Project Curator, South African Collections

Project Curator, Participatory Practice and South African Collections in Scottish Museums | Part Time | Fixed Term 12 Months
Salary: £36,932 to £40,123 (Pro Rata)
Hours: 17.5 hours per week (detail of working pattern to be agreed)
Location: National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh

National Museums Scotland is one of the leading museum groups in Europe with one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world.

As an organisation our values are Creative, Inclusive, Collaborative and Forward-thinking.

We are looking for enthusiastic, passionate, honest, service-driven individuals to join our Global Arts, Cultures & Design team.

Benefits of joining us as our Project Curator will include:
* Annually alongside your salary, National Museums Scotland contributes 28.97% of this towards you being a member of the Civil Service Pension Scheme
* A generous annual leave of 28.5 days, plus an additional 8 paid days public holidays. For part time staff annual leave and public holidays will be pro-rated to reflect your normal working hours.
* Cycle to Work scheme
* Free access to national (and international) museums and exhibitions
* Exclusive discounts on both local and national High Street and online retailers
* A range of wellbeing benefits including Employee Assistance Programme 24/7
* Flexible working options such as hybrid working, part time working, paid special leave, career breaks and unpaid leave
* Access to all the above and more from day one of employment.

To see more of our benefits please visit out dedicated benefits page on our careers portal.

About the Project Curator role:

We are now seeking an exceptional candidate to lead the development of community-led research and knowledge sharing methodologies around South African collections in Scottish museums. The successful candidate will be responsible for supporting collaborative engagements between community members and museum curators in Scotland and South Africa to develop scalable and transferable participatory practice methodologies, increasing meaningful community engagement and improving collections knowledge and management. This project is generously funded by a grant from Museums Galleries Scotland.

As a Project Curator at National Museums Scotland you will:
* Support digital remote and in-person community consultation and knowledge sharing events at museums in Scotland based on South African collections.
* Develop partnerships with Scottish museums
* Develop partnerships with descendent and diaspora communities in South Africa and Scotland
* Develop guidelines and training and prepare a final report for online publication

Skills and experience we’re looking for in our Project Curator:
* A relevant first degree or equivalent experience
* Experience of working with African collections and/or collection histories
* Experience of undertaking research
* Experience of working with communities
* Knowledge of and commitment to collection management best practice

Hiring the right person for the right job is everything to us. We want to encourage you to apply if you think this is the role for you.

Please be sure to view our recruitment pack for this role (available on our careers website: careers.nms.ac.uk) for full details of the position that may help with your application.

The closing date for this role is 13/04/2025. The Selection Event is likely to take place week commencing 28/04/2025.