Help Shape the Future of Highbury – as a Trustee of The Chamberlain Highbury Trust
The Chamberlain Highbury Trust is looking to appoint several new Trustees to help us with our mission to restore Highbury and put it once more at the heart of the civic and community life of Birmingham and its surrounding region.
We have vacancies on our Trust Board and are looking to appoint Trustees who will share our vision for Highbury and help us meet our objectives for our restoration project. We are particularly interested in recruiting individuals who have experience and expertise in one or more of the following areas:
- Business acumen and especially any experience of running a visitor attraction.
- Events management and marketing
- Fundraising, managing relationships with donors and attracting sponsorship.
- Financial management, budgeting and accounts experience.
- Landscape and gardens management and maintenance.
It helps if Trustees have local knowledge of Birmingham’s diverse communities as well.
Will you help us run our heritage business?
We intend to be a great visitor attraction, an events provider for weddings, conferences and outdoor activities, a centre for young people’s leadership education and training, and provider of office space with support for local entrepreneurs. We also aim to achieve high environmental standards and Net Zero.
Do you have what it takes to enliven and reimagine the heritage and history of Highbury?
This was Joseph Chamberlain’s family home and the heart of his political organisation. We can make it a beacon for Birmingham’s boldness and learning for leadership.
We are an independent charitable trust, responsible for making accessible the Grade II* listed Venetian Gothic mansion and Grade II listed grounds that form the Highbury estate.
Current Situation
We are embarking on a major restoration of the gardens in 2026, which is incredibly exciting. We will continue to offer our well-regarded Youth Leadership education and training programme, hold Open Days in the mansion and the gardens, and run numerous events at Highbury.
If you have skills to contribute to delivering our mission successfully, we want to hear from you. We are looking for Trustees who will share our passion for Highbury’s heritage and young leaders’ futures. Help us plan our capital spend on restoration of the gardens and raise further funds for the restoration of the mansion in the future.
Application Process
If you would like to apply for appointment as a Trustee, please send us by the closing date:
(1) An up-to-date CV; and
(2) A letter of application – no more than two sides of A4 – stating why you want to be a trustee and what you would bring to the Trust.
Please send your CV and your letter of application for the attention of David Kidney, our Chair of the Trust Board going forward, by email to login.CHT@outlook.com
The closing date for application is Friday 20 February 2026 at 4.00pm
If you would like to discuss the role of a Trustee before you decide whether to apply, you are welcome to contact our Chair David Kidney: kidneydavid@gmail.com
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
Applicants who are shortlisted for interview will ideally be available for interview during the first and second weeks of March.
Selection process
A panel of three Trustees will consider applications and invite shortlisted applicants to interview. The interviews can be daytime or evening to suit applicants’ circumstances.
The Trust Board will make any appointments.
Equality, diversity and inclusion
We are committed to developing an organisation that is representative of the diverse communities which make up Birmingham and the UK and welcome applications from all sections of the community.
The following groups are currently underrepresented on our Trust Board: young persons, people who are disabled, people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups.
We are positive and inclusive about making adjustments, if you wish to indicate that you are disabled or have a long-term health condition, please tell us in or with your application. The Equality Act 2010 defines a person as disabled if they have a physical or mental impairment and the impairment has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities.
Data protection
In accordance with the Data Protection Act, the information you provide in your application, and any supporting documents, will be used to assess your suitability for the role advertised. It will not be released to anyone who does not require it for this purpose. If you are able to offer your services in the role advertised, this information will form the basis of your personnel file within the Trust, otherwise it will be destroyed six months after your application, unless you give us permission to hold it on file.
Sustainability
We are committed to managing our resources and carrying out our operations in ways that least impact on the environment.
About our Trust
Our Trustees work together to:
- Set the Trust’s Vision, Objectives and purpose
- Promote the restoration project and inform the public about it
- Engage with our stakeholders, our staff and our volunteers to make sure we take account of all points of view
- Plan for when we can run Highbury in place of Birmingham City Council.
Our Vision for our Trust is:
Inspired and informed by the story of the Chamberlain Family and the history and heritage of the house and grounds, the restored Highbury estate will be a vibrant, well used place. Young people will come to develop leadership and governance skills, local people will be able to participate in an inclusive and diverse programme of activities, and visitors to the City will be welcome to enjoy a unique heritage attraction. Its green space will be open year-round, will be free to visit and will provide a relaxed learning space with nature and conservation at its heart. Highbury will contribute to the economic vitality of the local area by providing space and facilities for local people to build businesses and nurture community organisations.
We have a Role Description for individual Trustees and we have a Role Description for the Trust Body as a whole.
We very much want the Trust Board to reflect Birmingham’s diversity with Trustees representing a broad range of skills and knowledge, location and experience.
Our progress to date
We are fortunate to have secured the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund for our ambition for a major restoration of Highbury’s grounds. We have a professional team of architects and advisers who have helped us develop our restoration plans. We have strong support for our work in our local communities.
Your commitment as a Trustee
The time commitment for an individual Trustee’s work will be around 2 days a month, mostly in person at Highbury. Some meetings take place away from Highbury and others are held online. There will be opportunities to serve further both internally (for example, on our task & finish groups) and externally (for example representing the Trust on outside bodies).
The position is unpaid, but we will reimburse all reasonable travel and subsistence expenses.
The role will be based in Birmingham, UK.