Director of Collections Operations
Helen is a leader in the cultural heritage sector, with decades of experience caring for and shaping access to nationally significant moving image collections. Her work spans film, video, paper-based, data, and digital heritage, combining long‑term vision with practical delivery across preservation, access, and collections development.
Currently, she leads collections operations for the BFI National Archive, with responsibility for conservation, digital and data preservation, archive technology, collection care and access services, and large‑scale physical and digital collections. She has led major infrastructure and transformation programmes, is currently part of the teams establishing a heritage science laboratory supported by UK research investment, and the development of a long‑term Screen Archive of the Future programme, to address challenges alongside BFI’s strategic objectives to reframe the public’s relationship with the Nation’s Screen Heritage, and to make the BFI National Archive the most open moving image archive in the world.
Across her career, she has held senior leadership roles with accountability for people, budgets, governance, and risk, and has contributed at board and committee level to organisational performance, assurance, and pay. She is particularly committed to building resilient heritage services — strengthening governance, investing in skills and workforce development, and working in partnership across the cultural and research sectors through collaborative and pragmatic approaches: focused on delivering sustainable outcomes, earning trust, and ensuring that moving image heritage remains accessible, relevant, and secure for future generations.