NMS21/91 – Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary History
Posted: 24/02/2022 16:41
Salary: £27,107 to £29,475 per annum
Location: National Museum Of Scotland, Chambers Street
Level: Curatorial
Deadline: 06/03/2022 23:59
Hours: 37.00
Benefits: membership of Civil Service pension scheme
Job Type: Permanent
National Museums Scotland is one of the leading museum groups in Europe. With one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world, we are responsible for the acquisition, preservation and display of a substantial part of Scotland’s cultural, historic and national heritage.
Millions of local and international visitors enjoy our four museums each year, and we also introduce our collections to a much wider audience than can physically visit our museums through, touring exhibitions, loans, community engagement, digital programmes and research.
Over the last decade, we have invested over £120 million in our sites and have more than doubled our visitor numbers, with over 3 million people now visiting our four museums. Alongside this, we have continued to transform how we communicate and engage with our audiences. 2019 has seen the completion of our Masterplan for the National Museum of Scotland with the opening of three new galleries dedicated to Ancient Egypt, East Asia and the Art of Ceramics.
Based at the National Museum of Scotland you will support the work of the Department of Scottish History and Archaeology, primarily within the Modern & Contemporary Section of the Department. This is a full-time permanent post currently based within the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The department’s collections are also stored and displayed at the National Museum Collection Centre, the National War Museum, Edinburgh and the National Museum of Rural Life, East Kilbride. The ability to travel between these sites is essential.
The modern and contemporary collections are representative of cultural, social, political, military and domestic history in Scotland from c.1750 to the present day. They include Scottish decorative arts, bagpiping, ethnology, and the material culture of working life, from ploughs to weavers’ tools. We hold extensive material representing military history and rural life, reflecting the strength of the foundational collections of the National War Museum and National Museum of Rural Life. Our contemporary collecting programme is focused on representing the twenty-first century with an emphasis on what is distinctive about Scotland in a globalised world, and of the regional and cultural diversity within the country.
Duties will include working on the collections, their documentation, storage and display, making them accessible to researchers and other visitors. You will work across the Department towards delivering our strategic priority projects, our loans, exhibitions and digitisation programmes.
With a degree in a related subject History, Art History, Museum Studies, or equivalent, you will have knowledge of working with modern & contemporary history collections.
You will be organised and methodical, with good verbal and written communication skills and ICT skills in Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel and Outlook. You should also have experience of managing your own time and workload, working to deadlines and handling multiple priorities. A driving licence is desirable.
Please see here for the full recruitment pack.
