Curator

The National Trust has significantly invested in curatorship, increasing the number of curators and developing our capability and confidence across the organisation. You will help deliver world class curatorship to some of the most important buildings, collections and landscapes in the country.

Curators at the Trust are influential and collaborative, working with a wide range of people and using their deep knowledge and understanding to influence care for our collections and places, develop research agendas and create high quality, dynamic presentation, interpretation and programming.

What it’s like to work here

Curators in the South West region work with a rich variety of properties, from historic houses and collections to coastal landscapes and fabulous gardens. There are many opportunities to bring your skills and experience into different and perhaps new contexts. The role has two property portfolios, each under a General Manager. In south Somerset is the Elizabethan masterpiece of Montacute and the atmospheric Barrington Court. The English Riviera grouping includes Agatha Christie’s Greenway and the 1920’s elegance of Coleton Fishacre. Curating in the National Trust is varied and fulfilling, with many opportunities to make a significant impact at properties for our visitors. We welcome applicants with specialisms, although all curatorial roles require working with historic buildings, collections, gardens and landscapes.

What you’ll be doing

The role of the Curator in the Trust has huge variety. The portfolios you support may include country houses and their collections, but also gardens, landscapes and vernacular buildings. You’ll work with everything from farm equipment to musical instruments to old masters, the Trust’s collections in many areas being amongst the finest in the world.

As well as supporting a diverse portfolio of properties, as Curator you’ll need to build strong and influential relationships with specialists and operational teams. You’ll be a skilled communicator and able to enthuse and inspire others.

You’ll ensure that everything we do balances our need to conserve our heritage, with our need to continue to enhance our emotional engagement with visitors, whilst retaining our “Spirit of Place” that makes each property unique.

Please also read the full role profile on our website.

Who we’re looking for

In order to be successful in this role you’ll need to have:

• Experience of building relationships and of working collaboratively with a range of internal and external stakeholders in order to deliver curatorial outcomes
• Significant knowledge across two or more of the following areas: history, art history, landscape, archaeology, architectural history, gardens/parks
• Successful track record of leading high quality and creative interpretation, presentation and programming
• Experience of commissioning, undertaking and disseminating research
• Knowledge of current best practice in relation to care and management of buildings, landscapes, and collections care including Museum Accreditation standards
• The ability to work in a matrix organisation, at pace and with a high workload

The package

Read more about the benefits we offer to support you here www.nationaltrustjobs.org.uk/supporting-you/

Benefits include flexible working whenever possible plus free parking at most locations. You’ll be entitled to discounts in high street stores and cinemas, National Trust shops and NT cafes, and have free entry to NT properties for you, a guest and your children (under 18).

Your health and wellbeing is important to us and is supported through generous annual leave and the option to buy additional days (minimum contract length applies), a cycle to work scheme, subsidised health cash plan and confidential access to a free support service 24 hours a day should you need it.

Your future financial health is helped by an employer matched – up to 10% of basic salary – contributory pension scheme and you can further your career with training and development tailored to you.

All of this and the opportunity to give something back to your community with up to 5 days of paid volunteering per year!

For further information and to apply, please follow: https://careers.nationaltrust.org.uk/OA_HTML/a/?_ga=2.148717553.797877092.1547549586-1119053621.1547549586#/vacancy-detail/74315

Closing date: 04 February 2019