Senior Curatorial Assistant

Yale Center for British Art – Senior Curatorial Assistant in Prints & Drawings

Application deadline: Not specified (open until filled)
Position type: Full-time
Salary: $31.83/hour
Eligibility: Bachelor’s degree in a related field and two years of related work experience, or an equivalent combination; MA in art history, museum studies, or related field preferred
Work permit / citizenship: Not specified. US citizenship or a valid US work permit may be required. Please check with the employer.

About the Role

Working independently under the guidance of the Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Yale Center for British Art (YCBA), the Senior Curatorial Assistant provides a high level of support and oversight to the administrative and curatorial functions of the department. This includes exhibitions, acquisitions, and loans; collection care and documentation; coordination of meetings and schedules; and supporting the department’s clerical, budgetary, and administrative functions.

Key Responsibilities:

Administrative Duties

• Acts as the departmental liaison and point of contact; coordinates collections care, administrative and office activities
• Schedules meetings and creates agendas, attends relevant meetings, takes notes and compiles minutes; provides follow-up for relevant tasks discussed at meetings
• Answers departmental emails and enquiries; answers and screens telephone calls; writes, edits, and tracks correspondence; assists with visitors of all kinds
• Organizes, tracks, and maintains departmental administrative documentation and files
• Maintains lists, keeps track of status updates, and assists in preparation of paperwork and documentation for ongoing departmental business, including for outgoing loans and acquisitions in progress
• Manages a range of clerical activities, including: orders and maintains an inventory of supplies; tracks budgets, processes payments and expenses; completes forms; composes and proofreads correspondence; occasionally makes travel arrangements
• Performs clerical functions incidental to museum activities

Collection Care

• Oversees and manages Prints and Drawings collection storage, ensuring secure, organized, and appropriate conditions
• Retrieves, refiles, and tracks movement of Prints and Drawings objects for the purpose of loans, exhibitions, conservation, imaging, and departmental needs
• Maintains Prints and Drawings collection storage: rehouses and reorganizes collection objects as needed; identifies and applies appropriate storage conditions, housing, and locations for new acquisitions; reports potential conservation concerns to curators and conservators; participates in periodic inventories of the collection
• Assists in preparation of loans from the collection: retrieves objects requested for loan; moves where needed; and tracks their movement; schedules review of works with curators and conservators; coordinates and tracks movement of objects for review, treatment, matting, and framing
• Coordinates imaging requests and prepares works for imaging
• Liaises with Conservation about collections care needs

Collection and Exhibition Support

• Undertakes cataloguing and research of objects in the collection
• Prepares and maintains object files and other documentation for the Prints and Drawings collection
• In consultation with the curators, researches and responds to public requests for information about the Prints and Drawings collection
• Assists curators in planning and organization of exhibitions and gallery displays, including conducting bibliographic, thematic, and object research; creating and updating illustrated checklists; retrieving, refiling, and tracking movement of objects; handling database entry; assisting with updates of gallery plans and layouts; writes object labels and social media posts as assigned

Study Room and Other

• Liaises with staff in the Study Room to coordinate, schedule, organize, and undertake the movement of collections items to and from relevant locations at YCBA
• Assists in the Study Room, including the retrieval and reshelving of objects for researchers, invigilation, and preparation for classes, as needed
• May participate in the routine training of regular, student, and casual workers in their duties as needed
• May represent the Prints and Drawings department on YCBA committees and working groups
  Performs other related duties as needed

Requirements:

Essential

• Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills
• Demonstrated organizational and administrative skills, attention to detail, accuracy, and ability to collaborate
• Ability to juggle multiple tasks and meet demanding deadlines
• Excellent computer skills (advanced proficiency in Microsoft suite); ability to efficiently learn new digital platforms
• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent historical, art historical, and bibliographic research

Preferred

• MA in history of art, museum studies, or related field, and in a relevant area of study
• Two years of experience working in an art museum or similar organization
• Demonstrated ability to work independently in administrative and curatorial capacity
• Concentration in British art and demonstrated experience working with a prints and drawings collection preferred

What the Post Offers:

• Opportunity to work at a world-renowned institution, the Yale Center for British Art
• Engagement with a distinguished collection of prints and drawings
• Collaborative work environment with curators, conservators, and other museum professionals
• Access to Yale University’s extensive resources and academic community
• Opportunities for professional development within a leading museum setting

This call has been edited for formatting purposes.

Image credits: