General Manager

National Trust; Wales; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 115,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Substantial pension up to 10%

Free entry to National Trust places

Season ticket loan

Flexible working where possible

Employee assistance programme

Free parking at most Trust places

Job summary

National Trust Cymru is seeking an inspiring and strategic General Manager to lead the Carmarthenshire & Ceredigion Property Group. You will drive inclusive leadership, shape plans, and ensure places across Wales remain welcoming and relevant for future generations.

You will oversee diverse teams, foster partnerships with communities and stakeholders, and champion access to nature, heritage and culture while ensuring financial resilience and long‑term impact.

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading diverse teams and delivering ambitious organisational outcomes.
• Excellent communication and engagement skills with the ability to influence and build trust.
• Collaborative leadership style across colleagues, communities, partners and stakeholders.
• Strong strategic and operational leadership including budgeting, risk and performance management.
• Commercial mindset with experience in income generation and sustainable growth.
• Ability to lead through complexity, change and transformation while keeping delivery outcomes.
• Proven ability to build relationships with local communities, partners and external stakeholders.
• Understanding Welsh culture, heritage and communities and reflecting these in practice.

Responsibilities

• Provide visible, inspiring leadership across the Carmarthenshire & Ceredigion property group to deliver outcomes for people, nature and heritage.
• Balance strategic priorities with strong operational performance and financial sustainability.
• Build partnerships and collaborate with communities and stakeholders to broaden access, relevance and impact.
• Develop people, foster an inclusive, ambitious and high‑performing culture where teams thrive.
• Champion access and inclusion to ensure places are welcoming to diverse audiences.
• Oversee financial performance, income generation, risk management, and long‑term planning within the portfolio.

Skills

Proven leadership experience

Communication & engagement

Collaborative leadership

Strategic & operational leadership

Commercial & entrepreneurial thinking

Change management

Stakeholder relationship building

Understanding Welsh culture & heritage

Job description

Summary

We're looking for an inspiring, strategic and inclusive leader to become the next General Manager for the Carmarthenshire & Ceredigion Property Group.

This is a rare opportunity to lead a diverse portfolio of places across Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion. From the historic landscapes of Dinefwr and Llanerchaeron, to the UK's only known Roman gold mine at Dolaucothi and the spectacular coastline of Ceredigion, the portfolio represents some of the very best of Wales's natural, cultural and historic heritage.

As General Manager, you'll not only lead these remarkable places, but play an important role within the wider Wales leadership team. Together, you'll help ensure that more people across Wales can experience and benefit from nature, beauty and heritage.

At the heart of this role is a belief that nature, beauty and heritage should be for everyone. You'll help the Trust reach and engage more people, whilst ensuring the places in our care remain relevant and welcoming for future generations

The National Trust's commitment is "For everyone, for ever."
Bringing that promise to life starts with the people that work here. It means building teams with a diverse range of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. It means creating an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive.

Our roles are open to all. However, we particularly welcome applications from people from ethnically diverse communities because they are underrepresented at the Trust.

Additional Information:

• This is a permanent, full-time position.


• Based across the Carmarthenshire & Ceredigion Property Group, with regular travel across Wales and occasional travel to national meetings and events.


• Some weekend and occasional evening working will be required.

**Please find the Welsh version of this advert in the attachments**

What it's like to work here

Reporting to the Assistant Director for Access, Urban and Inspire, you'll be part of a collaborative leadership team working across Wales to ensure more people can access and benefit from nature, beauty and heritage.

You'll work alongside fellow General Managers, Specialist Delivery Managers, Heads of Marketing & Communications and External Affairs, and the Senior Project Manager leading our Valleys work. Together, you'll help shape and deliver National Trust Cymru's ambitions for ending unequal access, building relevance and impact for communities across Wales.

The Carmarthenshire & Ceredigion portfolio is one of National Trust Cymru's property groups helping to lead our work on Ending Unequal Access to nature and heritage – our ambition to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from nature, beauty and heritage.

Working alongside colleagues across National Trust Cymru, you'll build and strengthen relationships with organisations, communities and public bodies across Wales. We know that ending unequal access requires collective action and long-term collaboration beyond the boundaries of any single organisation.

