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NEW LANARK TRUST
RECRUITMENT OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE
New Lanark is an authentic and enduring historic community which preserves and celebrates social and
economic values that remain of global contemporary relevance. It was inscribed in 2001 by UNESCO as
a World Heritage Site on the strength of its “Outstanding Universal Value”, with privileges and
responsibilities arising as a result of that status.
New Lanark Trust (an independent trust with charitable status, registered with the Office of the Scottish
Charity Regulator) is the principal owner and manager of property within the World Heritage Site,
having carried out one of the most significant heritage restoration projects in Scotland for many years.
A key agency in Scotland for heritage and tourism led regeneration, it also runs a number of whollyowned subsidiary commercial companies.
The qualifications, experience and personal qualities expected of the Chief Executive are set out below.
These will be explored as part of the recruitment process and candidates will be expected to provide
evidence in support of any aspect of this profile. This document and interview notes and results will
form part of the contract of employment between the New Lanark Trust and the person appointed as
Chief Executive.
Essential qualifications, experience and personal qualities
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Educated to degree level;
A creative, innovative, imaginative and energetic approach, directed at maintaining financial
sustainability without compromising the social and historical context of New Lanark’s heritage;
Ability and willingness to work, and communicate effectively, with a multi-disciplinary Board of
non-executive Trustees, providing support and oversight;
Demonstrable success in managing commercial activities, ideally within a tourism and/or heritage
context;
Experience in developing and influencing strategy and policy across a wide range of relevant
subjects;
Able to manage and achieve stretching targets, established with and supported by the Board of
Trustees;
Experience of managing and directing multidisciplinary teams, effecting change where necessary;
Experience and success in developing, managing relationships and communicating with external
stakeholders and strategic partners, and
An empathy with heritage values and the legacy of Robert Owen.
Desirable qualifications, experience and personal qualities
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Experience of heritage and tourism management and marketing;
Experience of fund-raising. (At January 2015 the capital requirement for future New Lanark
conservation and restoration projects was estimated at £20 million, part of which has been funded
since that date);
Experience in one or more aspects of the core operating activities of New Lanark: visitor attraction
management, hospitality / events management, historic building conservation and restoration;
Experience in sourcing and managing project funding, and
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Experience in reviewing organisational and staffing structures, remuneration etc. to ensure that
New Lanark has an efficient operation that is sustainable in the longer term.
JOB DESCRIPTION – CHIEF EXECUTIVE – NEW LANARK TRUST
THE ROLE
Reporting to the Board of Trustees through the Chair of the Board, the Chief Executive is responsible for
leading and managing the operations of the New Lanark Trust and its subsidiary companies,
safeguarding the historic village of New Lanark (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), compliance with
regulatory requirements and ensuring the overall financial sustainability of the Trust.
OVERALL REMIT
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Approximately 155 staff, 20 employed in the Trust and 135 in the three subsidiaries;
Commercial turnover around £4 million, with capital project and operating grant income in
addition;
Paid visitor numbers approximately 75,000 with at least 300,000 visitors to the Village per annum;
A complete village of Grade A and Grade B listed buildings, with a nominal balance sheet value of
£17 million;
Major and important external relationships, for example, without limitation, with the Scottish
Government, Historic Environment Scotland, South Lanarkshire Council, Heritage Lottery Fund.
The post of Chief Executive is presently combined with that of Managing Director of the subsidiary
companies of the Trust:
New Lanark Trading Limited, turnover £1.67 million, 65 staff, operating the visitor centre,
interpretation and exhibition spaces, café, two retail shops, textile (wool) production, hydro-electric
power generation, and ice cream manufacture.
New Lanark Hotels Limited, turnover £2.32 million, 68 staff, operating a thirty-eight bedroom hotel,
health club and spa, conference/function business, eight self-catering holiday units and an eighteen
room (fifty-six bed) high-quality hostel.
New Lanark Homes Limited, income £160,000 based on rentals, two staff, providing social housing and
associated amenities within the village.
PRINCIPAL RESPONSIBILITIES (headings are for convenience only)
Leadership
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Providing vision and leadership in all areas of New Lanark’s activities, including organisational
development, strategy and business planning;
Managing and directing the senior management team to achieve strategic and business objectives;
Maintaining an overview of organisation structures, including human and physical resources, and
effecting change, as necessary, to ensure that they remain capable of efficient and cost-effective
delivery of the objectives of the World Heritage site, and
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Developing employees, providing opportunities for learning and acquisition of new skills, to serve
and secure the future of the overall organisation.
Strategy
 Contributing to the setting of strategy and policy in support of the organisation’s vision, and
taking responsibility for delivery of the agreed objectives as described in the Trust’s Ten Year
Strategy;
 Monitoring and reporting on the organisation’s results in relation to the agreed strategic
objectives and related financial budgets.
Delivery
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Identifying, planning and exploiting potential new commercial opportunities;
Maintaining and increasing commercial turnover;
Maintaining and increasing visitor numbers and average spending per visitor;
Maintaining and interpreting the heritage fabric and historic significance of the village;
Maintaining the proper discharge of the educational responsibilities of New Lanark, and
Ensuring the proper discharge of the Trust’s responsibilities under the New Lanark World Heritage
Site Management Plan.
Financial and Commercial
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Ensuring financial sustainability;
Taking personal responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the Trust’s finances and for their
economic, efficient and effective use;
Initiating an effective and ongoing fundraising strategy;
Ensuring adequate project funding is sourced and managed appropriately, and
Managing capital projects for restoration, preservation, and sympathetic modernisation of the
village.
Legal/Governance
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Ensuring compliance with all statutory and legal governance requirements (including without
limitation health and safety legislation), establishing and operating relevant policies and
procedures;
Addressing the ongoing change management requirements of the Trust’s governance and
management.
Partnership
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Supporting and developing key partnerships;
Engaging with a wide range of stakeholders from national and local government, including senior
officials and politicians at local and national level, other public bodies, commercial tenants, local
interests (including New Lanark residents) and societies, and
Representing New Lanark Trust as appropriate, particularly with stakeholders and the media.
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Reporting
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Overseeing, directing and providing regular comprehensive management reports to the Board of
Trustees and to the Boards of subsidiary companies;
Continuously maintaining an awareness of the risks to which the Trust and its operations may be
subject and reporting on the management of these to the appropriate boards, and
Ensuring compliance with the reporting requirements of external funders and with statutory
obligations.
NLT CE JD Final April 2016
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