The search is on to find a new Chief Executive for the Bath Preservation Trust as Caroline Kay prepares to step down from the role at the end of April after more than 13 years.
Caroline Kay | Photo © Tim Beale Photography
Caroline was originally due to step down in July 2020, but agreed to stay on for an additional 10 months to lead the Bath Preservation Trust (BPT) through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thomas Sheppard, Chair of BPT Trustees, said: “Caroline has worked tirelessly for the Trust to lead it through a period of considerable change and for many she is its public face.
“We want to celebrate Caroline’s significant contribution to making the Trust the respected and well-run organisation it is today and also to thank her for her hard work and commitment in leaving the Trust in good, if reduced, shape to face an exciting and challenging post-pandemic world.”
During her years in charge, Caroline has overseen a £5 million redevelopment and expansion of the No. 1 Royal Crescent museum, with a 22% increase in visitor numbers, and also undertaken the incorporation of Herschel Museum of Astronomy into the charity’s portfolio of four museums.
She has also overseen the production of two nationally-awarded planning guidance manuals, Warmer Bath and Making Changes, and examined over 1500 Planning and Listed Building Applications in Bath.
Caroline said: “Bath Preservation Trust has meant a great deal to me over the last thirteen-and-a-half years and it was for that reason I stayed on to help weather the storm of 2020.
“While there are still challenges ahead, thanks to the efforts we put in and the encouraging support we have received from external funders including the National Lottery Heritage Fund and DCMS, I am confident the Trustees and the dedicated and hardworking staff team, present and future, will be able to take the Trust to an even better place going forward.”
She added: “For myself I now feel able to move on and consider other ways of exercising my professional and personal interests.
“I’d like to thank all the colleagues I’ve worked with over all those years inside and outside the organisation for their dedicated service and the fun and privilege of their company.”
The hunt is now on to find her successor, and those interested in applying for the £60,000/year role can find more details here.
Thomas added: “As we look for a new Chief Executive, it will remain very much ‘business as usual’ in the day-to-day running of the Trust and its various projects.
“In recruiting Caroline’s successor, we will be casting our net wide to find the right person to lead the Trust.”
