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Senior Curator - Collections, Kirklees Council, Museums & Galleries

  •  Yorkshire
  •  Â£30k-40k
  •  Full time
  •  Closes October 5, 2025
  •  Danny Sheehan
  •  danny.sheehan@kirklees.gov.uk
  • #Museums
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Description

Job Summary

Lead collections transfer team as Kirklees prepares for major relocation of collections and the development of a new museum and gallery as part of Our Cultural Heart, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

Job Description

Your role will focus on the major programme of collections preparation necessary for the delivery of the Phase 2 Museum and Art Gallery, particularly relating to the detailed documentation and transfer of collections. You will lead a team of 3 Assistant Curators (OCH Collections) to support this process until planned completion in 2029. Initially your team will focus on the inventory, packing and relocation of collections at Tolson Museum in Huddersfield. Later, the focus will shift to research, discrepancy checking and working with exhibition curators to identify objects for new displays.

Working with the wider KMAG team and OCH Project Officer, you will focus on the detailed and technical aspects of the documentation and relocation of a collection of around 200,000 objects currently in store and on display. As well as being a complex logistical challenge, it will involve practical, hands-on work in compact and sometimes challenging spaces that will require manual dexterity and a proactive approach to collections care.

This is a unique opportunity to work on a wide-ranging collection, bring fascinating objects to light and help to showcase them in our new town centre museum and art gallery development. You will also make a significant progress with our documentation backlog working with undocumented and unidentified objects.

Your work will inform the wider OCH team responsible for a public engagement programme, the development of exhibition content and design, and later fit out and installation stages of the new galleries.

We are looking for a highly motivated and experienced professional to support this major high-profile project through development stages to completion. This will involve significant and skilled planning and delivery of museum sector processes in line with Arts Council England Accreditation at every stage.

Please see Job Profile and Focus Sheet for full details.

Job Requirements

Fully conversant with Museum Collections management policy and practice.

Experience of curating exhibitions and working in project teams.

Experience of working with museum or gallery related collections.

Experience of collections management systems in a heritage setting.

Educated to degree level or equivalent

Relevant post-graduate training and/or Associate Membership of the Museums Association

Demonstrate a clear understanding of Health and Safety issues relating to museum collections.

Knowledge of the issues involved with the effective care and preservation of museum collections.

Knowledge of museum documentation standards and systems of collections management.

Subject-specific knowledge in an area of history and museum collections including human history, and/or art, archaeology, or natural sciences.

Knowledge of funding structures and opportunities for income generation.

Ability to initiate, deliver and sustain strategies involving a range of partners.

Job Responsibilities

Key areas of responsibility

  • An effectively managed museum & gallery collection with appropriate professional standards of collections care and security, collections management systems, policies, and documentation procedures to Accreditation Standard.
  • A programme of collections development activity involving acquisitions, disposals, and loans in line with the Collections Development Policy.
  • An efficient information and enquiry service on the collections and collections management-related matters for the public and to colleagues.
  • Accessible collections, promoted through a range of media including websites, social media, exhibitions, events, and public programming.

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How to Apply

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