Advertised from 25 August 2026

Role

The Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive has grown out of Scotland’s first LGBTQ+ bookshops, Lavender Menace and West & Wilde. Bob Orr and Sigrid Nielsen, the owners of the original Lavender Menace Bookshop founded the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in 2019 to keep this valuable LGBTQ+ book heritage alive and share it with the community.  

We have a mission to bring together the queer community in Edinburgh and beyond; celebrate LGBTQ+ authors and their works; and collect and preserve LGBTQ+ books (focusing on those published between 1970 and 2000). We work to create and maintain a free and welcoming community archive space for reading, research, and socialising. The archive is open to visitors and hosts a variety of author events, workshops, community groups and book clubs. We also have a digital catalogue of our collection.

To support the next stage of our growth, we are seeking a General Manager to build the sustainability of the Archive and ensure effective delivery of our programmes. Working closely with the Board, this exciting new role will lead organisational development, fundraising, financial administration, governance, and long-term planning, while managing and leading the work of a high performing staff team. Specifically, the postholder will provide high-level oversight of collections policy, ethics, and risk, ensuring the archive remains accessible, cared for, and responsive to community needs; whilst also leading the team to effectively deliver our new project “Unlocking Scotland’s LGBTQ+ Heritage”, which is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we will be able to expand the reach of the Archive, and better connect communities to their heritage.

This role would suit a proven leader with professional experience in archives, libraries, museums, or heritage collections, who has a strong degree of LGBTQ+ cultural competence and who is able to operate with autonomy in a collaborative and supportive way. It presents a fantastic opportunity to grow your leadership and project delivery skills, and contribute to the long term sustainability of a vital community resource in Scotland.

Application notes

For further details on the role please refer to the recruitment pack. Please submit a copy of your CV along with a covering letter outlining why you are the right candidate for this role. Your letter should tell us about the experience, skills, and personal qualities you would bring to the organisation. The cover letter should be no more than 2 A4 pages. If you have any questions, please get in touch with us at recruitment@lavendermenace.org.uk.

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