Senior Curator

Senior Curator

Job reference: 23CORP32224A

Application closing date: 11/03/2024

Location: Bath Salary: £44,428 - £47,420 pa (£23.03 - £24.58 per hour)

Job description

Hours: 37 per week

Contract Type: Permanent

Service Area: Sustainable Communities

Department: Heritage Services

 Join the Fashion Museum in Bath as Senior Curator.

Are you passionate about the history of fashion and its ability to connect with people? Would you like to be involved in one of the biggest new Museum projects in the UK? Re-Fashioning Bath project is seeking a dynamic and experience Senior Curator to take a leading role in creating a new museum in the centre of this World Heritage City.

The Fashion Museum is one of the world’s great museum collections of historical and contemporary fashionable dress.  Designated by government as a collection of outstanding significance. It contains over 100,000 objects that have been designed, made, purchased, enjoyed, worn and treasured by people. From iconic couture pieces to everyday garments that tell the stories of their era, we are dedicated to preserving, showcasing and activating one of the world’s great museum collections.

As the Senior Curator on the Re-Fashioning Bath Project, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the museum’s narrative and audience development.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Collection Curation: Curate and manage the museum’s extensive fashion collection, ensuring its integrity, preservation and accessibility
• Collection Care: to ensure the highest professional standards of collection care are achieved in accordance with the Arts Council of England’s Accreditation Scheme.
• Exhibition Development: Conceptualize and execute captivating permanent displays that engage wide and diverse audiences and provide a fresh perspective on Fashion history
• Research: Lead research initiatives to help us understand more about the collection – especially in the field of decolonisation. Contribute to publications and collaborate with academic leaders to enhance the reputation of the collection and museum whilst adding as much authority and authenticity to our displays as possible
• Public Engagement: Foster relationships with the fashion community, donors, and sponsors whilst also engaging with a diverse range of local audiences to develop content and programming
• Team Leadership: Inspire and lead a dedicated team of curators and museum professionals, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation and excellence

About you:

Proven experience in curating fashion collections and developing successful exhibitions

• Strong research credentials and understanding of the field of fashion history
• Exceptional leadership and team management skills
• Demonstrable ability and passion for engaging with diverse audiences

What we offer:

An incredible opportunity to work with one of the worlds best museum collections to create a major new cultural institution with international significance in the City of Bath.

Bath and North East Somerset is a great place to live and work. The city of Bath has a dual World Heritage Site designation and is regularly voted as one of the best places to visit, work and live in the UK. We have a stunning blend of unique countryside and rural character, villages, towns, and cities on our doorstep.

Your main place of work will be in Bath, easily accessible via public transport, with a train station with direct connections to London and Bristol and a well-connected walking, wheeling and cycling network.

We offer a wide range of benefits, and the flexibility to enjoy a great work/life balance. These include:

• A competitive salary package
• A range of flexible working and hybrid working options, including flexi-time, four regional offices and home-working, dependent on service requirements
• A generous holiday allowance and special leave provisions
• The Local Government Pension Scheme
• A comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme – whatever life throws at you; we are committed to supporting you and your well-being at work and home
• Professional and personal development including in-house training and accredited qualifications including Aspiring Manager and Leadership Development
• Discount scheme including the VECTIS card that offers numerous local discounts including cycle to work and free entry to numerous local attractions within B&NES

Interested to find out more?

If you are interested in this post and require more details after reading the job description or just to chat through the role and what’s involved, please contact Sophie McKinlay, Re-Fashioning Bath Project Lead, 01225477824 or Sophie_McKinlay@BATHNES.GOV.UK

To apply

Please use the online application facility.
For further information on applying please see “Application Form Help” page on the Jobs website.

Bath & North East Somerset Council has one overriding purpose – to improve people’s lives. We have four core values which shape every aspect of our working life and how we look to the future. These values are to be Bold, Empowered, Supportive and Transparent.

Please explain in your application how you could incorporate these values into the role you are applying for.

As an equal opportunities employer, Bath & North East Somerset Council is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and is opposed to discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender reassignment, or marriage and civil partnership.

 We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join us.

 Interview Date: 22/03/2024

 All job applications must go through the Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) job site (link below), please search for the relevant job or search for ‘Fashion’ to see all our current job vacancies, then select ‘apply online’ to start your application. Please note that only application processed through the BANES job site can be considered.