Beamish Museum searching for visionary to create 1950s world and Georgian hotel in £18million project

One of the North East's top tourist destinations is searching for the top man or woman for their project to create a stunning new set of educational attractions.
Celebrations at BeamishCelebrations at Beamish
Celebrations at Beamish

Beamish Museum says it is offering "a job opportunity like no other – the chance to make history."

The search is on for a construction manager to take on the unique challenge of building the past, including a 1950s Town, farm and a Georgian coaching inn where visitors can stay overnight.

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Museum bosses say the role is among the first of 100 new jobs and 50 apprenticeships set to be created by the £18million Remaking Beamish project.

More than 30 new exhibits will be built over the next four years and the award-winning museum is looking for the right person to join its existing talented team.

Paul Marron and Shaun Kay, buildings team leaders for masonry and joinery respectively at Beamish, said working at the open-air museum was a great opportunity with great variety where "no two days are the same".

Paul said: “This project is unique, you’ll be building history. You’ll need to have traditional skills as well as new, understand historic buildings and work as a team.

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“You’ll be building everything from a coaching inn to 1950s buildings.”

Shaun Kay added: “The project is a fantastic opportunity to work on the North East’s heritage. You’ll be giving something back to the community, building something that’s going to be here for many years to come.

“We’re looking for people who are passionate about what they do, somebody who can give exceptional quality and attention to detail because that’s what we’re all about at Beamish.”

The museum was awarded £10.9million by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the Remaking Beamish project.

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The 1950s Town will include a cinema, being moved from Sunderland, homes, shops, a community centre and aged miners’ homes, which will be a pioneering centre for older people including those living with dementia. An upland farm has been moved stone by stone from Weardale and will tell the story of 1950s rural life.

The Georgian Landscape will be expanded to include a replica of a “lost” Great North Road coaching inn, and examples of early industry such as murdered Joe the Quilter’s cottage, a blacksmith’s, pottery and candle house.

The construction manager post will be followed by further building roles, such as Site Foreman. Other roles, including stone masonry, engagement, hospitality, costume and curatorial, will be created later in the project.

Michelle Lagar, Remaking Beamish project officer (skills), said: “We are undertaking the design and build of the project in-house with the support of an experienced team that has worked on other successful museum-led projects.

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“The scale and ambition of the Remaking Beamish build will give us the opportunity to grow our current construction and design team.

“The construction manager will be responsible for leading an exciting project to deliver a unique construction programme creating translocated buildings, replicas of existing North East buildings and original designs based on extensive historical research within the grounds of a growing open air museum.”

Beamish already has around 420 staff and 500 volunteers. The museum welcomed a record-breaking 750,406 visitors in 2016/17 and the Remaking Beamish project is set to attract an extra 100,000 visitors annually.

Closing date for applications for the construction manager vacancy is 12noon on Friday March 31. Visit www.beamish.org.uk/vacancies/ for more information on how to apply.