Jobs Archive
Project Archivist – Buckland Archive
Oxford University Museum of Natural History is seeking to appoint a Project Archivist to work exclusively on the unique and rare Buckland Archive.
Following a recent acquisition, OUMNH is now home to the largest and most important collections of material relating to pioneering geologist, William Buckland (1784-1856). The Buckland Archive consists of correspondence, geological notes and family papers, notebooks, watercolours, prints and photographs.
The Unearthing the Buckland Archive Project will see the cataloguing of the complete archive of William Buckland. Working to a strict deadline, you will be responsible for arranging, cataloguing and repacking the Buckland Archive. This will include creating an ISAD(G) compliant catalogue, supervising volunteers, participating in displays and a temporary exhibition, and communicating the project both internally to the museum and externally to members of the public and other stakeholders.
The successful candidate will be flexible, use their initiative to move the project forward, and have a recognised qualification in archive administration, or equivalent training and experience.
This is a full-time, fixed-term contract, working 37.5 hours per week for 18 months.
This role includes hazards or safety-critical activities – further information can be found in the Job Description and Selection Criteria. This role is subject to a satisfactory basic Disclosure and Barring Service check.
You will be required to upload your CV and a supporting statement as part of your online application. Your supporting statement should list each of the essential and desirable selection criteria, as listed in the job description, and explain how you meet each one.
Our staff and students come from all over the world, and we proudly promote a friendly and inclusive culture. Diversity is positively encouraged, through diverse groups and champions, as well as a number of family-friendly policies, such as the right to apply for flexible working and support for staff returning from periods of extended absence, for example, shared parental leave.
University employees are also eligible to join the relevant pension scheme for their role. Further information on the University’s staff benefits for both work and personal life can be found here: https://hr.admin.ox.ac.uk/staff-benefits
We aim to provide a supportive working environment and are happy to discuss training and professional development opportunities. The Chair of this recruitment panel will be Danielle Czerkaszyn, Librarian and Archivist, who can be contacted with enquiries relating to the role (danielle.czerkaszyn@oum.ox.ac.uk). General queries about the recruitment and application process should be directed to the Recruitment team within our Human Resources department (recruitment@ashmus.ox.ac.uk).
Only applications received online by 12.00 midday (BST/GMT) on Monday 15 January 2024 can be considered. Interviews are expected to take place during week commencing Monday 22 January 2024.
Negaunee Curatorial Preparator
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 looking for an enthusiastic, passionate, skilled individual to join our Vertebrate Biology preparator team to prepare high-quality research specimens for our collections.
About the Negaunee Curatorial Preparator role:
The Negaunee Curatorial Preparator at National Museums Scotland will be required to prepare vertebrate animal specimens for the research collections as skins, skeletons, wet specimens, etc., and to take samples for analyses as required.
The post holder will work full time for a contract period of two years with the possibility of renewal subsequently.
As a Negaunee Curatorial Preparator at National Museums Scotland you will:
- Be responsible for the transport, preparation and conservation of individual zoological specimens
- Present short talks and demonstrations, and working with National and International Programmes and Learning and Engagement Departments within National Museums Scotland
- Maintain supplies database, researching new suppliers and ordering taxidermy supplies when required
- Record and update specimen data as required by applying expert knowledge of the subject and collections to create and improve National Museums’ documentation programmes.
Skills and experience we’re looking for in our Negaunee Curatorial Preparator:
- Proven experience in specimen preparation
- Proficient in using documentation procedures and data entry into database packages or spreadsheets
- Knowledge of vertebrate anatomy
- Good communication skills e.g., presenting short talks and dealing with internal and external people.
