Assistant Curator

About Us

Chatsworth House Trust

Chatsworth House Trust (CHT) is a charity, established in 1981 to care for the House, Collections, and Ground, working closely with the Devonshire family and governed by a Board of Trustees, chaired by Lord Burlington. CHT responsibilities comprise the lease of a Grade 1 listed house and stables, a 105 acre garden, a 1822 acre park as well as caring for one of Europe's most significant art collections - the Devonshire Collection. Today over 600,000 visitors visit Chatsworth House and Gardens, as well as thousands more, to the surrounding woods and parkland. There is a vibrant learning and engagement programme, underpinned by research and conservation, and a commitment to demonstrate that Chatsworth is more than a house, it is a place of creativity and community.

The Devonshire Collections

The Devonshire Collections at Chatsworth is one of the most extensive and significant privately held family and estate collections in the UK - much of which is on loan to the charity for public display. Accumulated and grown by the family over 500 years the collections contains objects of national and international significance.

The collections are a central part of the Devonshire Groups' story. Not only are they central to the visitor experience at Chatsworth, they play a key role in the brand of Chatsworth, the family and their wider estates and businesses. They provide a central information hub for the history of the family and opportunities for research and partnership working on projects to widen the understanding and deepen the engagement with the collection, and build on a higher profile for the collection, both nationally and internationally. This is complemented by an extensive loans programme to other galleries, museums and houses across the world.

The Devonshire Group

Chatsworth House Trust is a significant part of the Devonshire Group which comprises the Devonshire family interests, charities and businesses throughout the UK and Ireland, including Chatsworth, which sits within the Derbyshire Estate, the Bolton Abbey Estate in North Yorkshire, the Lismore Estate in County Waterford, and the Compton Estate in Sussex.

The group is committed to benefitting heritage, people and a shared future, by preserving, restoring and enhancing their heritage assets, by being a significant contributor to their communities and by being seen as a leader in the way they do things.

About the role

An exceptional opportunity awaits someone keen to develop their curatorial career within our friendly Collections at Chatsworth, working on one of the most significant Collections in this country. In this role, you will support the Senior Curator to achieve agreed curatorial objectives, offering your curatorial expertise across the collections to a diverse audience including colleagues, the Cavendish Family, and other cultural professionals. You will respond to collection-related enquiries, and oversee and chaperone collection researchers and visitors as needed.

Guided by the Senior Curator, you will actively develop and support the creation and delivery of range of access activities. These will include publications, lectures, events, partnerships and more with the aim of raising the profile and maximising the reach of the Devonshire Collections.

A central aspect of this role involves the documentation and the creation of high-quality records on the Collections Management Database (Emu-col). In this role, you will play an instrumental part in the drive to create a step-change in the pace and quality of cataloguing and future shaping of the collections.

This is a full time permanent position Monday to Friday, however; flexibility is required to attend occasional out of hour's events, meetings, exhibitions and courier duties (UK and oversees)

About you

We'd love to hear from you if you have:

• Degree in a relevant subject.
• Excellent knowledge and experience of documentation issues and collections care standards.
• Experience of working in museum or historic house environment.
• Experience of Collection Management Systems and excellent IT skills.
• Object handling experience
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Please refer to the attached job description for further details.

You must be willing to undergo a Basic Disclosure and ideally have a full-driving license

In return

We pride ourselves on our commitment to building friendly and efficient teams who are focused on delivering exceptional customer service. We are committed to ensuring the happiness and wellbeing of our staff and as such offer fantastic benefits, which include:

• Working in the beautiful surroundings of Chatsworth House and the Derbyshire Estate.
• Excellent personal development and career opportunities.
• Free entry to the Chatsworth and Bolton Abbey Estates, in addition to the Chatsworth Country Fair and many other events.
• Membership of the Life Assurance Scheme.
• Competitive annual leave (and opportunity to buy more).
• Free on-site parking.
• Employee assistance programme.
• Wellness calendar of events.
• Subsidised sports massage.
• Discount in our retail, catering and hotel establishments
• Annual staff and children's parties.

Our core values include "Being Inclusive" and we particularly welcome applications from disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates who are currently under-represented. We also welcome applicants from the LGBTQ+ community. Requests for flexible working will always be considered.