Information Pack - Freelance (self-employed) roles Bannockburn House Trust - 30 January 2018 - V4 Introduction This document accompanies the paid role descriptions and is intended to provide more information to people interested in applying for the roles and guidance on how to apply. We are also interested in anyone who would be interested in taking on a Board or sub-group role on a voluntary basis. Freelance Roles available People appointed will not be employees of Bannockburn House Trust. The Trust is a start-up without the necessary infrastructure to be an employer in the short term. Candidates may be self-employed, seconded from another organisation, have their own company or be employed by a consultancy / services provider. Candidates, or the third party organisation employing them, must be responsible for tax / NI / insurance. Organisations may put a number of people forward for roles. The roles are as follows and all funding for the roles has been secured from Scottish Land Fund, Big Lottery Scotland, LEADER, Resilient Heritage (HLF) and Architectural Heritage Fund. Please see the separate document for the role descriptions and draft organisational structure. Some roles could convert to employed status in due course. Some roles could be combined - see (1) and (2) in the table below. Role Maximum role duration, on a flexible part-time basis Max budget for total duration (all years) including VAT and personal travel expenses Board Mentor 2 years 20,000 Project Director 2 years 65,000 Project Support Manager (1) 2 years 25,000 Capital Development Manager 2 years 25,000 Internal Communications Coordinator (2) 30 months 12,000 External Marketing, Engagement and Communications Coordinator 30 months 24,000 In due course, there is one further role available: Volunteer Coordinator (funding secured). This may not be advertised until Summer 2018. 1
Community ownership The owners of Bannockburn House are the community of Bannockburn. Through their membership of Bannockburn House Trust, local people can exercise control over the appointment or removal of Board members and the direction of the Trust, which must act on their behalf and be accountable to them through a variety of means including formal AGMs. Bannockburn House appears to be one of the largest truly community owned heritage projects in the UK and is therefore regarded as a critical pathfinder. Background to Bannockburn House The house is located off the A91 close to the Stirling motorway services area (M80 / M9 intersection). It is A listed and around 14,000 sq feet on four floors surrounded by various outbuildings and chauffeur s house, set in 28 acres. The images below show the location of the house and in the aerial shot you can see the main house and the separate chauffeur s house with its complex of outbuildings / stores / workshops. 2
The Bannockburn House project and organisation In 2016, Bannockburn House came on the market and stimulated enormous public interest from the local Bannockburn community. It quickly became evident that the local community wished to carry out a community purchase of the house. Bannockburn House Trust (BHT) was formed in January 2017 as a two-tier SCIO with a Board of local people. By mid-2017 BHT secured a second stage Scottish Land Fund award to purchase the house, with additional financial support from Stirling Council. BHT has owned the house since December 2017. BHT have also bid for and secured 479k revenue grant from five funders to pay for the advertised roles, architect led design team fees, training, office and overhead costs. Currently BHT has 9 board members, around 300 SCIO members and 100+ signed up volunteers who already maintain the house and gardens, organise events and carry out other project activities. BHT s objectives include: Ensure Bannockburn House (BH) is open and available for the use and enjoyment by local people Build a strong community-driven organisation (BHT) Improve and maintain the heritage, building fabric, interiors, fittings / furnishings and grounds of Bannockburn House, in line with community wishes and with regard to the advice of heritage professionals Encourage public access (including visitors to the area) to the house and grounds for purposes of leisure, heritage and cultural activities, learning, health and well-being Create a visitor attraction that generates income and employment benefitting local people Initiate, develop and facilitate a range of community projects and activities at BH, providing benefit to the local community Secure all necessary funding and support to protect and conserve the house. 3
Website: http://www.bannockburnhouse.scot/ - please note that not all information / documents on the website are current. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bannockburnhouse/ (currently a closed group - apply to join). Plans for Bannockburn House - delivery The House does not have a collection of artefacts and is not going to be a museum. Its planned use is as community space and a community led heritage visitor attraction. It will provide space and facilities for a range of community led services, projects and activities which could include: Communal garden Community café Traditional skills / apprenticeships / workshops for training Living in the past (tours, re-enactments, visitor accommodation) Our House, Our Stories exhibitions Artists studios / arts and crafts Heritage trails / cycle paths Events / markets / fayres New horizons learning Horse riding Brewery. The House will need to be financially sustainable and the possible sources of income include: Visitor guided tours (may be via prompted donations rather than charging) Shop Café / bistro / bar / catering (including potentially large events) Parking (perhaps refundable against purchases in shop, café) Visitor accommodation - camping, B&B, holiday apartment Event space (including weddings, corporate, conference) Exhibitions Ticketed events e.g. arts, cultural, festivals Fees for learning events / workshops / residentials / themed week-ends (murder mystery, ghost hunting) Location: for film, TV, radio (Outlander, Antiques Roadshow, BBC Radio 4 Question Time etc) Meeting room hire e.g. for meetings, activities, private events Workshop / studio hire External land hire e.g. re-enactments, rallies, concerts Public fundraising Donations Community fundraising. 4
