Senior 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 care, development and interpretation of the Devonshire Collections has been professionalising over centuries; and although there have been de facto librarian and historic advisors during the 17th and 18th and 19th centuries the modern department traces its professional history from 1921 and the employment of the first qualified librarian Francis Thompson. This was process was further strengthened through the introduction of a Collections Management System (CMS) Emu in 2009 and the further investment in a wider curatorial team. This investment in the collections has made significant steps over the last few decades, with Chatsworth leading some areas of collections practice in the Heritage sector.

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 not just Chatsworth but 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 role of the Senior Curator is central to further developing our research, understanding and public engagement with the Devonshire Collection, continuing this legacy and development.

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

If you are an experienced curator with a proven academic background in the curation of historic collections and in particular with Prints and Drawings, we invite you to explore this exciting opportunity within our Collections team at Chatsworth, and help us shape the future of our collections to make a lasting impact on the cultural landscape at Chatsworth and the audiences we want to reach on-site, online and out into the wider world.

In this role, you will use your curatorial expertise on the collections to benefit a diverse audience, collaborating with a broad range of colleagues, the Cavendish family and other cultural professionals to research, exhibit and explore key themes through the collection, to broaden engagement and understanding.

In addition to line managing an Assistant Curator, you will be instrumental in developing a team of new Chatsworth Curatorial fellows. Your leadership will guide them in researching, cataloguing, and interpreting a broad range of curatorial subject areas and narratives.

You will lead and manage research initiatives and various other projects, to raise the visibility and accessibility (including digital) of the Devonshire Collection and the assets under our care. Your efforts will span multiple channels, including publications, events, delivering lectures, partnerships and more.

Collaborating closely with the Head of Programming, you will play a pivotal role in curating temporary exhibitions and displays at Chatsworth. You will work with other Collections colleagues on the physical installation and interpretation of these exhibits, along with leading a programme of Collection Spotlight exhibitions throughout the year.

Central to the role is also to be a key player in the drive to create a step-change in the pace and quality of the cataloguing of the collections. This will include widening the cataloguing of collections on digital, on our Emu-col Collections Management System.

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 overseas).

To find out more about this incredibly rewarding role, please refer to the attached job description for further details.

About you

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

• A degree in a relevant subject and a post-graduate qualification in History of Art (or equivalent), we are particularly interested in a proven academic background with Prints and Drawings.
• Knowledge of documentation issues and collections care standards.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and a broad body of published works or similar experience.
• Experience of working in museum or historic house environment.
• Experience of Collection Management Systems and excellent IT skills.
• Object handling experience

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

Further details can be found on our careers page by following the link provided.

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.