Natural Sciences - Curatorial Development Programme

National Museums Northern Ireland is a non-departmental public body with responsibility for three national museums: the Ulster Museum, the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and the Ulster American Folk Park. Between them, the National Museums group is the largest visitor attraction in Northern Ireland and makes a significant contribution to cultural tourism.

Overall purpose of job:

As part of the senior organisational restructuring process in 2017 there is a commitment to recruit to six new curatorial posts - two each in art, history and science. Both art and history have benefited from the operation of a curatorial development programme in previous years which enabled the direct recruitment to curatorial posts in those areas, but natural sciences has not.
This programme is designed to identify and develop science curators for National Museums NI for the future.
The programme will provide training for two individuals in a range of key curatorial disciplines over a period of 18 months. On successful completion of the programme the two trainees will migrate to the posts as Curators of Natural Science at the F grade.
Programme participants will be involved in different aspects of curatorial work including documentation, research, digitisation, interpretation, web-based projects, displays and exhibitions and public engagement. They will also benefit from a broad mix of workplace-based training, workshops, learning forums, mentoring and self-directed study.
The programme will offer participants training in, and experience of, curatorial work, equip them with core museum skills and provide a good knowledge of the science collection.

Natural Sciences Collection

The Natural Sciences collections show a particular emphasis on the botany, geology and zoology of the north of Ireland but also include material of international provenance:
- Botany, an amalgamation of the Queen's University of Belfast herbarium and that of the former municipal museum as well as subsequent collecting
- Geology, comprising mostly Irish geological material (rocks, fossils and minerals), as well as gemstones and miscellaneous holdings such as microscope thin sections, micromounts and geological curiosities
- Zoology, consisting of terrestrial invertebrates (mainly insects and molluscs), marine invertebrates, vertebrates (mainly birds and mammals), and a collection of manuscripts, drawings and contemporary wildlife art paintings
- Related collections include early and rare natural sciences books, transparencies and photographs, and material generated through fieldwork.

Programme Outline
The development programme will incorporate the following curatorial areas of work, with differing emphases depending on the business needs and the schedule of activity.

The core areas that will be addressed by the programme are:
- Documentation
- Research
- Interpretation
- Digitisation
- Web and social media
- Display and exhibition
- Public engagement

Foundation module will include:
- An overview of the history and role of museums in society
- NMNI corporate indication - business plan and corporate strategy, site and collections orientation
- Information sessions on the breadth and strength of the national collections with curators
- Placement planning with mentor

Core skills module will include:
- Oral, written and technological communication
- Management information systems
- Financial and budgetary management
- Team working and project management

Collections skills module will include:
- Research
- Collections Care
- Documentation and collections management

Understanding the visitor experience will include:
- Audience research and evaluation
- Programming, including collection-based events
- Learning
- Interpretation and design
- Outreach and partnership working

The programme will offer participants a framework for Continuing Professional Development through involvement in a range of activities in the form of coaching, workshops, learning forums and seminars.
It is anticipated that all placements will be based at National Museums NI's headquarters at Cultra, with the requirement to travel to other sites, principally the Ulster Museum and Collections Store.
There may also be a requirement for occasional travel to other museums.