Overview of capital plans The House will need major repairs and there is a phased plan to raise the capital required and implement the repairs. The house can already be made usable for temporary meetings and public events by bringing in mobile heaters, Portaloos etc. There is a small capital budget available being used to upgrade facilities in the chauffeur s house to provide temporary facilities for volunteers and others working on site, and also to provide immediate short-term repairs to the House to halt water ingress. However, BHT needs to raise significant funds for capital repairs and improvements, likely to be phased as follows: Time scale Year 1 - Immediate and meanwhile uses Year 2 onwards - meanwhile asset development Year 4 onwards - full heritage asset conservation Funds required Critical and urgent repairs to address water ingress. Renovate chauffeur s house to provide base camp for board, volunteers and freelancers. Upgrade / put in place essential services incl power & water / sewerage connections and telecommunications. Upgrade car-parking and security. Temporary (non-invasive) interior electric cabling, Wi-Fi and temporary heating. Renovate outbuildings (near chauffeur s house) for storage, workshops, possibly also for temporary café and shop. Address further critical repairs and provision of critical visitor and volunteer infrastructure including: Café with meeting / gathering space Toilets / shower block Upgraded parking Overnight visitor accommodation in the house, maybe 4-8 bedrooms plus additional bunk space with self-catering kitchen and bathrooms Workspace / event space in the house Garden, trails, outdoor activities etc. Implement full protection / conservation / development of Bannockburn House and grounds. Sources of funding may span heritage funds, community funds, cultural funds, general trusts and foundations and general campaigns for sponsors / donors. Further information No further documents are available at this stage. Appointed persons will have access to 1) business plan and appendices prepared for SLF bid; 2) any necessary budget information, depending on role. For general questions / clarifications, please use the PCS Q&A facility if possible. For an informal discussion about these roles, or where you do not have access to PCS, please contact Annie Tunnicliffe on 07890 825978 or luingconsultancy@btinternet.com Probably the best way to make contact is to email me with some dates / times when you could call me and I will revert with the best date / time / tel number. Please avoid just leaving me a general message asking me to return calls. 5
How to apply The closing date for applications is Wednesday 7 th March by 1700. Application is by email attaching a CV and covering letter to be sent to luingconsultancy@btinternet.com with the subject line of the email stating: Application for role at BHT. Please limit CVs to 3 sides maximum and please use your covering letter (4 sides max) to set out: Which role(s) you are applying for and why Your current employment or freelance status and any planned changes Approximately how many hours per month you are seeking per role (we are in a position to split the roles between more than one person) How you match to the Person Specification. Please be clear if you only want to do part of a role What would you hope to achieve in the role The maximum fees that you are applying for showing the breakdown of number of days by role, rate per day (both exclusive and inclusive of VAT if it applies). Fees should be inclusive of any personal travel costs and there should be no additional fees or charges Two work references (will not be taken up before appointment stage) Your full contact details including where you are based. Additional guidelines for applicants We are unlikely to pay day rates more than 400 inclusive of expenses for any roles. It is expected that average day rates for roles over long periods would be less than this figure. If you are an individual applying for more than one role, it would help us if you do a separate application for each role (cross referencing the applications). If you are an organisation wishing to apply for a number of roles for several people, we can accept one application provided that you make it clear (using tables) what roles would be delivered by who and the days and rates. It would help us if you can combine your cover letter and CV(s) in one suitably labelled Word or PDF document to help keep documents together. Please do not include corporate literature or similar. Across all the roles, please note that: some of the roles will be wholly or mainly onsite and are likely to be more attractive to people living within a reasonable commute distance from Bannockburn House the Board are seeking to build a team who are as passionate about the House as they are we are seeking people who are such a natural fit with the roles that they will be able to easily make a significant difference to the project from the start the earliest appointments, possibly including some short term ones, will be people with a high tolerance or even affinity for the fluid and unstructured nature of a start-up project. 6
Selection Process We regret that we cannot give feedback on applications unless you are selected for interview. However, all applications received will be held in a pool for consideration for opportunities later on. Selection for interview will be with regard to quality and value for money day rates before VAT. Depending on the numbers and quality of applications, we may use any of the following as part of the selection process: Visit to house and informal information session / discussion Formal panel interviews Second interview. We regret that we are not in a position to be able to pay interview expenses. Closing remarks We hope that this pack has provided you with enough information to decide whether you will apply for a role. We look forward to receiving your application. 7