The Sedgwick Museum is currently undertaking a major relocation of its rock collections (approximately 12,000 drawers, 400,000 specimens) from the Atlas Building at High Cross, Cambridge to the Museum’s new purpose-built geological collection store adjacent to the Museum’s AG Brighton Building on Madingley Rise. The move is led by the Collections Manager with support from the Collections team and is estimated to take at least 15 months. The Collections Project Assistant role will provide essential support to that team during the move, and enable volunteers to contribute effectively to the project.
The Collections Project Assistant will provide practical and organisational support to the Collections Manager during the relocation of the geological collections. They will ensure that the collections are relocated and documented with a high degree of accuracy and timeliness, and will motivate volunteers to contribute to the same goals. The Collections Project Assistant will carry out essential documentation and collections care, under the guidance of the Museum’s Collections Manager and the Conservator, transporting pallet loads of specimen drawers between buildings using a 3.5T box van with tail lift. They will contribute to public and stakeholder engagement both face-to-face, by giving tours and other activities, and online through blogs and social media.
The collections of the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences are some of the most important geological collections in the world, comprising more than two million fossils, rocks and minerals representing 300 years of collecting, from Enlightenment Cabinets of Curiosities to specimens collected in the field by some of today’s leading researchers. The Museum welcomes more than 150,000 public visitors a year and delivers popular public programmes and outreach. The Museum’s priorities include reaching a larger and more diverse public audience, increasing and enhancing the support we provide to researchers and students, and taking a lead in the regional and national museums sector. The Museum is also an active member of the University of Cambridge Museums consortium, and as such the appointee will be part of a wider network of museum professionals in Cambridge.
The University and the Museum are committed to equality and diversity and encourage applications from any potential appointee, especially from under-represented groups. The Department of Earth Sciences, of which the Museum is a part, has an action plan to promote inclusivity in both the work and study environment. The University holds an institutional Athena-SWAN silver award and the Department is a bronze award holder. Details of some of the family-friendly policies operated by the University are at: http://www.hr.admin.cam.ac.uk/pay-benefits/cambens-employeebenefits/fami.... The Museum is also an active member of the University of Cambridge Museums consortium, and as such the appointee will be part of a wider network of museum professionals in Cambridge.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 15 months in the first instance.