Curatorial Assistant

Salary - £16,411.20 - £17,399.40 per annum based on the full time equivalent of £27,352.00 - £28,999.00 per annum
Part time - 24 hours, 3 days per week
12 months FTC

Role Purpose:

The National Portrait Gallery houses a unique collection of all forms of portraiture of the people who have made or are currently contributing to British history and culture; the collection is the most comprehensive of its kind in the world. With around 2 million visitors each year prior to temporary closure for the Inspiring People project and a strong national and international presence through touring exhibitions and special projects, the Gallery is one of the country’s most important and popular galleries.

The Curatorial Assistant will support the work of the National Portrait Gallery’s curatorial team in the development, care, presentation and interpretation of the Gallery’s Collections and of the exhibition and displays programme. We are looking for an organised, self-motivated and responsive individual with an interest in art and history who will work on a variety of administrative tasks, often working in collaboration with other Gallery departments.

The post holder will report to the Cross-Collections Curator, and will work with colleagues in the two curatorial teams: Tudor to Regency and Victorian to Contemporary.

Key Accountabilities:

• Act as a point of contact for the Curatorial department, responding to enquiries and re-routing these as appropriate.
• Assisting Heads of Curatorial with diary management, desk and meeting room bookings, managing deadlines and tabling activities across the whole department.
• Support individual curators as requested in undertaking curatorial project related work; including the administration of and preparation for displays, exhibitions, talks and events and making changes to interpretation in the galleries.
• Assisting with the preparation of internal and external documents such as Excel spreadsheets, database reports, PowerPoint presentations including sourcing images, and grant applications for curatorial research projects.
• Supporting the production of labels for works of art, including fact-checking, proof-reading and updating the interpretation database with edited text.
• Undertaking research to support the Curatorial team where requested e.g into provenance, new acquisitions and exhibitions development as required.
• Supporting all curatorial input into the Gallery’s intranet, website and social media accounts, co-ordinating with colleagues in other Gallery departments.
• Assisting the Joint Heads of Curatorial and Collections Management in preparing papers and taking minutes for various departmental meetings.
• Assisting departmental colleagues with the administrative aspects of recruitment processes, as well as the management of volunteer and intern posts.
• To log and assist with basic public research enquiries where they relate to the Gallery’s Collection in liaison with colleagues in the Gallery’s Heinz Archive and Library.
• Supporting curatorial staff to schedule internal training as appropriate and to assist with travel research and booking on behalf of curators, working with the Gallery’s travel agent.
• Providing general administrative support to the Curators and undertake any other ad hoc duties necessary for the smooth running of the Curatorial Office, including occasionally providing refreshments for meetings and departmental trips.

The above list is indicative but not exhaustive. As such, in addition to the key accountabilities and responsibilities listed the post holder may be required to perform other duties commensurate with the scope and/or level of the role

To read the full job description, please follow the link: Curatorial Assistant Job Description

Key Experience, Skills and Criteria:

• Previous experience working in an office environment, ideally in an arts or heritage organisation
• Educated to degree-level, ideally in a related field – Art History or History and with an interest in British History
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent organisational and planning skills, coupled with good self-motivation, the ability to work calmly under pressure, meet tight deadlines and retain excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to collaborate and work flexibly and effectively with a variety of internal and external stakeholders, each with differing expectations and modes of working.
• Excellent computer literacy with the ability to work with a variety of IT packages (Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.) and to generate image spreadsheets from collections databases.
• A willingness to develop new approaches, learn new skills and review the effectiveness of current work
• A strong commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion with the ability to balance differing needs

We offer a competitive benefits package, including:

• Generous pension scheme
• 27 days annual leave allowance, in addition to bank holidays
• Interest free season ticket and bicycle loans
• Rental deposit scheme
• Membership of the Civil Service Sports & Leisure club
• Access to independent, low cost healthcare schemes
• Employee assistance programme
• Free entry to many UK museums, galleries and exhibitions
• Staff discounts on purchases in online shop
• Professional & personal development opportunities

Closing date for returned applications is 9:00am on the 31st of July, 2024.

First round interviews will take place the week commencing the 12th of August, 2024, in person.

Please indicate on the notes section of your application form, if you will be unable to make these dates.

We are committed to the employment and development of disabled people. When assessing and shortlisting our candidate pool for interviews, we are committed to removing any bias through our process to ensure all individuals with a disability are included. To be invited to the interview stage, you must show through your application that you meet the minimum criteria and/or the desirable skills required for the role. If you tell us that you have a disability we can make reasonable adjustments at interview, and, if you join us, to your work arrangements.