Join the Calanais Board

Help shape the next chapter of Calanais Visitor Centre

We’re looking for new Board Members to help shape the next chapter of Calanais Visitor Centre.

With our new Visitor Centre now open and operational, this is an exciting time to get involved with Calanais. Our focus is on establishing the centre as a first-class visitor attraction, a valued community asset and a well-run, sustainable organisation that provides good-quality local jobs throughout the year.

We’re looking for people who have a passion for Calanais and who would like to use their skills, knowledge and experience to help us grow and develop.

You don’t need to have been a Board member before. We’re interested in hearing from people with a wide range of professional, community, voluntary and lived experience.

We’re particularly keen to hear from people who:

• care about Calanais and its future;

• understand or have strong connections with our local community and culture;

• can contribute ideas, experience and constructive challenge;

• are willing to actively support the work of the Board and Management Team; and

• want to play a part in building a strong and sustainable future for Calanais.

Board membership is voluntary and involves around 5–10 hours per month, including attendance at monthly Board meetings and occasional ad hoc support.

If you would like to use your skills to make a difference at an important point in Calanais’s development, we would love to hear from you.

The Manager of the North Harris Trust will be responsible for the management of all staff at the Trust. They will be required to successfully initiate and manage a portfolio of projects throughout the estate to ensure that the Trust is generating increased income to facilitate growth. They will have overall responsibility for maintaining and improving the North Harris Estate. They will be required to work with Directors and partner organisations to meet the aims and objectives of the Trust.

Help us shape the next chapter for Kinloch Historical Society

Kinloch Historical Society is looking for an ambitious, practical and community-minded Business Development Manager to help us build a strong and sustainable future for our Society and Kinloch Community Hub.

This is an exciting opportunity to take a leading role in developing new income streams, increasing use of our facilities, growing our visitor and tourism offer, developing partnerships and helping us realise the potential of our unique heritage and archive.

Working closely with our Board, community, volunteers and external partners, you will develop and implement a Growth Plan designed to strengthen the Society's long-term financial and organisational sustainability while delivering meaningful benefits for the Kinloch community.

The opportunity

Over the next three years, we want to:

• increase earned income and reduce our reliance on grant funding;
• develop and market Kinloch Community Hub and its facilities;
• increase visitor numbers and build relationships with tour and cruise operators;
• explore new ways of sharing and generating income from our extensive archive;
• develop partnerships with universities, schools and other organisations;
• increase community participation and opportunities for people of all ages;
• develop our café and facilities as a sustainable year-round offer; and
• identify new opportunities that will strengthen the Society beyond 2029.

We are looking for someone who can combine commercial thinking with community purpose – someone who can spot an opportunity, build the relationships needed to develop it and then turn a good idea into practical action.

About You

• You will have experience in business development, enterprise, organisational development or a comparable field, together with an understanding of business planning, budgeting and income generation.
• You will be an excellent communicator and relationship builder, comfortable working with everyone from local residents and volunteers to tourism businesses, universities, public agencies and potential commercial partners.
• You will understand the opportunities and challenges of developing sustainable activity within a rural community and will be able to work independently, manage projects and take ownership of delivering results.
• Experience in community development, tourism, heritage, hospitality, social enterprise or the third sector would be particularly welcome.
• Knowledge of Lewis and an affinity with the culture, heritage and community of the area would also be advantageous.

Above all, we are looking for someone who is entrepreneurial, proactive, collaborative and motivated by making a difference.