Understanding Welsh culture, heritage and communities will be important in helping you build authentic relationships and ensuring our work reflects and celebrates what makes Wales unique. In Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, where 39.9% and 45.3% of residents respectively can speak Welsh, language and culture are integral to community life and local identity. As General Manager, you'll play a key role in ensuring that National Trust Cymru's work is rooted in the communities we serve, creating meaningful connections with people and partners.

You'll lead a passionate team of staff and volunteers, creating an environment where people feel valued, supported and able to thrive. Understanding what helps individuals and teams flourish, and bringing people together behind a shared vision, will be central to your success.

What you'll be doing

You'll provide visible and inspiring leadership across the property group, ensuring teams are empowered and supported to deliver outstanding outcomes for people, nature and heritage.

This is a broad leadership role, moving between operational delivery, people leadership, strategic thinking, partnership building and business planning. You'll lead complex operations whilst influencing change, shaping the future and delivering outcomes that extend beyond the places in our care.

Working collaboratively with colleagues, communities, partners and stakeholders, you'll help shape and deliver the long‑term vision for the portfolio, balancing strategic priorities with strong operational performance and financial sustainability. You'll bring people together around a shared purpose and create the conditions for teams to thrive.

No two days will be the same. One day you may be supporting teams through operational challenges, the next developing partnerships, influencing national thinking, shaping long‑term plans or exploring new opportunities to broaden access, relevance and impact.

At the heart of this role is a commitment to developing people. You'll nurture talent and develop future leaders, building an inclusive, ambitious and high‑performing culture where people feel welcomed, supported, challenged and empowered to do their best work.

Championing access and inclusion in all their forms, you'll help remove barriers that prevent people from enjoying nature, heritage and culture, ensuring our places are relevant and welcoming to a broader range of audiences. Beyond National Trust boundaries, you'll play a significant role in building partnerships and influencing others to deliver shared outcomes for people, nature and heritage.

Responsibility for financial performance, income generation, risk management, operational delivery and business planning will also sit within your remit. You'll ensure the portfolio remains resilient, sustainable and commercially successful whilst staying true to our charitable purpose.

Who we're looking for

You’ll bring:

• Proven experience of leading diverse teams, creating a culture where people can perform at their best and achieve ambitious organisational outcomes.


• Effective communication and engagement skills, with the ability to build trust, influence others and communicate a clear vision.


• A collaborative leadership style, with experience of bringing together colleagues, communities, partners and stakeholders around shared goals.


• Effective strategic and operational leadership skills, including experience of managing budgets, managing risk and organisational performance, with the ability to translate vision into practical action and lasting impact.


• A commercially minded and entrepreneurial approach, with experience of business planning, financial management, income generation and identifying opportunities for sustainable growth.


• Experience of leading through complexity, change and transformation whilst maintaining focus on delivery and outcomes.


• A proven track record of building effective relationships with a wide range of audiences, including local communities, under‑represented groups, partners, volunteers and external stakeholders.


• Understanding of Welsh culture, heritage and communities, alongside a commitment to ensuring these are reflected, celebrated and shared through our work.

We're proud of the role the Welsh language plays in the places and communities we care for across Wales. Whether you're a fluent Welsh speaker or a learner, we'll support you to develop the skills and confidence needed for your role and to engage with Welsh language and culture as part of working at the National Trust.

For this role, we are looking for a minimum Level 2, and you will be expected to work towards Level 3 within 12 months. Please see the attached Welsh Language Competency Framework for details of the Welsh language skills associated with these levels.

Whilst a strong understanding of Welsh culture, heritage and communities will be important, you do not need to be a technical specialist in conservation, heritage management or nature recovery. We have expert teams in place and are looking for a leader who can bring people together, build capability, inspire others and create the conditions for success.

Recruitment Process

• Online first stage interviews will take place on Monday the 23rd and Tuesday the 24th of November.


• The Second Stage Assessment Day for successful candidates will take place on Tuesday the 1st of December.


• Candidates should aim to be available for both stages of the recruitment process.

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