Technical Manager (Visual Arts)

We support peace and prosperity by building connections, understanding and trust between people in the UK and countries worldwide.

We work directly with individuals to help them gain the skills, confidence and connections to transform their lives and shape a better world in partnership with the UK. We support them to build networks and explore creative ideas, to learn English, to get a high-quality education and to gain internationally recognised qualifications.

Working with people in over 200 countries and territories, we are on the ground in more than 100 countries. In 2021–22 we reached 650 million people.

Technical Manager (Visual Arts)

Pay Band: 7

Salary: £30,839 - £33,995 (+ £3,300 London market allowance)

Contract Type: 18-month fixed term contract (with possibility of 6-month extension)

Department: Cultural Engagement

Role Type: Business, Partnership and Programme Development

Location: West London, UK only

Please note that the British Council Collection and operations will be relocating to Coventry in 2026. 

Requirements: Candidates must have the pre-existing (permanent) right to work in location in the UK at the time of application.
Mobility / relocation / visa sponsoring support will not be provided. 

Benefits include, but are not limited to:

• 32 days annual leave, in addition to public holidays
• 3 days volunteering leave
• Excellent Civil Service career average defined benefit pension scheme
• An unrivalled opportunity for you to get to use all the experience you've built up working in and / or leading global organisations to support us in building trust across the world

Closing date: Sunday 29th September, 23:59 UK time

Role Purpose

This is an exciting moment to join the British Council Collection as it prepares for a major relocation and embarks on new developments and ambitions in its 86th year.  

The Technical Manager, a key role within the relocation project to Coventry in 2026, is responsible for scheduling and prioritising the day-to-day workflow of the technical team in support the Visual Arts programme. At its heart is the safe and secure storage, art handling, packing of art works and general Collection Care activities. 

At The British Council Workshop, where the role will be based Monday to Friday 8am to 4am, we undertake the construction of cases and travel frames as well as the production of specialist mounting, framing and display systems in a fully equipped wood workshop.

The Technical Manager will ensure that all activity in the wood workshop is delivered following best practice and with end-to-end procedural compliance including risk management, safety and security to exceptional standards.

The role will be based in London W3 until the relocation project for a minimum of 18months with the potential for an extension.
 

The British Council Collection 

The British Council Collection is a nationally significant collection of more than 8700 works of modern and contemporary British art, lent widely to museums and galleries in the UK and globally, and used in our collaborative exhibitions and professional development programmes with international institutional partners and UK organisations. The British Council Collection and its operations will be relocating from London to a new home in Coventry in 2026. 

About the Team 

In the Visual Arts team, we enable UK and global creative talent to co-create exhibitions using the Collection at their core.  We facilitate networking and collaboration between UK and global visual arts creatives and support UK and international exhibition loans. 

This role sits within the Cultural Engagement (CE) Strategic Business Unit (SBU). CE brings together our portfolio of work in arts, education, English, and research. Our UK arts team works with the arts and culture sector in the UK, and our global network of offices, to achieve significant impact and change by finding new ways of connecting and seeing each other through the arts.  

Main Accountabilities

Sector/subject expertise

• Oversees and trains technicians in effective woodworking principles and the use of wood workshop machinery (safety training is provided and certified externally) and undertakes regular inspections and safe day-to-day maintenance of all workshop equipment.
• Leads in the application of workshop standards, procedures and etiquette to achieve best practice outcomes.  
• Actively builds professional networks and information channels that maintain an excellent understanding of relevant developments and best practice (in both the UK and internationally), to support the delivery of excellent art handling, logistics and installation and de-installation management.
• Provides specialist knowledge and expertise in relation to designated aspects of the safe and secure storage, transportation and installation of art works e.g. evaluating and meeting the conservation needs necessary to handle safely all works of art for overseas travel, providing specialist mounting and framing for works of art, full technical service to Visual Arts on all aspects of audio-visual equipment, usage, and maintenance, including management of AV and lighting requirements for all loans and exhibitions.
• Is a Visual Arts sustainability champion and researches and implements new methods and approaches in all aspects of technical work and materials for collections care and programme.
• Conducts analysis using a range of standard methodologies to provide high quality and evidence-based recommendations on procedural improvements into their work and Visual Arts programmes and/or highlight resource requirements needed to enhance operational performance.
• Ensures all quantitative and qualitative evidence is routinely gathered, evaluated and reported centrally in regular project meetings and wash-up reports following corporate procedures and for impact reporting.

Leadership & management

• Leads in all aspects of managing the day-to-day technical team to include: the planning and scheduling of work activity, ensuring that work is completed accurately and to agreed deadlines.
• Plans and prioritises own work activities, and those of the technical team (some of which exist outside the direct management line and may be external to the British Council e.g. artists, venue technical teams), to ensure effective delivery of diverse responsibilities and programmes.
• Formal line management of the Technicians holding them to account for achieving agreed performance targets aligned with organisational goals.
• Contracts and manages occasional freelance contract technicians, ensuring that all staff are appropriately trained.
• Deputises for the Senior Facilities Manager in their absence, including contractor liaison, ensuring building security and facilities are maintained at the British Council’s Collection Workshop.
• Provides coaching and mentoring for staff reporting to the role including the Technicians and/or staff in the project teams.
• Supports the analysis of skills, identifies development needs and contributes to the development of learning and development initiatives from areas of own expertise.
• Oversees and manages artwork packing and unpacking, loading and unloading, condition checking, installation and de-installations as required.
• Actively contributes to an inclusive organisational culture. Ensures people feel valued and are treated equitably, with support for people’s well-being and mental health.
• Understands the British Council’s approach to equality, diversity and inclusion and how it applies to the role and makes time for learning and development relating to EDI.

