Description
Full-time, 41 hours per week Permanent £43,207 per annum Application deadline: 12pm (midday) on Monday 25 November 2024
About the role:
Presenting history through objects is key to all curatorial roles at the British Museum. The holder of this senior post in the Department of Britain, Europe & Prehistory will have a strong foundation in European history from 1800 to the present and an established track-record of questioning material culture to locate the histories of European peoples, places and events in their global, cultural, and historical contexts by working with museum professionals and other experts.
The jobholder needs some specialist knowledge of one or more categories of objects in the collection which encompasses decorative and applied arts, glass, gold, silver and other metalsmiths' work, industrial and studio ceramics, traditional textiles, basketry, and woodwork. Objects demonstrating the reception of earlier periods and other cultures, oftentimes relating to international archaeological milestones, are a particular strength. Judaica, the material culture of British and colonial administrations, artefacts made and used by traditional communities, and objects reflecting the experience of Europeans outside Europe form other elements. Objects in the permanent collection are documented and digitised. Their variety can be appreciated through searching Collection Online on the Museum's website.
About you:
- Good first degree in a relevant humanities subject, e.g. history, art history, social history, politics, anthropology
- Externally recognised authority in a relevant subject area
- Fluency in English and knowledge of another European/relevant language
- Experience of display, research, cataloguing, publication, and public speaking such as lectures, gallery talks or broadcast projects.
- Experience of digital and social media
- Experience of managing in curatorial or university context
- Experience managing and leading major research or curatorial project teams (desirable)
- Ability to lead with internal and external stakeholders across the museum and academic worlds (desirable)
Key areas of responsibility:
- To generate and lead new research projects in support of the Research and Display Strategies
- To lead major cross-museum permanent exhibition projects as part of the Museum's Masterplan to re-display the collections in the light of 21st century thinking with a greater focus on Empire and its legacies.
- To build the collections as necessary in support of the of the Acquisition Strategy and in relation to the Masterplan.
- To integrate traditional, regional and minority material cultures into these new displays to create a holistic view of European culture and the ways in which the modern world has both exploited and been inspired by traditional crafts.
- To document the collections to a high standard following best practice, cataloguing objects digitally on the collection database with image taking and uploading as necessary, as well as maintaining essential paper records.
- To work with the relevant teams within the museum on care of the collections, their s