Events

About Us

Scottish Canals are the custodians of the nation’s canal network and surrounding estates. Our vision is to invest in the canal network to generate lasting benefit for people and communities; celebrating their industrial heritage, ensuring they offer quality green and blue spaces for people and communities and contribute to Scotland’s resilience in tackling climate change.

Our success is rooted in valuing the contributions of our entire team – we care, we create, and we collaborate to continue to deliver a whole range of activities and services, from boating, and mooring, paddling, walking and wheeling, to living and playing and improving what the canals have to offer to our visitors and communities. We also work collaboratively with our partners and stakeholders to contribute to a wealthier, fairer, greener and more resilient Scotland.

As an employer we offer a truly unique opportunity to be part of our team, help us realise our vision and contribute to safeguarding our heritage and ensuring our canals flourish now and in the future.

About the Role

We currently have an exciting opportunity for an Activities & Events Team Leader to join our Destinations team at The Falkirk Wheel. You will lead the planning, coordination and delivery of a diverse programme of activities and seasonal events (easter, Halloween, Christmas) that attract visitors, support local communities, and showcase Scotland’s historic canals. You will supervise an energetic team while ensuring all activities are delivered safely, professionally and in line with organisational objectives.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone passionate about events, community engagement and outdoor recreation.

The role is offered on a permanent basis, working 5 days out of 7, averaging 35 hours per week (flexibility required).

Primary responsibilities of the role:

Lead the planning and delivery of activities and events at The Falkirk Wheel.
Lead and support team members, volunteers and external partners.
Coordinate event logistics including staffing, equipment, suppliers and risk assessments.
Ensure all activities operate in line with health and safety procedures and organisational policies.
Monitor budgets, resources and performance targets.
Build relationship with community groups, stakeholders and partner organisations.
Ensure all equipment and supplier orders are compliant with procurement regulations.
Promote events and activities to increase participation and engagement across our social media platforms.
Evaluate events and contribute to future planning and programme development.
Act as part of the Duty Manager team, overseeing daily operations at The Falkirk Wheel.
About the Reward

This role offers a progressive starting salary of £31,272 (£32,367 from April 2026) (Band C) plus an additional 11.25% Variable Hours Allowance.

Scottish Canals offer a generous annual leave entitlement of 32 days, plus 6 public holidays, along with enhanced sick pay, discounted shopping vouchers, health cash plan and a contributory pension scheme with up to 10% employer contribution.

About You

Qualifications and knowledge required:

Educated to HNC/HND level or equivalent experience in events management, leisure, tourism or a related field.
Knowledge of planning and delivering activities, events or community programmes.
Understanding of health and safety requirements associated with events and public activities.
Knowledge of risk assessments and safe working practices.
Awareness of community engagement and partnership working.

Skills and experience required:

Experience planning, organising and delivering high quality events and/or activities.
Experience supervising or leading a team, volunteers or contractors.
Strong organisational and time-management skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to work with a range of stakeholders.
Competent IT skills including Microsoft Office and social media platforms.
Experience producing unique, high-quality social media content would be an advantage.

Qualities & abilities required:

A positive, can-do attitude with the ability work collaboratively as part of a large team.
Strong leadership with the ability to motivate and support a team.
Ability to work independently and take initiative.
Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to respond quickly to operational challenges.
High level of attention to detail and commitment to delivering high-quality experiences.
Flexible and adaptable approach to working hours, including weekends (core summer hours 8am – 6pm).
Positive, proactive attitude and commitment to continuous improvement.
Ability to build positive relationships with colleagues, partners and community groups.
Passion for creating engaging experiences and promoting community participation.

Scottish Canals reserve the right to close this vacancy before the closing date if a sufficient number of applications are received.

JOB PURPOSE

This is a fixed term role delivering curatorial activity for The National Lottery Heritage Fund supported Mackintosh Illuminated Project which runs from 2025 – 2030.