Programme management

• Prepares budgets and costings and providing accurate and up to date information about freight specifications, equipment and requirements, ensuring that all shipments and packing cases conform to ISPM HT56/30 regulations for soft wood packaging.
• Manages a technical team and resources for all collections management programmes including storage; photography; annual audit; new acquisitions; conservation care and documentation projects; working closely with the Collection Manager on scheduling.
• Works with the Collection Manager to implement preventative conservation in all technical aspects of the Visual Arts collections management programme.
• Provides practical and administrative support to the Senior Facilities Manager across a range of designated activities in order to meet agreed service and programme delivery performance targets, schedules and deadlines e.g. liaising with Global Estates about buildings maintenance and security, or with transport companies about freight requirements
• Sets and maintain consistent policy, process and procedures in relation to the delivery of all technical aspects of the loans and exhibitions programme.
• Responsible for maintaining serviced machinery, equipment, tools and stock levels at the Collection
• Workshop and off-site at installations; and for checking the work of suppliers and contractors.
• Undertakes regular quality checks and reviews, following agreed corporate or relevant external protocols, to monitor the quality, consistency and effectiveness of technical service delivery. Reports on findings and recommends appropriate remedial actions as required.
• Leads a team by example to follow Health and Safety and security best practice and legal and corporate procedures and requirements on and off-site in all aspects of their work. Owns the technical services risk log and escalates to Senior Facilities Manager accordingly.
• Ensures work is accurate, pays attention to detail and applies judgement with a commitment to quality control, best practice and sector ethics.
• Ensures projects and programmes are delivered in line with British Council quality standards and
• Project Management methodologies, including adherence to all process and procedures, governance requirements and communication procedures.
• Uses standardised processes to monitor team compliance with agreed British Council risk management procedures relevant to service delivery (e.g. child protection, security policies, financial protocols, anti-fraud measures) to protect the interests of the Council and its customers at all times. Highlights to senior managers any instances of non-compliance.
• Supports the Senior Facilities Manager in managing the art storage facilities to international and
• Government Indemnity Scheme Standards for the care, storage and use of works in public collections, including storage solutions, security, environmental control, Integrated Pest Management and delivery of emergency, disaster and salvage planning.

Relationship & stakeholder management

• Builds and maintains effective relationships with internal stakeholders, to ensure effective, integrated and joined-up delivery of programme goals in a complex matrix environment. Maintains excellent relationships with Loans Manager and Collection Manager ensuring clear understanding of team needs to inform and enable continuous improvement in the quality of delivery.
• Develops and maintains excellent working relationships with partner institutions, artists, external suppliers and contacts ensuring that a collaborative working relationship is cultivated.

Requirements of the role: 

• Demonstrable extensive experience in the practical use of standard wood workshop machinery, woodworking principles as well as the health and safety compliance involved.
• Demonstrable substantial experience working in a professional arts environment in a supervisory technical role, and leading a team during the installation and de-installation of loans and complex exhibitions
• Experience of line management.
• Demonstrable significant knowledge and expertise in art handling, packing, display systems and equipment, installation and transporting artworks nationally and internationally.
• Demonstrable excellent knowledge of international museum standards, procedures and ethics for collection care, environmental control, Integrated Pest Management, preventative conservation, condition checking and loan couriering
• Have a good working knowledge of Health and Safety regulations.
• Have a good understanding of security requirements and procedures
• Project management skills including budget, risk and resource management and record keeping.

Closing date: Sunday 29th September, 23:59 UK time

Interviews will be held w/c 7th -11thOctober with both stages aiming to be held within this week. First stage interview will be via Teams, second stage will be in person at the British Council Telford Way address.

A connected and trusted UK in a more connected and trusted world.

Equality , Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Statement

The British Council is committed to policies and practices of equality, diversity and inclusion across everything we do. We support all staff to make sure their behaviour is consistent with this commitment.  We want to address under representation and encourage applicants from under-represented groups, in particular, but not exclusively, on grounds of ethnicity and disability.  All disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria are guaranteed an interview and we have Disability Confident Employer Status. We welcome discussions about specific requirements or adjustments to enable participation and engagement in our work and activities.

The British Council is committed to safeguarding children, young people and adults who we work with.

We believe that all children and adults everywhere in the world deserve to live in safe environments and have the right to be protected from all forms of abuse, maltreatment and exploitation as set out in article 19, UNCRC (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child) 1989.

Appointment to positions where there is direct involvement with vulnerable groups will be dependent on thorough checks being completed; these will include qualification checks, reference checks, identity & criminal record checks in line with legal requirements and with the British Council’s Safeguarding policies for Adults and Children.

If you have any problems with your application please email askhr@britishcouncil.org

Please note: Applications to this role can only be considered when made through the Apply section of our careers website. Our ‘ASK HR’ email is only to be used in case of a technical issue encountered when applying through the careers website. Emails with supporting statements and CV/Resumes sent to this email address will not be reviewed and will be deleted.