Head of Events & Client Experience

Head of Events & Client Experience

Full-time

Hybrid, at least 4 days per week on-site in Bloomsbury, London

Permanent contract

£70,739 - £77,280 per annum

Application deadline: 23:59 on 22 November 2026

Interviews will take place on the afternoon of 26 November 2026.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to take on a new role at the British Museum, created as we grow our Development team and increase the ambition and impact of our events. From private views and dinners to major launches and the annual Museum Ball, our events bring clients, partners, donors and guests into the Museum in extraordinary ways.

As Head of Events and Client Experience, you will have the opportunity to shape what comes next. You will bring together our events, commercial hire and client experience activity, building on strong foundations to create memorable experiences and unlock more of the potential of the Museum’s unique estate. Combining creative ambition with commercial thinking and exceptional delivery, you will help ensure every event reflects what makes the British Museum such a distinctive place.

About you

You will bring substantial experience of designing and delivering high-profile events and premium client experiences, alongside strong commercial and financial acumen. You will understand how to build a pipeline, develop pricing, grow income and manage budgets, suppliers, contracts and event risk while maintaining exacting standards.

An experienced and motivational leader, you will be confident bringing teams together, managing change and building strong relationships across a complex organisation. You will communicate persuasively with senior stakeholders, trustees, donors, partners and clients, combining sound judgement and resilience with exceptional attention to detail and a natural sense of hospitality.

Key areas of responsibility

• Set the strategy for events and client experience, with clear targets for income, standards and client satisfaction.
• Lead and develop the events, commercial hire and client experience teams as a cohesive, high-performing function.
• Develop a proactive commercial hire strategy, including pricing, pipeline management and effective use of the Museum’s spaces to support sustainable income growth.
• Deliver an outstanding programme of events and activations while ensuring clients, partners, donors and guests receive a consistently high-quality experience.
• Manage budgets, forecasting, suppliers, risk and performance, using data and client insight to drive continuous improvement.
• Collaborate across the Museum to ensure events and hires are delivered safely and sensitively while supporting sponsorship, fundraising and the Museum’s public mission.

The Masterplan

The British Museum is undertaking its biggest transformation since its founding nearly 300 years ago. This physical and intellectual transformation includes large scale building and gallery transformation, new ways of connecting with audiences and different ways of working. As we look towards this exciting future, we remain guided by the words of our founder Hans Sloane - who dreamed of a museum connecting all arts and sciences, which would be accessible to everyone, everywhere.

Benefits

At the British Museum, we believe our people are at the heart of everything we do and have designed a benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary. Our full list of benefits can be found here, but we’ve outlined some highlights below:

• Free exhibition entry for you and guests, exclusive private views, ICOM and reciprocal museum access.
• Civil Service Pension Scheme defined benefit with considerable employer contribution.
• 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays and 2.5 privilege days (and +5 days after 10 years).
• Peer support and allyship with five diversity networks for community.
• Learning and development through courses, mentoring and Athena as well as support for professional qualifications.
• Enhanced parental leave including maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave.
• Interest‑free loans including season ticket, rental deposit and bicycle loans.

Our Values

Our values drive everything we do, from how we handle our objects to how we work in our team to fostering a culture where everyone feels heard and empowered:

• Care Deeply
• Embrace the Unknown
• Spark Curiosity
• Value Many Voices

These are a core part of how we recruit. Throughout the application, interview and selection process, we look for examples of how candidates demonstrate these behaviours in their own work and experiences. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with our values and reflect them in your application.

Additional details

If you have any additional needs that we should be aware of to support you with your application, please provide details to bmrecruit@britishmuseum.org.

Right to Work: The British Museum holds a Skilled Worker sponsor licence. Applicants are responsible for determining whether the advertised salary and role meet current UKVI sponsorship requirements and for ensuring they have, or can obtain, the appropriate right to work in the UK. The Museum cannot provide immigration advice, and eligibility should be checked before submitting an application.

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