Museums Sheffield is to make around 44 staff redundant, including its chief executive, following the loss of £800,000 in annual grant funding from the Arts Council.

The Museum’s chief executive, Nick Dodd, applied for voluntary redundancy this week. Around 21 posts marked for redundancy will come to an end by 31 March 2012, while transitional funding of £341,000 from the Arts Council will allow 23 further redundancies to be temporarily pushed back into the late summer, as well as the continuation of the fundraising post for another 12 months.

The Museum’s most accounts for 2010/11 show it had around 117 staff and an income of £6m. Its planned job cuts means its employees will be cut by over a third.

Dodd joined Museums Sheffield in 2002 as its second chief executive. His departure forms part of a wide-ranging re-structure and scaling back of the organisation as it adjusts to both the loss of £800,000 of annual grant funding from 1 April this year and significant other cost pressures.

Dodd said: “I would like to have left the organisation at a time when its future funding was more secure. However, I know from experience how resilient Museums Sheffield is, and I have no doubt that it will strive to come back from this loss of funding. I now look forward to ensuring a new chief executive is in place to lead this process from the summer.”