Curator (Engagement)

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract until December 2025

Grade: FC07

Salary: £31,179 – £38,950 per annum

Hours: 36 hours per week

Location: Kirkcaldy Galleries (base) and Bankhead Central, Glenrothes

Job Reference: ON000498

We are OnFife and as Fife’s largest cultural organisation we specialise in making jaws drop, hearts warm, eyes light up and imaginations run wild. We work with a huge range of partners, artists and creatives and our spaces are some of Fife’s favourite places. An ambitious leadership-oriented charity, we’re built on strong values, and those values make us who we are – Fearless, Inviting, Fair and Exciting.

We offer a local government pension scheme, generous holiday allowance and flexible working opportunities. If you need to travel for work, we can provide pool cars if you’re near head office or pay travel expenses so you are not out of pocket! Along with this, you can also access discounted gym/swim memberships and other employee benefits.

The Role

Thanks to a generous bequest to benefit Kirkcaldy Galleries, we have a fixed term full-time vacancy until December 2025 for a Curator (Engagement) within Cultural Heritage & Wellbeing to deliver our plans for the centenary of Kirkcaldy Galleries opening in 1925.

The postholder will report to the Collections Development Manager and will oversee the development and delivery of a programme of events, activities and exhibitions. They will work with key stakeholders, target groups and audiences – existing and new – celebrating the Galleries, Museum, collections and stories and creating new stories for the future.

Working closely with the Head of Cultural Heritage & Wellbeing, the Exhibitions & Community Engagement Manager and Operations staff at Kirkcaldy Galleries, the postholder will lead on and participate in steering groups, tactical teams and project meetings to engage key stakeholders and community groups in developing the programme. The postholder will be expected to develop knowledge of the collections, the history of Kirkcaldy Galleries and be open to testing new ways of working to interpret collections with a strong emphasis on co-curation and co-creation with target groups.

You can view the full job spec and the Cultural Heritage & Wellbeing team structure on our current vacancies page on our website.

We are open to discussing job share opportunities for this role.

About You

You will have experience of working in a museum, galleries, heritage or cultural context and will be able to apply professional standards of collections care and managing objects combined with essential experience of engaging diverse audiences with collections.

You will be able to manage multiple tasks, project plan and work with colleagues and key stakeholders to plan and deliver exhibitions and events.

You will bring awareness of sector developments in revealing the hidden stories behind collections and will have demonstrable experience of tackling challenging issues that stimulate debate and shine a new light on museum collections.

Flexibility will be required and travel throughout Fife e.g. attending meetings, visiting premises, engaging with stakeholders.

Kirkcaldy Galleries Centenary: KG100

Kirkcaldy Galleries and War Memorial were funded by John Nairn, Chairman of the largest linoleum manufacturer in Fife, to commemorate his son Ian Couper Nairn and all those from the town who lost their lives in the First World War (1914-1918). Nairn senior had a great love of art and donated the first paintings to the town, to be displayed in the Galleries that he funded. The art collection initiated by John Nairn was further shaped by Kirkcaldy industrialist (linen weaving) and collector, John Blyth, and includes paintings by Scottish artist, William McTaggart and Scottish Colourist, Samuel Peploe. The art collection has continued to grow and evolve to include contemporary artists such as David Mach, Jack Vettriano, Ken Currie and Alison Watt.

As well as art, other parts of the Museum collection started in 1925. Donations from the Kirkcaldy Naturalists Society, Kirkcaldy Town Council and various individuals were made to the Museum collection – these included Adam Smith books and objects, items that belonged to child author Marjory Fleming, archaeology, natural history and pistols from the last fatal duel in Scotland. Social and industrial collections include a significant collection relating to the linoleum industry that featured as a research and engagement project, Flooring the World culminating in two exhibitions in Kirkcaldy (2023) and St Andrews (2024).

OnFife care for the collections on display in Kirkcaldy Galleries and at our flagship sites in Dunfermline and St Andrews and our Collections Centre in Glenrothes.

How to Apply

If you would like to find out more information about this role, you can contact Chris McLean, Head of Cultural Heritage & Wellbeing. Contact details can be found on our current vacancies page on our website.

When you’re ready to apply, please complete our application form and equal opportunities form and return them to the HR team at hr.fct@onfife.com.

OnFife is an equal opportunities employer.

We are proud to support the Armed Forces community and are committed to the Armed Forces Covenant.

The closing date for applications is 9am on Thursday 9 May 2024.

Interviews will take place on Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 May 2024.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: £31,179.00-£38,950.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• Employee discount
• On-site parking
• Sick pay

Work Location: In person

Reference ID: ON000498