- Hiring the right person for the right job is everything to us. We want to encourage you to apply if you think this is the role for you
Digitisation Curator - New Acquisitions
We are seeking to appoint a part-time Digitisation Curator for New Acquisitions. Reporting to the Digital Collections New Acquisitions Manager, the postholder will use their in-depth knowledge of herbarium collections and curation procedures to help develop the new workflow for the digitisation of incoming material. This role will be essential in ensuring procedures meet the curatorial statutory obligations and can be implemented smoothly into day-to-day curatorial activities by highlighting areas where workflows could be problematic, suggesting and testing improvements.
Museum Experience Internship
This is a unique opportunity to gain meaningful and valuable experience of the types of work activities that take place in a museum environment. This internship has been designed to give an individual the chance to try out areas of museum work, including public engagement, evaluation, collections management and learning in a museum environment. From this, the intern will be equipped with an understanding of what area of museum work they are most interested in.
The internship will include:
Research and development of a family trail for the Cambridge Festival themed around the temporary exhibition on skeletons
Research, developing and assisting with the delivery of tabletop activities as part of family events in the Museum
Assisting with public events, including Twilight at the Museums; Cambridge Festival and Young Zoologists Club workshops
Assisting with the administration of family resources including the small library of zoology books for early readers and volunteer handling activities in the gallery
Collection and collation of evaluation from public events and family resources in the gallery
Assisting the front of house team, including occasional invigilation of the galleries, time on reception answering visitor queries, helping the volunteer coordinator with inductions and other volunteer liaison and communication
Work in the collections, including data input into the collections database and assisting with the organisation and labelling of specimens in the stores
Collections Support Officer
The Gardens are in a period of change and have recently secured a Round 1 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant towards a £14m capital project. The project aims to restore the historic glasshouses, upgrade site infrastructure and displays and improve the visitor experience for all. The postholder will support the Director of Horticulture and Curation in managing the Living Collections plant records (currently held in a BG-Base data management system) which, will significantly improve day-to-day horticultural operation at BBG during the Development and Delivery phases of the project and beyond. This post is critical for bringing the plants in our gardens to life for the people of Birmingham and safeguarding the plant collections for the next 200 years.
To apply, please send a CV and a covering letter to:
jobs@birminghambotanicalgardens.org.uk
Closing date for applications: We are currently accepting applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled
Moves Conservator, NHM Unlocked
Working with teams across the NHM Unlocked Programme particularly Curatorial staff, Collection Moves Assistants, Digitisation team and Project Managers you will develop conservation-based recommendations for specimen protection. Your role will involve working closely with curatorial staff to identify specimens with complex needs and to develop packaging and transport requirements. You will design and test specimen support systems and assist with the design of more general protection for standardized collection drawers. You will establish and oversee stabilisation and remedial treatment projects for specimens, and will advise on specimen handling protocols and associated equipment required for large, heavy and/or complex specimens.
Main Responsibilities
- Carry out and advise on remedial treatments for complex specimens including condition reporting.
- Develop generic treatment and stabilisation documentation for sign off by curators.
- Line management of up to 4 Conservation Move Assistants
- Manage small project teams including work planning and co-ordination.
- Undertake condition surveys of a wide variety of natural history collections, with a view to prioritising remedial conservation workloads.
- Co-ordinate and supervise Conservation Moves Assistants in surveying and stabilisation techniques.
- Coordinate setting up workspaces within collection or adjacent areas (mini lab spaces) to carry out remedial conservation treatments and stabilisation works essential for safe relocation of specimens.
- Assist with workshops/training and preparation of guidelines.
- Assist with the production of guidelines for collection preparation, hazards and transport.
- Assist with the preparation of guidelines for decanting specimens at TVSP and manage the removal of temporary storage materials ensuring specimens are stored safely in their new collection furniture.
- Liaise with and advise external specialist moving companies to pack and move complex specimens.
- Undertake materials testing.
Assistant Keeper Grade II – Natural History
The National Museum of Ireland is seeking applications from suitable candidates to fill the post of Assistant Keeper Grade II – Natural History. This is a full-time permanent position and will be filled by open competitive interviews.
