One of the most respected museum leaders in the world who was brought in to steer the Scottish Government's troubled heritage agency into calmer waters is understood to be preparing to step down.
Sir Mark Jones was appointed by culture secretary Angus Robertson as the chair of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) in September last year following the resignation of its former chair Hugh Hall, who resigned several months before his tenure was due to end.
It is understood Sir Mark was considering leaving the role ahead of the election on May 7 but the Scottish Government persuaded him to remain in post until after polling day. One insider said he may be persuaded to stay on until a successor is found.
"He has found it very difficult. There are many people resistant to change," The Herald was told.
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The prospect of Sir Mark's departure will be a major blow for the Scottish Government with officials and ministers faced with finding a suitable successor to lead the crisis-hit quango.
Announcing his appointment last year, Mr Robertson said Sir Mark’s “wealth of leadership experience” made him the ideal candidate to lead HES at a time of change and opportunity for the organisation.
“Scotland has a unique and diverse historic environment that is internationally recognised and is a central part of all of our lives, enriches our communities and creates jobs,” he said.
“Sir Mark will take up the position at an exciting time of change for the organisation and I look forward to working with him and the board in delivering our national strategy for the historic environment.”
Sir Mark said he was honoured to take on the role and pledged to build on the organisation’s successes.
A press statement last autumn said his appointment as HES chair started on September 22, 2025 and would run until September 21, 2029.
He was seen as ideally-qualified to bring stability to HES after helping to tackle a major scandal at the British Museum.
HES is given £74 million a year to look after and promote more than 300 historic buildings and sites including Edinburgh and St Andrews castles, Linlithgow Palace and the neolithic Skara Brae settlement on Orkney.
But since last summer the organisation has been gripped by turmoil.
Its chief executive Katerina Brown, who was appointed in September 2024, went on sick leave in May last year returning in October.
She became the subject of a long-running investigation following a collective grievance complaint made by the agency's directors.
The Herald revealed on Tuesday the probe has been completed and Ms Brown does not face any disciplinary action following consideration of the findings by the HES board.
HES battled a series of leaks about working culture at the organisation, with Scotland on Sunday reporting last October that a complaint was made against a senior figure who allegedly “twerked” [a type of dance move] in front of actor Martin Compston at a corporate event at Edinburgh Castle.
In December, the public spending watchdog Audit Scotland slammed governance arrangements and instructed it to put strong controls in place to prevent fraud and ensure value for money after 'unacceptable' weaknesses were found in how the organisation was run.
Ms Brown's six month absence left the organisation without an "accountable officer" for a prolonged period meaning the agency could have been vulnerable to fraud, the report underlined. Auditor General Stephen Boyle later told a Holyrood committee the Scottish Government "should have acted sooner" to address leadership issues and the prolonged absence of the "accountable officer".
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The Herald revealed in February this year that after the Auditor General's criticism, HES launched reviews of 400 staff purchasing cards and overseas travel.
The British Museum was at the centre of one of the biggest crisis to hit the UK heritage sector after it emerged in August 2023 that 2,000 objects including ancient semi-precious stones and gold jewellery had disappeared from the museum's stores.
It later turned out the objects had been stolen, perhaps over several decades. The museum suspected a member of staff who was subsequently dismissed.
Sir Mark succeeded Hartwig Fischer, who resigned after the thefts emerged.
“Mark is one of the most experienced and respected museum leaders in the world, and he will offer the leadership and grip the Museum needs right now," said George Osborne, the former Tory Chancellor who is chair of the board of trustees at the British Museum as he unveiled Sir Mark as the British Museum's interim director in September 2023.
“We are both clear that his priorities are to accelerate the cataloguing of the collection, improve security, and reinforce pride in the curatorial mission of the museum."
Sir Mark, a graduate in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University who also undertook a MA in art history at the Courtauld Institute of Art, previously held positions as director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and at the National Museums of Scotland.
He is a former chairman of the National Trust for Scotland.
A spokeswoman for HES said: "Historic Environment Scotland does not speculate on internal matters. We remain focussed on delivering our statutory responsibilities and supporting Scotland’s historic environment."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "As previously stated, following his appointment by the culture secretary, Sir Mark Jones's priorities as chair are to ensure HES has the trust of the public and its partners.
"The culture secretary and the Scottish Government will continue to support him in this endeavour to resolve the leadership and governance issues that have been raised."
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