The Trust is the custodian of two of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald’s most outstanding, publicly accessible places: The Hill House and The Mackintosh Tearooms (previously Mackintosh at the Willow). Together, these sites welcome 280,000 visitors annually, promoting the cultural legacy of Mackintosh and engaging visitors with the life and works of two of Scotland’s most influential artists.

Mackintosh Illuminated will bring together these two properties in a joint engagement, outreach, communications and marketing programme to spotlight the design duo and the social and cultural context of their works and lives. It includes a significant conservation project at The Hill House, and a major engagement project to increase awareness of Mackintosh, including growing engagement with the two properties among local communities.

The Project Curator – Mackintosh Illuminated provides curatorial support for the National Trust for Scotland’s Mackintosh Illuminated project. Working with the Project Team, the Senior Curator and the Curator – South & West they ensure that The Hill House and The Mackintosh Tearooms are well researched, understood and interpreted for the public within the wider context of both design history and everyday life of the period. They will assist in researching and developing interpretation for the collections, interiors and social history of The Hill House and The Mackintosh Tearooms, ensuring that content is relevant and engaging for audiences, documentation is accurate and rigorous, and staff resources and training are up-to-date.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

The National Trust for Scotland’s curators are storytellers. The team co-ordinates research, helps to disseminate stories and supports property and central teams with the knowledge, tools and training that they need to share the histories of our places with our visitors and supporters in engaging ways.

• Lead on curatorial research for Mackintosh Illuminated, supporting regional and project staff to ensure, collections, interiors and the wider social context of the properties are well researched and well documented.
• Work with the Mackintosh Illuminated project team to plan and develop interpretation, including content development (text writing, image research etc.) ensuring the collections, interiors and history of the properties are interpreted in engaging, creative and relevant ways informed by audience feedback and evaluation.
• Work with the Community Engagement team to support opportunities for community voices to influence and contribute to research, interpretation and display.
• Ensure collections information is accurate and recorded in a manner consistent with policy and best practice, including collating existing research on interiors and collections, and working with Collections Services to keep the Collections database up to date.
• Ensure staff training and resources are accurate and up-to-date.
• Deliver public lectures and talks, contribute to the NTS podcast, and contribute to content for the Trust’s webpages and social media channels
• Support with develop strong relationships with other organisations with Mackintosh/Macdonald collections and/or relevant academic research topics.
• Supervise volunteers, interns and student placements engaging in research and facilitate access to the collections.
• Support the development of and ensure work is consistent with policy and guidance on curatorial work, especially research, interpretation, and management of collections, with particular reference to the Curatorial Vison and Strategy.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Qualifications and Experience

Essential
• Undergraduate degree in a relevant subject (e.g. Art/design history, Scottish history or social history) or suitable equivalent experience.
• Experience of working with historic collections and period interiors
• Demonstrable experience of planning and developing audience-focused interpretation/experiences in a historic house or museum context.
• Understanding of how to use evaluation and visitor research to inform exhibitions and interpretive developments.
• Demonstrable experience of a wide range of curatorial and collections management responsibilities in a museum/gallery or heritage environment.
• Experience of building effective working relationships in complex, changing work environment and matrix-management structures.
• Competent object recognition and analytical skills, ability and willingness to curate a wide range of object types.
• Sound understanding of SPECTRUM documentation standards and the requirements for Museum Accreditation.
• Experience of research from primary sources, producing and sharing research outputs.
• Experience of object cataloguing and use of collections management databases.

Desirable
• A post graduate qualification in relevant subject (e.g. history, heritage interpretation, museum studies).
• Excellent communication skills and evidence of collaborative working with communities/experience of co-design
• Specialist knowledge expertise and a track record of publications in a relevant subject
• Experience of effective leadership in a dynamic environment
• Experience of developing and managing collaborative research projects
• Experience of working on a National Lottery Heritage Fund project or project of similar scale/ambition

• Experience recruiting, supervising and coaching volunteers and student placements.
• Full UK driving licence.