The post-holder will act as a curator, with specific responsibility for assisting the Keeper in the operation of the Division and delivery of services. This will be during a time of major capital project work in the NMI, involving collections moves, building refurbishment, exhibition development, and the development of public and specialist biodiversity services.
The Assistant Keeper Grade II will have day-to-day responsibility for specific collections within the Natural History Division. A responsibility of this role will include supporting biodiversity research services, including provision of access for taxonomic research, and collaboration with 3rd level institutions, the National Biodiversity Data Centre and other relevant organisations. This will include a focus on mobilising historic data from the collections. The post-holder will also be responsible for supporting exhibition maintenance and supporting colleagues in the delivery of public programmes in relation to education and learning.
Curator, Fossil Cnidaria
Embedded within Invertebrates and Plants Palaeobiology, this is a curatorial role in a world-renowned institution with a strong scientific mission and commitment to enhancing our research infrastructure.
The successful applicant will join a large science group composed of approximately 300 scientists. The NHM (Natural History Museum) houses some of the largest, most significant scientific collections in the world, which includes the internationally important natural history library, a suite of advanced analytical and imaging facilities, and offers the opportunity to contribute science to national and international audiences.
The Curator will be responsible for acquiring, curating, and making specimens within their area of responsibility in Fossil Invertebrates available to facilitate research, teaching, and exhibitions. These collections are frequently accessed by internal and external researchers and are used for the NHM’s public engagement activities, including permanent exhibitions, temporary and touring exhibitions, and outreach events for the general public and media.
Applications are open to candidates in the field of invertebrate palaeontology, with particular expertise in Fossil Corals.
Applications are open to candidates with collections expertise in invertebrate palaeontology.
Curator, Fossil Bryozoans, Sponges, Worms and Trace Fossils
Working within the Invertebrates and Plants Palaeobiology curatorial team, the Curator of Fossil Bryozoans, Sponges, Worms and Trace Fossils will have curatorial responsibility within the Natural History Museum’s historically important collection. The role will work closely with those responsible for the equivalent recent collections. The collections are frequently accessed by external researchers and are also used for the NHM’s public engagement activities, including income-generating exhibitions and events for the general public and media.
The curator will:
- Be responsible for collections management, development, care and identification of conservation needs within the named collections area
- Identify areas suitable for development and facilitate donations and acquisitions as appropriate
- Work closely with the NHM Unlocked delivery team to document, organise, sort and prepare the collections to ensure the move to a new site in Reading is both safe and beneficial for the fossil invertebrate collections
- Ensure best practice in collections care, understand approaches to due diligence and collections Registry policy such as Spectrum Museum standards and apply them to the area of responsibility
- Provide the information needed to maintain, develop, make accessible and use the collections, particularly by the development of digital records in the collections management system
- Facilitate research access to the collection and answer enquiries
- Contribute to scholarly outputs in appropriate outlets (journals, monographs, technical reports, scientific articles, etc)
- Seek and apply for funding to support projects
Senior Curator-Botanist (Africa)
This is an excellent opportunity to join the Herbarium Curation team in Science Collections as a Senior Curator-Botanist (Africa). The successful candidate will curate the Herbarium collections to a high standard, which includes processing new acquisitions, preparing loans, welcoming visitors and working with Kew's Integrated Collections Management System. In addition to this, the role includes facilitating access for our many visitors to the collections from around the world, identifying specimens collected from Africa and providing research support within Kew Science.
Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience) and with a proven background in a similar role with significant experience in curation, our ideal candidate will be a team player who can manage multiple priorities of the Africa Curation team, whilst being able to adapt to changing processes across curation. This position will also have the added flexibility to work across the geographical teams when needed providing management to curation projects during the New Herbarium planning. They will enjoy teamwork, and have some supervision, mentoring or management experience; have experience of working with herbarium specimens and be familiar working with databases and curation procedures.
This role is based at Kew with the option of regular home working, subject to operational requirements.