National Motor Museum seeks new chair of trustees

09 March 2023 | David Young

The National Motor Museum is looking for a new chair of its board of trustees, someone with the skills and ambition to help shape and drive forward its future

National Motor Museum seeks new chair of trustees

The successful volunteer will join the National Motor Museum at an exciting time, as it embarks on ambitious new redevelopment plans after celebrating its landmark 50th anniversary.

National Motor Museum Trust Chief Executive Jon Murden said: "We are looking for a dynamic and enthusiastic new chair of the board of trustees, to help shape and lead the direction of the museum, capital redevelopment plan and fundraising campaign.

"Applicants should have the profile, empathy, time, knowledge, networking and fundraising experience to lead trustee meetings and provide support and advice to Lord Montagu and our senior management team."

He added: "We are extremely grateful for the hard work, experience, advice and leadership of our current chairman Christopher Magowan OBE, who has been a board member for over 10 years. His successor will have big shoes to fill!"

The new chair will help lead bold new plans for the National Motor Museum, as well as helping to raise significant funds needed to fully realise the museum's ambitions over the next decade.

The chair will hold a key role in initiatives to improve museum spaces, equipment and interpretation for younger visitors, as well as upgrade facilities for the conservation and restoration of over 285 display vehicles. There are also plans to open up the museum's internationally-acclaimed stored collections of more than 1.9 million items of automobilia, petroliana, motoring ephemera, libraries and archives, making them accessible for everyone. As the world of motoring is rapidly changing, the National Motor Museum is keeping pace to tell its story.

The National Motor Museum is an Accredited Museum and all of its collections have been designated by Arts Council England as being of national and international importance. Inspiration for the museum came from motoring pioneer and transport visionary John 2nd Baron Montagu. His son Edward, Lord Montagu first displayed five cars in the entrance hall of Palace Hall as a tribute to his father, before opening the museum on July 4th, 1972. Together, their legacy resulted in the foundation of the first permanent national motor museum in the world.

The new chair will work with a board including its President Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, and a diverse range of trustees who are recognised authorities in museums and galleries, automotive design, manufacturing and sales, communications and marketing, fundraising, finance, learning and education. Collectively, the trustees strengthen the museum's work in areas of advocacy, stakeholder engagement, outreach to the historic motoring movement, the innovative use of collections, fundraising, financial management, museum and archive management, education and learning, plus income generation.

The role will include two to three days a month of voluntary work, both at home and on-site at Beaulieu in the New Forest, Hampshire.

For more information or to apply, please email anna-marie.o'connor@beaulieu.co.uk.

The closing date for applications is April 14th.