After a £6 million redevelopment, MJM will enter new hands for the next stage of its journey

After 10 years of planning, two years of construction and £6 million, the shiny new Manchester Jewish Museum (MJM) is being handed over to new management. CEO Max Dunbar and Chair of Trustees Andrew Singer QC are leaving their positions to allow someone new to build upon the success of the museum and lead the organisation.

“Leaving after so many years was never going to be easy,” said Dunbar, “but now the new building is open and buzzing with activity, it feels like the right time to step aside." At the end of December, after a decade with MJM, he will be moving to a new position in the development team at the University of Manchester. Singer chaired his final trustee meeting in October 2021 before stepping down. He’d been a trustee of the museum for over 14 years and Chair for nine.

“To see the new museum open and impressing so many visitors coming through our doors fills me with enormous pride and gratitude," said Singer. "The new Chief Executive and Chair will have an exciting opportunity to grow and build upon the vision that Max and his team have begun and I feel that the future of Manchester Jewish Museum is bright."

Applications for the new permanent CEO position have now opened, the deadline for which is Monday 17 January. The museum's current Head of Programmes, Gareth Redston, will act as Interim CEO until the position is appointed. The Chair of Trustees position will be advertised in early 2022, along with a number of other trustee roles, and existing trustee Richard Chapman QC will act as Interim Chair.

"I am so proud of everything we have achieved," added Dunbar, "and want to express my profound gratitude to our supporters, contractors, trustees, visitors and most of all the staff and volunteers. They have all shaped what the museum is today and made it an invaluable and rich contribution to the history and culture of this great city."

By Danielle Goldstein

Museum exterior photos by Philip Vile

Find out more about Manchester Jewish Museum and see what’s on at manchesterjewishmuseum.com.