Wellcome Collection is a free museum and library exploring health and human experience, where you can enjoy exhibitions, museum and library collections, public events, and a vibrant shop and café. We also publish books and online stories.
This is a great time to join Wellcome Collection as we embark on an exciting period of change. Wellcome Collection has recently introduced a new ten-year strategy and this role will play an important part in bringing to life our vision of a world where everyone’s experience of health matters.
Wellcome Collection is part of Wellcome, a global charitable foundation that supports science to build a healthier future for everyone. Wellcome plans to spend 16bn over the next ten years, funding new discoveries in life, health, and wellbeing, and taking on three global health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.
These challenges need the bold science we support, but they won’t be solved by science alone.
We are looking for a Head, Live Engagement and Participation to join our team on a permanent basis.
Where in Wellcome will I be working?
You will join the Live Engagement & Participation team in the Curatorial and Public Practice department at Wellcome Collection leading the museum’s team responsible for live engagement and participation, driven by the needs and interests of audiences. Wellcome Collection’s live engagement and participation team lead the museums’ work with young people, its live programme of talks, workshops, performances, and large-scale events for adult audiences, and citizen-led initiatives exploring ideas of health and equity.
What will I be doing?
You will be responsible for leading a department of producers developing and delivering programmes with young people, adult audiences, and communities to engage with our collections, health, and social justice. In collaboration with the Associate Director, Curatorial and Public Practice and the team, you will shape the strategic vision for the Live Engagement and Participation department ensuring a clear and holistic strategy for the forward programme. You will oversee all delivery planning, partnership frameworks, key recruitment for the team, budgets, reporting and evaluations. You will play a key role in maximising the reach and impact of this team, establishing a culture of reflective practice to ensure we are learning from our work and the needs of audiences, and evidencing the impact of this work.
As we implement our new strategy for a world where everyone's experience of health matters, you'll work with the Engagement and Participation Lead and leadership team to define the direction of our new commitment to participation in a way that's meaningful, sustainable, and equitable. We're building towards an environment where our priority audiences (including racially minoritised people; D/deaf, disabled and neuro-divergent people), shape what we do - from how we collect, describe and research the items in our care, to the work we create for a wider public in our spaces and beyond.
As Head, Live Engagement and Participation you will:
• Provide management and leadership for the Live Engagement & Participation team that are developing and delivering live engagement programmes and supporting the museum to establish a participation practice in pursuit of the organisation’s vision of a world where everyone’s experience of health matters.
• Be an active member of the Wellcome Collection management team, developing reciprocal links across teams within Wellcome Collection.
• Support Wellcome Collection’s anti-racist and anti-ableist practice through personal development, nurturing networks and developing the team.
Is this job for me?
We are looking for a Head, Live Engagement and Participation who has experience in leading teams and running dynamic and ambitious engagement programmes for audiences with different interests and needs. You will have strong management, people, and communication skills. An understanding of museums and libraries and mechanisms for building trust with people who have been underserved by the sector will be a strength:
We are looking for somebody who has:
• Strong management and leadership experience, with the ability to communicate, motivate, and influence a wide range of people.
• Expertise in leading cultural engagement programmes across different scales, for audiences with different needs and is a strategic and creative thinker.
• Experience in participatory work, working closely with young people, adults, community groups to understand audience priorities and bring about meaningful social change.
• Experience in initiating and leading high-profile partnerships
• Confidence in setting and managing budgets, forecasting and delivery planning
• Exceptional written and verbal skills, including the ability to represent Wellcome Collection publicly and communicate complex issues.
• Commitment to anti-racist and anti-ableist practice
Our Hybrid Way of Working
We understand that our colleagues have commitments and personal interests outside of work and we strive to build a flexible working environment, in which people can perform at their best.
At Wellcome we have a hybrid way of working which is 3 days in our Euston Road offices (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) with the remaining 2 days working either remotely or in the office.
Diversity and Inclusion is at the heart of everything we do
Diversity and Inclusion is a priority at Wellcome. We are committed to cultivating a fair and inclusive environment, where everyone can be themselves and thrive. We are happy to discuss flexible working options for all roles. We work to ensure that our recruitment processes are as inclusive as possible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition. Please visit our website for more information on adjustments and accessibility, or contact us.
This position is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. This means that, upon a conditional offer being made, the successful applicant will be required to undertake an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (or equivalent) criminal record check. This will require disclosure of any ‘unspent’ convictions or conditional cautions and any ‘spent’ convictions or adult cautions that are not protected (i.e., that are not ‘filtered out’) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2020).
Application Instructions
Closing date: Wednesday, 4 December 2025
Interview dates: Week commencing Monday, 6 January 2025
