Keeper - Abbey House Museum and Kirkstall Abbey

CompanyLeeds City Council

LocationLeeds, England, United Kingdom

Posted At1/19/2026

UK Visa Sponsorship Analytics

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Occupation Type

Archivists, conservators and curators

Occupation Code Skill LevelHigher Skilled

Sponsorship Salary Threshold

£41,700 (£21.38 per hour)

Standard minimum applies

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Description

Job title: Keeper – Abbey House Museum and Kirkstall Abbey

Salary: PO1 £38,220 - £40,777

Hours: 37 hours per week

Contract: Permanent

Location: Abbey House Museum

As the Keeper for Abbey House Museum and Kirkstall Abbey you will thrive on providing inspirational, engaging and high-quality visitor experiences to Abbey House Museum and Kirkstall Abbey, which are part of Leeds Museums and Galleries.

Leeds City Council is one of the largest employers in the region with over 14,000 employees. We seek to recruit and develop talented individuals who embody our council values and ambitions .

About You

As the Keeper, you will bring to the role:

Experience of operational management in a museum, gallery or cultural attraction.
Ability and experience of developing and maintaining partnerships with a wide range of organisations.
Ability and experience of maintaining direct contact with visitors and audiences through day-to-day involvement with service delivery.
Experience in recruitment, managing and developing staff in a customer focused environment, including training and delivery in line with operational and legal requirements.

Experience of managing budgets including commercial income targets and generating additional funding through projects and grants.

Ability to communicate appropriately and effectively with a wide range of people from staff and volunteers to funders, donors and sector professionals.

About The Role

As our next Keeper you will oversee the day-to-day operations and will lead on the development, implementation and evaluation of ambitious site development plans and will play an integral part of a project called ‘Reimaging Abbey House Museum,’ funded through the Museums Renewal Fund.

Working in partnership with wider Leeds Museum and Galleries colleagues, this post will support in the development of agreed exhibitions and display programmes, oversee the development of supporting engagement and activity programmes, and maximise the commercial potential at both sites.

This is a key role within Leeds Museums and Galleries operations and enterprise team, which will work closely with wider colleagues within collections and programmes, learning and access and audience development.

What We Offer You

We take pride in offering the best employee experience, with benefits including:

a competitive salary and annual leave entitlement plus statutory holidays

membership of the West Yorkshire Pension Fund with generous employer contributions

flexible and hybrid working arrangements subject to service requirements

a clear career pathway and continuing professional development opportunities

a range of staff benefits to help you boost your wellbeing and make your money go further

How To Apply

Please complete the online application form.

Read our guidance for further advice on completing your application.

If you have any queries or would like an informal chat about the role, please contact Lisa Broadest, Head of Operations & Enterprise. Call 07891 273902 or email lisa.broadest@leeds.gov.uk

We welcome applications from everyone and actively seek a diverse range of applicants from all backgrounds and cultures. We particularly encourage applications from, but not limited to, women, carers, veterans as well as LGBT+, ethnically diverse, disabled and care experienced people.

This role is based in the UK. Home Office guidance states that candidates must evidence their right to work in the UK prior to commencing employment, either as a UK or Irish citizen, under the EU Settlement scheme or having secured any other relevant work visa.

If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you must consider your own eligibility for sponsorship for a particular role through the Skilled Worker visa route before applying. To be eligible for sponsorship you'll usually need to be paid the standard salary rate of at least £41,700 per year or meet one of the other eligibility criteria. Please ensure you are eligible before applying.

Job Description

Job purpose

To oversee day-to-day operations and strategic developments at Abbey House Museum and Kirkstall Abbey ensuring they provide an inspirational, challenging yet accessible visitor experience in line with Leeds Museums and Galleries (LMG) service objectives & targets.

Responsibilities

Lead on the development, implementation and evaluation of challenging site development plans agreed by LMG senior management team in line with the service’s strategic plan working with colleagues across learning and access, collections and programmes, community engagement, operations, enterprise and audience development.
Provide effective management processes and leadership for the continual improvement of site facilities, access to and interpretation of the sites and collections. To ensure the sites are DDA compliant. Co-ordinate a sustainable collaborative team approach to exhibitions, events, learning / engagement and commercial activities.

Develop and maintain close working relationships and meaningful partnerships with a wide range of organisations and individuals to further the service’s objectives.

Work in partnership with wider LMG colleagues to

agree exhibitions and display programmes incorporating the best possible interpretation and ensuring the access needs of visitors and audiences and service-wide priorities are key to all developments. Oversee the development of supporting engagement and activity programmes
engage communities and other audiences including families in the development of the sites and socially inclusive learning programmes
carry out evaluation and surveys and respond to visitor comments and feedback
maximise the commercial potential of the sites, seeking opportunities for sales, commercial hire, events and trading in line with LMG’s commercial strategy.

Undertake research, fieldwork and visits relevant to site development as high quality visitor attraction / heritage sites.

Always promote a positive image of the service, work with Audience Development to advocate the value of the sites to key stakeholders, opinion formers, visitors and the people of Leeds through lectures, community work, tours, displays, publications, loans and the web including responding to public, professional and academic enquiries.

