Science Museum Group
Collections Care Assistant (21 hours, FTC to March 2028)
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Looking to build your collections care career in the world's first railway town?
About the role
Locomotion in Shildon sits in the world's first railway town, on the site where the first steam-hauled passenger train left for Stockton in 1825. Today we care for the national collection of rail vehicles here, alongside a group of Grade II listed buildings that includes Soho Shed. Since New Hall opened in 2024, close to 100 vehicles have been on display - the largest undercover collection of historic rail vehicles in Europe - and the bicentenary has brought record numbers of visitors through the site.
We are looking for a Collections Care Assistant to join our Collections Care team during this busy and exciting time. You will be involved in a wide variety of conservation and collections care activities, including environmental monitoring, integrated pest management and conservation cleaning, as well as condition reporting, data management and recording. This role offers performance development and training opportunities.
This is a part-time role of 21 hours per week, offered on a fixed term contract to March 2028. The salary is £24,479 full time equivalent, which is £14,687 pro rated for 21 hours. We're flexible about how those hours are worked across the week and will agree a pattern with you when you join. In the early months we'd expect your days to line up with our Senior Conservator's, so you get the training and support you need on site, and once you're settled there's real scope to shape the pattern around what works for you.
About you
We're keen to see applications from candidates who already have some experience of working with historic collections and want to build on it. That might have come through a museum or heritage role, volunteering with a collection, a conservation course, or hands-on work with historic objects or machinery elsewhere. We're less concerned with how you got that experience than with what you'd bring to it: care, curiosity and a methodical approach - the kind of person who notices when something has changed, records it properly, and asks when they're not sure. Good attention to detail, confidence with Word, Excel and Outlook for recording and updating information, and clear communication with the people around you will serve you well here.
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We're also open to developing people. You'll be working alongside our Collections Care team with training and day-to-day support from our Senior Conservator, so there's real scope to grow your skills in object handling, conservation cleaning, environmental monitoring, integrated pest management and condition assessment. There's a lot of work to do across the site and the time to do it properly - we'd much rather you took the time to get things right than rushed. If you're early in your collections career and looking for somewhere to build practical experience with a significant national collection, we'd like to hear from you.
Don't feel you meet all the criteria? We welcome you to apply even if your experience doesn't match directly. With your transferable skills, you could be the right candidate for this, or other opportunities that we have.
Applying
View the Vacancy Information Pack listed under 'Attachments' on the vacancy listing on our website for more details about the role and the application process or click 'Apply Online' to apply.
What we offer
Working with a world-leading museum group that offers access to truly unique environments and collections, you'll benefit from the perks listed below, as well as full support for life events such as parental and adoption leave, sickness, and career breaks.
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- Meaningful work. We're a mission-led organisation where the work you do supports us in Inspiring Futures.
- Career growth. We offer enhanced support with personal and professional development.
- Work/life balance. We offer 27 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays, along with flexible policies which support you and your home life.
- Wellbeing. All our colleagues can access an employee assistance programme, access to the Unmind app, and other wellbeing support.
- Colleague networks. Our colleague-led networks are an informal forum for colleagues to come together to discuss topics of shared interest and lived experience. They create a space for people to exchange ideas, discuss best practice, socialise and build a sense of community.
- Enhanced contributory pension. To support you in saving for the future.
- Interest-free loans. When you need a little extra cash for life events or home improvements.
- Great discounts. Free entry to exhibitions, discounts in our shops, cafes, and access to other museums in the NMDC network.
Open for All is one of the Science Museum Group's five core values and sets out our important aspiration to be a place for everyone. We are working hard to understand our organisation better and to develop a culture that recognises and values different backgrounds, mindsets, skills, experience, knowledge, and expertise. By having greater diversity, we believe that we will be a stronger and better organisation, capable to continue to Inspire Futures.
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