Activity Consultant for Leading Lights

Activity Consultant for Leading Lights

National Historic Ships UK Closing date: Mon, 23 Nov 2026

Role: Research
Contract: Contract
UK-wide

Wed, 04 Nov 2026 "> published -

Job Summary

National Historic Ships UK (NHS-UK) wishes to appoint an experienced consultant (which may be an individual consultant or consultancy organisation) to develop an Activity Plan for the Leading Lights Project, a new capacity building scheme supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Job Description

NHS-UK has secured initial support of £155,600 from the Heritage Fund (£140,040) and the Pilgrim Trust (£15,560) to progress plans for the Leading Lights project, a five-year project which aims to invest in historic vessels at a UK-wide level, making the sector more resilient, connected and informed. It has been designed to impact a wide range of people, from vessel custodians to sector professionals, training organisations and funding bodies, as well as NHS-UK itself.

The Activity Plan consultant will develop a full activity plan to Heritage Fund guidelines, as well as supporting documentation, to be delivered for the Delivery Phase application to the Heritage Fund. Responsibilities and expected outcomes will include an executive summary, consultation and audience analysis, risk assessment, project management structure development, job descriptions and a recruitment strategy for Delivery Phase roles, a working timetable, a full activity programme including briefs for related work and a full action plan, a detailed budget and cash flow.

Submissions should indicate how the Activity Plan will be delivered within this budget, who will work on the project, their day rates and predicted time expenditure.

The appointed consultant will be required to develop the Plan by the end of June 2027 ahead of a Delivery Phase application to the Heritage Fund on 11 November 2027.

Job Requirements

The successful applicant will be expected to produce a plan which follows the guidance and structure set down by the Heritage Fund, working alongside the Leading Lights Project Manager and NHS-UK team.

The Activity Plan will set key objectives based on the earlier funding application and detail how these will be achieved.

The Activity Planner is expected to work closely with the strategic vision and business plan consultant, co-ordinating workstreams to ensure that research and consultation is not duplicated but is shared to create an integrated evidence base which both can draw on. This is particularly in relation to the division of market analysis, but also over income generation activities and more broadly, across the whole programme. The consultant should also liaise with the evaluation consultant to create a co-ordinated programme and timetable for delivery.

Job Responsibilities

The consultant will deliver a fully compliant Heritage Fund Activity Plan which incorporates the latest guidance and includes:

An Executive Summary
Clear consultation and evidence base
Audience analysis
Barriers to engagement and strategies to overcome them
A detailed risk assessment
A detailed project management structure
Job descriptions for existing staff working on the project
A recruitment strategy to cover new posts
A working timetable
A full activity programme
A detailed budget and cash flow to be used in conjunction with the Finance Department at Royal Museums Greenwich
Detailed Activity Action Plan
Briefs for skills development (Historic Vessel Maintenance Course), film production, digital recording and graphic design
A strategy for ensuring that Heritage Fund open licensing requirements are met
Evaluation and impact measures

Useful Links

Job Overview

  • Job Title: Activity Consultant for Leading Lights
  • Salary: £25k-£30k
  • Hours: Full time
  • Role: Research
  • Contract: Contract
  • Closing date: Mon, 23 Nov 2026
  • Location: UK-wide

How to Apply

Interested parties should submit a copy of their CV and a short written proposal (6 pages maximum) outlining methodology, timeline and approach. They must be able to demonstrate:

• Their interest in undertaking this assignment
• A proven track record of preparing and delivering successful Activity Plans for Heritage Fund projects
• Experience of developing detailed budgets.
• Ability to work collaboratively with both the client team and a range of consultants
• Strong report writing and presentation skills
• Proposed methodology for undertaking the work including a schedule, approach to consultation with key stakeholders, a simple Gantt chart showing the sequence of key tasks and a breakdown of fees
• Details of two referees for whom similar work has been completed

Deadline for submissions is 23 November at 5pm