IRC174029 - National Experience & Programming Lead

IRC174029 - National Experience & Programming Lead

National Trust Closing date: Sun, 17 May 2026

Artform: Charity
Role: Fundraising
Contract: Permanent
South West

Thu, 14 May 2026 "> published -

Job Summary

We’re looking for a strategic, collaborative leader to shape the future of outdoor experiences across the National Trust.

Job Description

As Senior Lead for Outdoor Experience Development, you'll set the national direction for how people connect with nature through social and cultural outdoor experiences, including walking, wheeling, play and water based activities.

You'll champion innovation, inclusion and accessibility, ensuring our outdoor offer is consistently good, relevant and welcoming. Working across the organisation and with influential partners, you'll grow participation, strengthen capability and help make the outdoors an inspiring and integral part of every visitor journey. This role has significant national reach, influencing outdoor experiences for over 100 million visitors each year, both on and beyond our places.

Internally you'll be known as Senior Lead - Outdoor Experience Development. This role is permanent, full-time (37.5 hrs pw).

What it's like -
You'll be part of the Visitor Experience Proposition team, working in a collaborative, purpose driven environment where learning is shared, ideas are tested and diverse perspectives are valued. People work across boundaries to bring together national strategy with regional and local delivery, creating experiences that feel joined up and meaningful throughout the year

You'll have no direct line management; however, you'll lead through influence and work in matrix teams across the organisation and with external partners.

As this is a national role, there is flexibility on your contractual place of work. Our hybrid working policy means you can balance office and home working with site visits and meetings at other National Trust places. We'll talk about this in more detail at interview, but you should expect to be at a National Trust site for 40-60% of your working week.

Job Requirements

Who we're looking for
You'll bring a broad range of the following knowledge, skills and experience, shaped by different roles, sectors or career paths, and the judgment to apply them effectively at scale;

A strategic leader with experience setting direction at scale, leading large audience focused programmes and establishing frameworks that support high quality delivery.
Deeply audience focused and inclusive, with strong understanding of engagement, participation and access, and a commitment to growing involvement among new and under represented audiences.
An expert in outdoor and visitor experiences, with a strong understanding of outdoor recreation in natural and heritage settings and what drives satisfaction and repeat engagement.
A skilled collaborator and influencer, confident working through matrix teams and influencing senior leaders, partners and sector bodies through clear, compelling communication.

Job Responsibilities

What you'll be doing
You'll set the strategic vision for outdoor experiences, ensuring our approach grows participation, supports access ambitions and aligns with our mission to connect people with nature, history and culture. You'll identify opportunities to inspire new and more diverse audiences and scale what works across our varied places, strengthening the value of outdoor experiences for members and visitors alike.

You'll embed clear standards and frameworks, giving local teams the tools, guidance and confidence to deliver consistently good experiences. Using audience insight and data, you'll lead innovation and test new ideas, understanding impact and adapting our offer as needs evolve.

Building strong partnerships will be central to the role. You'll work with sector leaders, funders and communities to unlock new opportunities, while also developing capability, communities of practice and shared learning organisation wide.

Job Overview

  • Job Title: IRC174029 - National Experience & Programming Lead
  • Salary: £50k+
  • Hours: Full time
  • Artform: Charity
  • Role: Fundraising
  • Contract: Permanent
  • Closing date: Sun, 17 May 2026
  • Location:
    South West
    | view on Google Maps

Job: IRC174029 - National Experience & Programming Lead

Job: IRC174029 - National Experience & Programming Lead

Organisation: National Trust

Postcode: SN2 2NA

How to Apply

Please apply directly via the NT website here - https://careers.nationaltrust.org.uk/OA_HTML/a/#/vacancy-detail/174029

The deadline to apply is 17 May 2026, at 23.59pm. We don't accept applications via email.