What Does a Heritage Manager Do? Key Responsibilities and Daily Tasks

A Heritage Manager is a multifaceted professional responsible for the preservation, operation, and commercial success of a historic site. Their role blends curatorial oversight with business management, focusing on conservation, visitor experience, and financial sustainability. Day-to-day tasks vary significantly but commonly include managing budgets, overseeing events, and leading staff.

What are the core duties of a Heritage Manager?

The fundamental goal is to balance the preservation of a site's historical integrity with the need to make it accessible and engaging for the public. This involves a wide range of responsibilities. Core duties often include strategic planning and stakeholder management, ensuring the site serves its educational purpose while remaining financially viable. Based on our assessment of typical job descriptions, the role is rarely purely academic; it is fundamentally a management position within the cultural sector.

How does a Heritage Manager handle funding and budgeting?

Financial acumen is critical. Heritage sites are funded through various streams, including admissions, grants, donations, and commercial activities. A Heritage Manager is directly responsible for managing budgets and forecasting profit and expenditure. For smaller sites, this often involves writing funding bids to charitable trusts or public bodies. They oversee all revenue-generating aspects, such as on-site shops, cafes, and venue hire for events like weddings, ensuring income supports the site's preservation goals.

What is involved in visitor experience and site operations?

A Heritage Manager's success is measured by visitor satisfaction and repeat attendance. This involves:

• Managing Feedback: Implementing and analyzing visitor surveys and stakeholder focus groups to guide improvements to exhibitions and facilities.
• Programming & Events: Developing and managing a calendar of special events (e.g., seasonal festivals, educational workshops) to attract diverse audiences throughout the year.
• Exhibitions & Displays: Creating and updating educational displays and exhibitions to keep the content fresh and encourage return visits.
• Marketing & Communications: For sites without a central marketing team, this can involve running local advertising campaigns, managing social media channels, and securing press coverage.

What are the responsibilities for preservation and staff management?

The preservation of the asset itself is paramount. While they may not perform hands-on conservation, Heritage Managers are responsible for identifying maintenance needs and acting as a project manager for renovation work, coordinating specialist contractors. Furthermore, they are typically responsible for all human resources on-site, which can include:

• Recruiting and line-managing both paid staff and volunteers.
• Ensuring health and safety compliance, including conducting risk assessments and routine safety drills.
• Overseeing the daily operations to ensure the site runs smoothly and safely for all visitors and staff.

In summary, the key takeaways for this role are: a blend of business and cultural knowledge, a focus on financial stewardship to ensure long-term preservation, a commitment to creating an outstanding visitor experience, and strong leadership and project management skills to manage both the site and its people effectively.