Senior Administrator: African Histories and Heritage Programme
The contract is full time for a fixed term, and the annual salary is £31,979. The employer, British Museum, is a Non-Departmental Public Body, which means it is part of central government accountable to the public through Parliament. You will work both remotely and at British Museum. The on-location is in Greater London.
Closing date 09-10-2026
About the role
This is an exciting opportunity to play a central role in the day-to-day running of the African Histories and Heritage Programme, a high-profile collaborative programme delivering a range of ground-breaking research projects and public programming. Working within the programme office, you will provide vital administrative, financial and operational support to research leads, curators and project teams, helping to deliver ambitious projects that will contribute to new knowledge, increase access to the collection and inform future thinking around the Museum’s Africa galleries.
As a key member of the programme office, you will help bring together colleagues, partners and stakeholders, supporting a friendly, productive and cohesive programme environment. The role is based in the programme office for at least three days each week and will also support partner visits, delegations, events, training activities and other programme initiatives across the Museum.
About you
You are an organised and proactive administrator with excellent interpersonal and communication skills. Confident managing competing priorities, you can build strong relationships with a wide range of colleagues and partners, provide effective support to multiple projects and maintain accurate administrative and financial processes. Experience of financial administration, minute taking and office management is essential, along with strong IT skills and close attention to detail.
You will enjoy being at the centre of a busy team, acting as a trusted point of contact and helping to create a positive, collaborative working environment. Experience in museums, heritage or the wider cultural sector would be an advantage, as would an understanding of project management processes and stakeholder coordination.
Key areas of responsibility
- Coordinate and deliver administrative support across the African Histories and Heritage Programme, ensuring projects and activities run smoothly and efficiently.
- Provide secretariat support for governance meetings, including preparing papers, arranging meetings, taking minutes and tracking actions.
- Support project teams, curators, researchers and external partners by coordinating activities, communications and stakeholder engagement across multiple projects.
- Manage financial administration, including raising purchase orders, processing invoices, monitoring budgets and supporting accurate financial reporting and audit requirements.
- Coordinate travel, visits, events and programme activities, ensuring appropriate procedures, risk assessments and approvals are in place.
Internal Applicants: We welcome internal applicants regardless of background, department or length of service but encourage you to let your manager know before applying. If you are on a permanent contract and want the fixed-term contract to be treated as a secondment, you will need to obtain your manager’s support before submitting an application.
The British Museum is undertaking its biggest transformation since its founding nearly 300 years ago. This physical and intellectual transformation includes large scale building and gallery transformation, new ways of connecting with audiences and different ways of working. As we look towards this exciting future, we remain guided by the words of our founder Hans Sloane - who dreamed of a museum connecting all arts and sciences, which would be accessible to everyone, everywhere.