Full Time/PermanentLocation: M Shed and Blaise Museums
The Culture & Creative Industries team (C&CI) of Bristol City Council is part-funded by Arts Council England as a Non-Portfolio Organisation (NPO) to deliver a museum service for the city. As such it operates the following Accredited Museum sites: Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, M Shed, Blaise Museum, Red Lodge Museum and the Georgian House Museum, collectively attracting an annual attendance of 1 million plus visitors (pre-Covid).
The C&CI team are also responsible for Bristol Archives, The Create Centre, Bristol Regional Environmental Records Office, The Bottle Yard Studios and the Arts and Events Teams which work across Bristol in the fields of public art and events and festivals.
This is an opportunity to join a dynamic team working in a city regarded as one of the best places to live in the UK. As a Senior Curator History, you will be one of 5 Senior Curators covering the museum service’s encyclopaedic collections of history, visual arts, archaeology, natural science and cultural material, from the UK and around the world. You will manage a team of history curators (currently three) caring for social, industrial, and maritime history collections relating especially to the past and, very importantly, the contemporary life of Bristolians. In addition you will oversee the operation of the ‘working exhibits’ in the City Docks – the Bristol Harbour Steam Railway, three historic boats, 4 electric cranes and 1 steam crane – managed through one of the curator posts and utilising an extensive volunteer force. You will also work closely with the Bristol Archives team, especially regarding photographic and oral history collections.
As we hopefully move out of the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic you will have the opportunity to help shape the future of the service as a new 5-year plan will be developed in 2021. Events in Bristol in 2021 (notably the toppling of the statue of Edward Colston) have placed the city at the centre of societal change and the museum service and this post in particular have the chance to play a truly significant role in shaping history.
All full time posts can be considered for job share.Why Bristol City Council?
At Bristol City Council, we go that extra mile for our people; we offer a work environment which is fast moving and supportive, giving you the chance to use your skills and develop new ones within a high profile organisation.
Join us and you’ll receive a generous rewards package including flexible working and flexi-time, membership of the Local Government Pension scheme, and a generous annual leave allowance. In addition you’ll be working in a supportive environment where you’ll have the chance to make Bristol a better place and contribute to its future.
How do I apply?
If you share our values and are ready to be part of our exciting journey please select the apply button below.
To be shortlisted for interview you’ll need to demonstrate how you meet each of the essential criteria in the Person Specification within the Further Information section of your application. On occasion we will receive high numbers of applications, we may then shortlist against the desirable criteria along with the essential criteria, so if you can, please demonstrate how you meet this in your application.
We intend to shortlist: 13/14 May 2021.
We intend to interview week beginning: 25 May 2021.
The Culture & Creative Industries team, funded by Bristol City Council and Arts Council England, is committed to diversifying our audiences and workforce in line with the priorities of those organisations. We encourage applications from all sections of the community, as we want our workforce to reflect the diversity of the city we serve. However, we particularly actively encourage applications from candidates from groups under-represented in our organisation including: Black and minority ethnic, Disabled people and under 25s.