Moving on Up: Making an Impact with your Career
Online, Zoom
Are you ready to take the next step in your career? Moving on Up 2025 is the essential conference to give you a motivation boost, help you identify areas for progress, develop your networks and discover how you can demonstrate your impact in the sector.
This event is for you if you work in any area of the museum sector, or are employed in a different sector looking to bring your skills and experience to a museum or heritage setting. It gives you the confidence, contacts and ideas to think innovatively and creatively about how you can progress your career and be a changemaker in the sector.
Come to Moving on Up to:
- Meet other delegates in peer learning sets to identify some of key challenges you’re currently facing in your career.
- Hear how our panel of museum professionals at different stages of their career have faced and tackled similar challenges.
- Have the opportunity to develop your own career action plan.
We will be running a number of recorded breakout rooms covering:
- Hints and tips on applying for jobs.
- How to step up into a leadership role.
- Combining freelance work in your career.
- How to be a changemaker.
No matter where you are in your career, or what you want to achieve, this event is your chance to take some time to consider your next steps. Expect to:
- Hear practical advice and support on navigating your career.
- Meet a network of individuals offering peer support.
- Come away with an actionable plan for the future.
We aim to present a diverse range of speakers from across the UK and internationally at our one-day conferences. If you are interested in speaking at one of our events, or have a project you’d like to see explored, please tell us more by emailing the Events Team.
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Programme
Welcome from the chair Sharon Heal
Sharon Heal, Director, Museums Association, welcomes delegates and share some context for the day.
Peer Learning Group: how’s it going for you?
Delegates are placed in small groups to identify some of the key challenges that they are currently facing in their career. These spaces are not recorded and are designed to help you meet other delegates and will feed directly into the subsequent session. The MA will provide a number of prompts to support you in these groups.
Delegates who don’t wish to take part in group discussions are invited to independently reflect.
This session comprises 15 minutes for group discussion/independent reflection and 5 minutes for delegates to share their challenges via Padlet (link to be shared in the joining information).
Panel discussion: unlocking your career challenges
An opportunity to hear from a diverse panel of museum professionals at different stages of their career. We discuss the challenges identified in the peer learning groups, and reflect on how these might be overcome or addressed. Expect to hear practical advice and support, as well as insight into how other museum professionals have and are navigating their career challenges.
With:
Robin Patel, Development Officer, National Coalmining Museum Scotland
Hannah Mather, Cultural Participation and Community Curator, Tees Valley Museums Group
Freya Purcell, Project Curator, Museum of Hartlepool
Lucy Bickley, Public Engagement Project Manager, National Trust
Tamsin Russell, Workforce Lead, Museums Association
Lunch
An opportunity to take an hour-long screen break.
Welcome back
Welcome back and explanation for how breakout sessions will work.
Time for delegates to join breakout session
Delegates are invited to leave the main Zoom meeting and join the breakout sessions (see below).
Breakout sessions: Starting out, journeys to leadership, being a changemaker and freelancing
Delegates to choose to join a specific breakout session which will provide tailored content most relevant to them. Each session will be recorded so you can catch up on the other sessions at a later date.
- So you want to be a museum director… An opportunity to discuss all things leadership. With Katherine McAlpine, Director, Brunel Museum, and Joe Sullivan, Director, the Cartoon Museum
- Starter Pack… Navigating your career ladder from the bottom up. With Tamsin Russell, Workforce Lead, Museums Association
- Discover how a values-approach to your career can make a positive impact. With Dhiyandra Natalegawa, Creative Producer and Educator
- Feeling your way into freelancing… tips for those starting out creating an intentional career. With Alice Briggs, Artist, Arts Educator and Curator
Time for delegates to return to main Zoom
Delegates return to the main Zoom event.
Feedback
Delegates asked to share any insights from the breakout sessions and any further reflections.
Creating your action plan
You’ve identified your challenges and you’ve heard from others working to address these – now it’s your time to think about how you’re going to move forward. This session, facilitated by Tamsin Russell, Workforce Development Lead, Museums Association includes:
- Practical advice on creating a plan for your career.
- An opportunity to understand a skills audit.
- Time for self-reflection and to start to develop your personal action plan.
- Questions
Peer Learning Group: community of accountability
Delegates are put into small groups to reflect on where they started the day (and the challenges they identified) and to share one thing they want to achieve next. You will also be asked to think about how you will introduce accountability for yourself?
Delegates who don’t wish to take part in group discussions are invited to independently reflect on a number of provocations.
This session comprises 15 minutes for group discussion/independent reflection and 5 minutes for delegates to share their challenges anonymously through a digital collaborative tool.
Event fees
Concessionary Member – £35
Freelance and Consultant Member – £40
Member (Essential, Full, Institutional and Commercial members) – £45
Non-member – £65
Not a member? Join today and pay a discounted price for this event as well as receiving lots of other great benefits.
Important booking information
Please sign in and check the email address on your profile before booking. Your confirmation and joining instruction emails will go to the email address you use to log in to the website.
If you create a new record with a different email address your membership will not be recognised and you will be charged the incorrect fee. You can check and change your email address before booking.