessible, used and enjoyed of any in the world.

About You

• Educated to degree level in Architectural/built‑environment/construction‑related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Post‑graduate degree in Architecture/Interior Architecture/Heritage Management/Exhibition design.
• Professional body accreditation, or formal qualification in a related field, eg. ARB.
• Significant experience planning, developing and delivering fit‑out (permanent exhibition) projects within a large national museum or art gallery, or similar context.
• Experience of working with design teams on new‑build and refurbishment projects in the cultural sector.
• Knowledge and expertise on procurement of consultants and contractors within the public sector, and knowledge of relevant suppliers in the marketplace.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, including the ability to write strategies, briefs, and scopes, providing clarity via written appraisals to Project Team members.

If you have any additional needs that we should be aware of in order to support you with your application, please provide details to …

The Museum adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for pre‑employment screening of Civil Servants.