Job vacancy – Museum Manager / Curator at Felixstowe Museum

Job title: Museum Manager / Curator
Salary: £24,000 (£30,000 pro rata)
Location: Felixstowe Museum
Hours: Part time, 28 hours per week
Term: Fixed term 12 months
Closing date: 17 December 2020

Felixstowe Museum is an independent, Accredited Museum. Collections include Roman, Aeronautical, Naval, Medical, Local and Social history of the area.

Main purpose of the job
To work with Felixstowe Museum and the Landguard Partnership, to ensure the continued development of the museum, and to provide support to the museum volunteers with all aspects of collections management and the operation of the museum.

About the team
This post is funded by Felixstowe Museum, East Suffolk Council, Suffolk County Council, and the Landguard Partnership. It is line-managed by the Chair of Felixstowe Museum with support from the Suffolk Museum Development & Partnership Manager at Suffolk County Council. The post holder will work closely with other board members and volunteers at Felixstowe Museum.

What you will be expected to deliver
Museum Management:

  • Support the museum trustees to maintain key policies
  • Support the museum trustees and volunteers to deliver the museum forward plan
  • Participate in grant and funding applications
  • Support the Accreditation return to Arts Council England
  • Take responsibility of the day to day running of the museum
  • Monitor correspondence and answer enquiries
  • Assist with planning of special projects and events as required.

Collections Management:

  • Support the museum volunteers with all aspects of collections management including acquisitions, loans, research, documentation, digitisation, conservation, and security.
  • Review and administer the emergency plan and implement if necessary.
  • Maintenance of displays and storage including environmental monitoring.

Interpretation, engagement, and participation:

  • Recruit, support and train a diverse volunteer workforce
  • Plan and deliver all aspects of museum displays and temporary exhibitions
  • Work with museum volunteers to plan and deliver special projects, events, and activities
  • Work with the Landguard Partnership on activities that help tell the story of the Landguard Peninsula
  • Internal and external marketing of the museum including website and social media
  • Support education, outreach and other public engagement opportunities.
  • Collate relevant data, statistics and visitor feedback to inform future programming
  • Deliver talks and presentations to stakeholders and interested groups

This list is not exhaustive and main objectives / performance measures will be discussed and agreed with your line manager.

Person profile: what you will bring to the team
Qualifications and Professional memberships

  1. A relevant degree or equivalent experience in museums.
  2. Associateship of the Museums Association is desirable. We welcome candidates that are working towards this.

Specialist knowledge skills and experience

  1. Proven experience of practical museum management
  2. Knowledge and practical application of Accreditation, SPECTRUM, and other museum standards.
  3. Experience of working with volunteers, local authorities, as well as other partners and stakeholders is desirable.
  4. The ability to converse at ease with researchers/visitors and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.

Values and Personal Qualities

  1. A passion for and belief that museums change lives
  2. Ability to negotiate, consider a range of views, and remain calm in stressful situations
  3. Ability to create a vision for the wider team and to engage people in working together to deliver against the vision

Additional information 
These are required for this role but it is not necessary to demonstrate in your application:  

  • A DBS check is required for this role
  • Ability to travel across the county to attend meetings as required

If you have a disability or long-term illness that otherwise prevents you from meeting any of the essential criteria, please contact us to discuss whether a reasonable adjustment could be made.

How to apply
Applications should be by CV and covering letter emailed to felmuseum@btopenworld.com or hard copy to Chairman, Felixstowe Museum, Viewpoint Road, Felixstowe, Suffolk, IP11 3TW.

Closing date for applications is Thursday 17 December 2020.