Museum Community Curator – Watford Borough Council

About Watford Museum
Watford Museum is about to undergo a major transformation following a successful Stage 1 grant from National Lottery Heritage Fund toward our Re-imagine Watford Museum project.

Watford Museum opened in 1981 in the beautiful Grade II listed Benskins Brewery mansion. The purpose-built displays showcase local industries of brewing and printing and tell the story of life in Watford in the 19th and 20th century. Highlights include the Cassiobury Collection of 17th Century portraits and the Watford Football Club galleries. But after 40 years in the Benskin Brewery Mansion, the museum is ready for a refresh.

Re-imagine Watford Museum will create an exciting new Museum and Heritage Service for Watford, relocating Watford Museum to Watford Town Hall, and creating a new home to tell the town’s story, bringing together local history from over the centuries.

About Watford Borough Council
Watford is an urban borough in South West Hertfordshire; The borough has excellent transport links with mainline rail connections to London. Watford is the centre of a sub region serving around 500,000 people living within a 20 minute travelling time catchment. As part of the London commuter belt Watford is strongly influenced by London which brings the benefits of a buoyant economy.

The Role:-
Community Curator
Full Time, Fixed Term (12 months)

This exciting new role is critical to the redevelopment of Watford Museum. The Community Curator will work empathetically and collaboratively with local communities with the aim of representing their needs and voices in the work that the museum delivers.

The Community Curator will lead our co-curation activity, developing collaborative and community led engagement programmes and interpretation inspired by Watford Museum’s collections.

This is 12 month fixed term project post with an opportunity to shape and deliver a programme of works within the development phase of the project. The role is part funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund to support the development of our ambitious redevelopment project to Re-imagine Watford Museum.

What we are looking for:-
You will have experience of participatory practice in the arts or heritage sector. A proactive person with experience of working collaboratively with community groups from a range of ages and backgrounds.

We are seeking someone with knowledge of best practice in audience development and community engagement initiatives in the heritage sector. You will have a good understanding of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI), the needs of underserved audiences and barriers to their engagement with heritage.

You will have excellent interpersonal skills for establishing and maintaining positive relationships with community groups, stakeholders and project partners.

Some evening and weekend working may be required to deliver this role.

How to apply

Closing Date: 30 June 2023
Interviews will be held on Tuesday 11 July 2023.

For an informal discussion please contact Jo Wiltcher at [email protected]

A DBS enhanced check will be carried out for this post.

Click here for the full job description and to apply>>