Sampad South Asian Arts & Heritage, Birmingham
Heritage Project Manager
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Closing Date: Monday 28 September Fee: £40,500 total contract value (18 months) Working Pattern: Approx. 3 days per week (flexible) Contract Type: Freelance Location: Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, with delivery across the West Midlands Reporting to: Executive Director Responsible for: Volunteers, freelance artists, facilitators and consultants Type of Contract: Part-time, fixed-term (18 months) Period of Employment: October 2026 – March 2028 Annual Leave: Pro rata
The post has been made available through funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Introduction to the Organisation
Sampad’s vision is a future where South Asian arts and heritage are an integral part of the UK’s cultural fabric. Our mission is to champion and celebrate South Asian arts and heritage across the Midlands, the UK and internationally.
We produce world-class artistic programmes, work with schools and communities, and lead on artist development. Sampad is a storytelling organisation, platforming narratives which are globally important and providing inspiring experiences for audiences, artists and participants of all ages and backgrounds.
Our work connects people, breaks down barriers, raises critical issues and amplifies unheard voices, enabling the South Asian arts sector to thrive. Sampad is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and works closely with Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), where it is based.
Background to the Post
Virasat: Stories of South Asian Enterprise and Legacy is an 18-month heritage project preserving and sharing the untold histories of South Asian-founded businesses that helped shape the West Midlands.
The project focuses on the social, cultural and economic heritage of businesses established from the late 1960s and 1970s onwards across Birmingham, Smethwick, Wednesbury, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton. These enterprises, spanning sectors including food manufacturing, retail, hospitality, property and music distribution, played a significant role in shaping local economies, high streets and community life.
Virasat centres on the people behind these businesses: founders, families, employees and communities whose stories are often absent from formal archives. The heritage includes both tangible material, such as photographs, business records, packaging, signage and promotional materials, and intangible heritage, including lived experience of migration, settlement, labour, entrepreneurship, discrimination and intergenerational change.
Much of this heritage is at risk, as it is privately held or exists only in memory, with limited representation in public archives. The project will respond to this by recording oral histories, digitising material and preparing outputs for long-term access and public benefit.
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Key elements of the project include:
- Oral history interviews with founders, families, former employees and communities
- Digitisation of photographs, documents and heritage materials
- Community-led research into South Asian enterprise across the West Midlands
- A touring exhibition across community and cultural venues
- A print and digital publication
- A testimony-led heritage interpretation piece
- School workshops and learning resources
- Community events and public engagement activity
This work directly supports Sampad’s mission to champion and celebrate South Asian arts and heritage, reflecting its role as a storyteller and ensuring underrepresented narratives are preserved and shared for future generations. Sampad is seeking an experienced and motivated Project Manager to lead the delivery of this programme, working with staff, partners, volunteers and freelancers to ensure high-quality, ethical and timely delivery.
Key Accountabilities
- Lead the overall delivery and management of Virasat
- Develop and manage project plans, timelines, budgets and reporting processes
- Ensure the project safeguards and shares under-recorded heritage in an ethical and accessible way
- Coordinate research, digitisation, interpretation, learning and public engagement activity
- Ensure delivery aligns with heritage best practice, ethical standards and funder requirements
- Manage relationships with businesses, partners, communities and stakeholders
- Recruit, support and manage volunteers and freelance contributors
- Monitor progress, risks and expenditure, ensuring delivery on time and within budget
- Lead monitoring, evaluation and reporting, including reporting to the funder
- Ensure the project reflects Sampad’s values, embedding inclusion, access and community voice throughout delivery
Specific Duties
- Develop and manage a detailed project plan, including milestones, budgets, risk management and reporting
- Coordinate project set-up, including recruitment, stakeholder engagement and confirmation of participating businesses
- Act as the main point of contact for participating businesses, founders, families and community contributors
- Coordinate oral history interviews and community research activity
- Ensure clear consent, copyright, safeguarding and data protection processes are in place
- Work with heritage specialists to support digitisation, cataloguing and preparation for long-term access
- Oversee the safe handling and documentation of heritage materials
- Recruit, induct and manage volunteers, providing training and ongoing support
- Coordinate specialist training, including oral history, safeguarding and handling of heritage material
- Develop partnerships with community organisations and archive services
- Coordinate freelance artists, facilitators, designers and consultants
- Support development of exhibition, publication and heritage interpretation outputs
- Work with the Learning Manager to support education activity and school engagement
- Work with the Marketing Manager to promote the project and engage audiences
- Oversee delivery of exhibitions, events and public engagement activity
- Implement evaluation processes, including data collection and participant feedback
- Ensure compliance with health and safety
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Personal Specification
Essential
- At least 3–5 years’ experience managing arts, heritage or community-based projects
- Experience managing complex, multi-strand projects with multiple stakeholders
- Experience of community engagement and participatory practice
- Experience of partnership working across cultural, community or education sectors
- Experience managing budgets, timelines and project resources
- Experience recruiting, managing or supporting volunteers
- Experience coordinating freelancers, artists or external consultants
- Experience of monitoring, evaluation and reporting
- Understanding of safeguarding, GDPR and ethical working practices
- Understanding of inclusive practice and removing barriers to participation
- Strong organisational, communication and interpersonal skills
- Competent in Microsoft Office and digital tools
Desirable
- Experience of delivering heritage, oral history or community history projects
- Experience working with archive services, collections or digitisation processes
- Experience delivering projects funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund or similar
- Understanding of oral history methodologies and archival processes
- Experience writing reports for funders or stakeholders
- Experience supporting content development, storytelling or interpretation
- Familiarity with digital storage, file organisation or basic archiving systems
Additional Information
- The role will require travel across Birmingham, Sandwell and Wolverhampton
- Some evening and weekend work will be required
- Sampad operates a Time Off in Lieu (TOIL) system
- Sampad is an Equal Opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all backgrounds
To apply, please go to www.sampad.org.uk/project-manager-virasat-stories-of-south-asian-enterprise-and-legacy
If you require any reasonable adjustments or have accessibility needs that prevent you from completing this form, or if you have any questions, please contact info@sampad.org.uk
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