In my last blog on the heritage hiring squeeze, I explored why recruitment has become so difficult for heritage charities in 2026. Funding volatility, workforce pressure, AI frustrations and a shrinking talent pool are all making it harder for organisations to attract and secure the people they need.

But there is one part of this challenge that deserves a closer look: the growing need for heritage, arts and culture charities to recruit people who can build commercial resilience, without compromising the mission, values or public benefit at the heart of their work.

This is becoming one of the defining leadership challenges in the sector.

Museums, heritage sites, galleries, theatres, cultural venues and visitor attractions are no longer able to rely on one dominant funding stream. Local authority support has reduced over many years, public grants are increasingly competitive, operating costs remain high and audiences are still making careful choices about discretionary spend.

The Museums Association’s 2025/26 members’ survey found that 58% of respondents said their museum, or the museum they work with, was planning cuts in services in 2025/26, with members also reporting recruitment freezes, redundancies, restructures, burnout, overreliance on volunteers and reduced public access. While this survey focuses on museums, many of the same pressures are being felt across the wider arts and culture sector.

At the same time, funders are rightly asking organisations to think about long-term sustainability. Arts Council England’s Museum Transformation Programme, announced for 2026, is focused on helping regional museums address longer-term challenges, transform their operating models and strengthen financial resilience and operational sustainability.

For recruitment, this changes the brief.

Heritage, arts and culture charities do not only need people who understand collections, interpretation, learning, conservation, community engagement or artistic and cultural programming. Increasingly, they also need leaders who can think commercially, diversify income, develop audiences, build partnerships, use data well, manage risk and make difficult decisions with integrity.

That does not mean turning these organisations into purely commercial businesses. Far from it. It means recruiting people who understand that financial resilience is not separate from mission. It is what enables mission to continue.

Why are commercial skills now mission-critical?

Because no cultural organisation can now rely on one dominant funding stream. Commercial thinking shapes visitor experience, pricing, membership, donor stewardship, funder pitches, partnerships, retail, digital and programming — which means leaders who can think commercially are no longer optional extras. They are central to keeping the mission deliverable.

In the past, “commercial” may have been seen by some organisations as a separate function. It sat in the shop, the café, venue hire, ticketing, events or membership. Important, yes, but not always central to organisational strategy.

Today, commercial thinking touches almost every part of a heritage, arts and culture charity. It influences how organisations shape visitor experience, price tickets, develop membership models, steward donors, pitch to funders, hire spaces, build corporate partnerships, manage retail, use digital tools and plan exhibitions or events.

It also affects workforce planning. An impactful programme may not be deliverable if the staff structure cannot support it. A listed building may become a liability if there is no realistic plan for maintenance, access and income. A compelling mission may struggle to reach new audiences if marketing, data and engagement skills are underdeveloped.

But the best candidates in this space are not just income generators. They are translators. They can speak the language of trustees, funders, visitors, curators, volunteers, local authorities, donors and communities. They understand that heritage and cultural assets carry emotional, educational, creative and civic value, not just financial value. They can help organisations make sustainable decisions without losing sight of why the organisation exists.

Recent Charisma appointments that reflect this mission-critical focus include:

•      Head of Marketing and Communication, British Motor Museum

•      Head of Sales and Events, Rich Mix

•      Museum Director, The National Museum of Computing

•      Deputy CEO, Anvil Arts

What is the risk of recruiting the wrong commercial leader?

Cultural friction. If commercial growth is pursued without sensitivity, staff and volunteers may feel the mission is being diluted. If commercial thinking is resisted altogether, the organisation becomes less sustainable. The opportunity is to appoint leaders who can hold both truths together: purpose matters, and sustainability matters.

Some heritage, arts and culture charities are understandably tempted to look outside the sector for candidates with strong commercial credentials. This can be a very positive route. There is real value in attracting people from visitor attractions, hospitality, leisure, retail, tourism, membership, events, education, media or the wider charity sector.

But transferable skills need careful assessment.

A candidate may have grown revenue in a commercial environment, but can they do so within the constraints of a listed building, a charitable object, a conservation requirement, a volunteer-supported operating model or a community accountability framework? Can they work with trustees as well as audiences, visitors, staff and volunteers? Can they balance access and affordability with income targets? Can they respect collections care and curatorial integrity while improving visitor experience? And can they lead change in a workforce that may already be tired, stretched or anxious?