Oversee the operations team including front of house ensuring delivery of a high-quality visitor experience and delivery of exceptional customer service at sites, tackling issues immediately, monitoring and evaluating impact and implementing learning.

Oversee the day-to-day management of sites including general housekeeping, health and safety and licensable activities. Ensure compliance and take action to resolve building, collection or licencing issues with appropriate teams and work on the sites continual improvement and development.

Curatorially responsible for the structure and interiors of Abbey House Museum and Kirkstall Abbey.

Responsible for the security of the sites. Ensure that appropriate security procedures are in place and by acting as data manager for the CCTV system. Act as an emergency keyholder for the site for out of hours emergencies if required.

Work closely with LMG operations, corporate property management and collections team to develop, implement and monitor a planned maintenance programme to restore, repair and develop the fabric of the sites.

Manage delegated budgets and seek funding. Manage site-based projects and oversee the front of house team, site administration and contractors on site.

Recruit, train, develop and inspire staff to deliver a high-quality service with a focus on audience need and the visitor experience to deliver the service’s strategic plan and outcomes.

Collaborate with colleagues in the wider sector and participate in appropriate professional networks to represent the service.

Deliver accurate and timely performance data on all aspects of service delivery.

Be aware of and adhere to Leeds City Council Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy being responsible for your own health and safety whilst at work and that of your colleagues and visitors. Oversee management, review of risk assessments, and implement safe systems of work as required.

The duties outlined are not meant as an exhaustive list and will also comprise any other duties within the spirit of the post commensurate with the job evaluation outcome for this post.

Qualifications

Educated to degree level or professional vocational qualification within a relevant subject/area or equivalent experience.

Essential requirements Candidates will only be shortlisted if they can demonstrate that they meet all the following essential requirements.

Able to and experience of communicating appropriately and effectively with a wide range of people from staff and volunteers to funders, donors and sector professionals.

Able to lead and work effectively as part of a team.

Able to and experience of managing, motivating and inspiring teams and contributing to development through appraisals, supervision and training.

Able to prioritise and manage own workload to meet agreed targets and deadlines.

Able to and experience of monitoring, controlling resources including budgets, working within and interpreting financial policies and procedures ensuring value for money including achieving commercial income targets and generating funding through grants.

Able to and experience of managing change and developing solutions to enable effective delivery of services.

Able to and experience of developing, evaluating and implementing change to systems and procedures.

Able to and experience of preparing and presenting reports and data.

Able to and experience of operational management in a museum, gallery or cultural attraction.

Able to and experience of developing and maintaining partnerships with a wide range of organisations.

Able to use and experience of relevant information technology e.g. word, spreadsheets, databases, email etc. and relevant management software systems.

Able to and experience of planning and delivering events and / or exhibitions and of working with collections and in their engagement with a wide variety of audiences.

Able to and experience of delivering high quality inclusive and accessible visitor experiences.

Able to and experience of maintaining direct contact with visitors and audiences through day-to-day involvement with service delivery.

Able and willing to act as a keyholder and CCTV Data Manager.

A flexible approach to working hours with the ability and willingness if required to work out of normal hours to respond to emergency situations.

Knowledge of relevant Health and Safety legislation related to service delivery.

Understand responsibilities in terms of Health and Safety, security, confidentiality and data protection.

Understand importance of confidentiality and the needs and wishes of individuals.

Understand audience access issues particularly in relation to museums, galleries and historic houses and their collections.

Knowledge of best practice in visitor services and the visitor experience in an art gallery, museum or cultural/visitor attraction, including standards and legal requirements.

Experience in recruitment, managing and developing staff in a customer focused environment, including training and delivery in line with operational and legal requirements.

Experience of successful project management.

Essential Behavioural And Other Characteristics

Understand and embrace Leeds City Council values and behaviours and codes of conduct.
Committed to continuous improvement in all areas and work towards delivering the Leeds Ambitions of health and wellbeing, inclusive growth, thriving strong communities, and a resilient sustainable city.
Able to understand and observe Leeds City Council policies and procedures.
Carry out duties having regard to an employee’s responsibility under Health, Safety and Wellbeing.
Participate in appraisal, training and development activities to ensure up, to date knowledge and skills.
Be aware of and support difference and ensure equality for all working in an anti-discriminatory manner, upholding equality and diversity of Leeds City Council.
Recognise and appropriately challenge any incidents of racism, bullying, harassment, victimisation, and any form of abuse, reporting any concerns to the appropriate person.

Flexible and adaptable to change to assist other services as required commensurate to grade.

The Council has adopted a flexibility protocol and the role will be expected to work within these parameters.

Desirable requirements Candidates are not required to meet all the following desirable requirements however these may be used to distinguish between candidates.

Knowledge of local government systems & procedures relating to staff management
Knowledge of relevant financial regulations to carry out financial transactions.
Knowledge of relevant legislation, guidance, policies with ability to interpret and apply them consistently in the delivery of services.

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