We have been made aware that The Brunel Museum is looking for a trustee with engineering background

They are reviewing their aspirations to improve facilities, expand the outreach and learning programme and broaden the Brunel legacy in London and beyond. This is why they are interested in reaching out to diverse networks such as ours.

Introduction : The Museum is looking for someone with an engineering project management background to join our Trustee Board and help us to drive forward our exciting programme of development over the next few years. Trustee Board meetings are monthly. Board appointments are for four years in the first instance.

The Brunel Museum: We are housed in two listed buildings in Rotherhithe, London, which were constructed in the early nineteenth century by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and his father Marc. It was from this base that the Brunels embarked on their grand project to construct the Thames Tunnel between Rotherhithe and Wapping, completed in 1843 as the first commercial underwater tunnel in the world. Following his early experience here as a young engineer, Isambard went on to deliver the many other revolutionary, large scale and high-profile engineering projects of his distinguished career. Well known examples include the Great Western railway between London and Bristol, and his series of three increasingly huge ships (Great Western, Great Britain and Great Eastern), all of which were the largest and most advanced in the world at that time.

Our core purpose is to convey the inspiring stories of both the Thames Tunnel project and the broader achievements of the Brunels’ engineering dynasty to the public at large. We aim to enable young visitors to understand the excitement of these great engineering achievements of the past and encourage them to consider engineering as a future career. The Museum also mounts a wide range of indoor and outdoor events, acting as a vibrant centre for the local community. We are a relatively small organisation at present – two paid staff, fifteen or so volunteers and a regular turnover of £200K – but we have well-developed plans to redevelop our site and grow our organisation substantially between now and 2022. The Museum does not receive any regular financial support from the public sector, so we are reliant on our own commercial and fundraising projects to remain solvent. For more details of our activities, please visit our website at www.brunel-museum.org.uk or download our latest annual report and accounts here .

The Role: This new Trustee would become an essential member of the Trustees team, with two main areas of responsibility:

– A link with the world of engineering, providing Trustees and the Museum Director with a source of advice and external contacts relating to trends, issues and possible further support within the sector.

– Management oversight of the significant infrastructure developments that we are planning for the site over the next four years. A full-time project manager will also be employed to provide day to day supervision of these developments.

Essential for this role:

 Significant senior engineering project management experience drawn from a business or other not-for-profit organisation.

 Strong commitment to the Museum’s purpose and ethos.

Desirable but not essential for this role :

 Previous Board Director or not-for-profit Trustee experience.

We have no paid administrative staff currently, so – in common with all our existing Board members – we are looking for a new Trustee who is prepared to be hands-on and administratively self- sufficient, as well as strategic and managerially astute when necessary.

​John Attree September 2018 Chairman johnattree@outlook.com 07852 030308