Honesty is a recruitment advantage

The current market is cautious, and strong candidates are weighing opportunities carefully. Before committing, they want to know that the role is realistic, that the salary is aligned with the level of responsibility, and that the Board understands the scale of the challenge. Above all, they want to know whether commercial growth is genuinely embedded in the organisation’s strategy and backed by investment, or whether one person is quietly expected to fix everything.

For heritage, arts and culture charities, honesty is now a recruitment advantage. Candidates do not need an easy brief, but they do need a truthful one. If the organisation needs to increase earned income, say so. If the visitor offer needs development, say so. If the fundraising base is underdeveloped, say so. If the operating model needs review, say so.

The strongest candidates are often motivated by challenge. What puts them off is ambiguity.

Writing better briefs for commercial resilience

If heritage, arts and culture charities want to attract candidates who can strengthen sustainability, the recruitment brief needs to evolve.

Too often, role profiles ask for everything: heritage experience, fundraising, marketing, operations, commercial trading, stakeholder engagement, people leadership, digital, governance, capital project experience and community participation. In reality, few candidates will bring all of those things in equal measure.

The better approach is to define the outcomes the role must deliver. For example:

•      Grow unrestricted income through appropriate commercial activity

•      Improve visitor experience while protecting access and inclusion

•      Build stronger relationships with funders, donors and partners

•      Use audience and financial data to inform decision-making

•      Develop a realistic membership, retail, events or venue hire strategy

•      Support teams through change with empathy and clarity

•      Work constructively with trustees on risk, investment and sustainability

This kind of brief can be more useful than a long list of sector-specific requirements. It also opens the door to candidates with adjacent experience who may bring exactly the skills the organisation now needs.

The Museums Association’s 2026 salary recommendations also encourage employers to embed fair and inclusive recruitment practices, ground job specifications in competency and knowledge, and only request formal qualifications where they are genuinely necessary for the role. That principle is particularly important in heritage, arts and culture, where over-specific criteria can unintentionally narrow the field.

Retention matters as much as recruitment

Of course, recruiting commercially minded leaders is only half the challenge. Keeping them is just as important.

If someone is appointed to drive income, partnerships or transformation, they need the autonomy, resources and support to do it. They also need a Board and senior team who understand that sustainable growth takes time.

A new commercial or development leader cannot instantly reverse years of underinvestment. They cannot build a membership scheme, transform visitor experience, grow major donor income, fix a CRM, increase venue hire and improve brand visibility without capacity around them.

This is where expectations must be realistic. Recruitment should be followed by purposeful onboarding, clear first-year priorities, regular Board engagement and honest conversations about investment.

Otherwise, organisations risk hiring talented people into impossible roles, then losing them before the work has had time to take root.

Can purpose and commercial thinking work together?

Yes - done well, each strengthens the other. Commercial resilience can protect free or low-cost access, fund learning and creative programmes, support collections care, improve visitor welcome, create better jobs and reduce dependence on short-term funding. The task is to recruit people who understand the relationship between mission and money.

Heritage, arts and culture charities exist to preserve, interpret, challenge, inspire and connect. They hold stories, creativity, places and collections that matter deeply to communities. But the ability to keep doing that work depends on people who can lead with both imagination and realism.

Because the future of heritage, arts and culture will not be secured by passion alone. It will be secured by capable, values-led people who can protect purpose, strengthen resilience and help cultural organisations thrive in a changing world.

Can Charisma help?

At Charisma, we understand the particular complexity of recruitment in heritage, arts and culture charities. These appointments require more than technical matching. They call for an understanding of public benefit, governance, funding reality, audience development, commercial pressure and the personal commitment required to lead in purpose-driven cultural organisations.

Our specialist heritage, arts and culture function is led by Executive Director, Katherine Anderson-Scott. With a background across both the commercial and charitable arts and heritage sectors, Katherine delivers senior leadership and Board campaigns for purpose-driven cultural organisations, and serves as a trustee of the Suffolk Preservation Society, a heritage organisation dedicated to ensuring historic buildings and landscapes are preserved, given contemporary purpose and supported through the protection of heritage craft skills.

Whether you are facing an immediate vacancy, planning for growth, or simply finding that your current recruitment approach is not delivering the candidates you need, I would welcome a conversation. Charisma offers a free initial consultation, and I am always happy to talk through what you are facing and whether we can help.

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