Trustee Vacancy

York Museums Trust, one of the most successful leading regional Museums and Gallery services in the UK, is seeking to appoint two new Trustees to its Board from the Spring/Summer of 2026.

York Museums Trust was formed on 1 August, 2002 as an independent charitable trust to manage the museums and gallery service previously run by City of York Council.  All the collections are designated and include Art, Science, History and Archaeology. The museums and galleries attract about 500,000 visitors each year with an additional c1.2m visits to the Museum Gardens.

The Trust is looking for candidates from a range of backgrounds with skills and abilities to complement those of existing Trustees and to be able to contribute to the Board as it looks forward to a future of continuing change, ambition and development.  They will be people who can empathise and contribute to the Trust’s local, national and international profile and whose experience can support the Trust in continuing to develop its business model.

All Trustees should be able to demonstrate the following:

• A strong enthusiasm for York Museums Trust, what it does, and its future ambitions; also a commitment to its vision and values, including as a more diverse and inclusive organisation.
• The ability to bring new networks of engagement to the Trust to expand its footprint in York and the Region and to help with the attraction of new sponsorship and profile locally, nationally and/or internationally;
• A good understanding of the principles of corporate governance;
• Integrity, relevant experience and the ability to contribute effectively as a Board member.

In addition, York Museums Trust welcomes applications from candidates who have strong experience in the following areas which, for convenience, we have grouped two broad activity clusters:

• Collections Management and Research, particularly collections storage, rationalisation and digitisation, and/or creating research partnerships which have demonstrable public impact
• Property – including one of care and conservation of historic fabric and heritage assets, lease and asset management, sustainability and gardens management

The position of Trustee is unpaid but reasonable expenses may be claimed.  The time commitment for Trustees is estimated to be about one day a month.  Appointments are made for a 3-year period, renewable for a further three years.

For further information please download our  candidate pack

To register your interest in this opportunity, you are asked to submit:
• A copy of your CV or biographical details;
• A statement of interest (no more than two sides of A4) indicating why you are interested and what you are able to bring to York Museums Trust;
• Completed Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form.
We can only receive applications electronically. Please e-mail applications to: recruitment@ymt.org.uk

Closing date is 9am on Monday 17^th November 2025