Conservator: Preventive

The British Museum has an exciting opportunity for a proficient and experienced Conservator: Preventive to join the Department of Collection Care and contribute towards the care and preservation a world class collection. You will be joining a growing Preventive Conservation team, providing leadership in coordinating preventive conservation applications in support of the Museum’s next phases of core projects and Masterplan. This presents an excellent opportunity to contribute to and support the long-term care of the Museum’s collection as it embarks on its most significant cultural redevelopment project ever undertaken. The role requires the post holder to have good general knowledge in the preventive care of a wide range of collections and materials, and significant post-graduate experience of working in the area of preventive conservation. This is a crucial role involving working closely with various cross-departmental stakeholders, and cross-museum collaboration. Key areas of responsibility include independently assessing collection condition and contributing to the preventive conservation of collections made of a wide range of organic and inorganic materials by proposing environmental management solutions for long-term preservation. You will also lead on the care of the collection through environment (temperature and relative humidity), pollutants and light monitoring, reporting, data analysis, as well as supporting Integrated Pest Management. About you: You should have a recognised professional conservation qualification to degree level or equivalent, with emphasis on preventive conservation and considerable post qualification experience of working in the heritage sector (e.g., museum, gallery, library, archive sector). You should also have proficient and demonstrable practical preventive conservation skills, strong understanding of mechanisms involved in material deterioration and experience of devising preventive measures. About the British Museum: Founded in 1753, the British Museum’s remarkable collection spans over two million years of human history and culture. The Museum is a leading visitor attraction, and its world-famous collection includes the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, the Sutton-Hoo finds, and the Lewis Chessmen. The Museum also holds an extensive collection of prints and drawings spanning 600 years, including works by the greatest graphic artists Dürer, Michelangelo and Rembrandt. The Museum offers a competitive benefits package including: Generous annual leave allowance of 25 days (rising to 30 days after 10 years’ service) plus 2.5 privilege days and plus bank holidays. Membership of the civil service defined benefit pension scheme. Free entry to a wide range of museums and exhibitions. Participation in private and public Museum activities, including talks by leading curators from around the world and behind-the-scenes opportunities to learn how museums care for and manage their extraordinary collections. Interest-free travel, bicycle, and rental deposit loans. Professional and personal development opportunities. Employee Assistance Programme. Discounts on food and gift shop purchases. Additional details: We offer a flexible way of working scheme that allows our employees to work remotely in a way that suits them and the organisation. We have a legal responsibility to ensure that employees have the right to work in the UK. If you currently do not hold the right to work in the UK, we can only sponsor a limited number of roles that meet eligibility criteria. To offer a sponsorship, the job role you apply needs to be in the list of eligible occupations. Additionally (with some limited exceptions), the role will need to meet the minimum salary threshold of £38,700 or the going rate for the job, whichever is the highest.