As the principal museum of the University of Cambridge and the largest cultural venue in the region, The Fitzwilliam Museum acts as a crucial bridge between the University, the City and the rest of the world, and has an international reputation for extraordinary research, world class exhibitions, award-winning public programmes and significant collections spanning many cultures and centuries. The Fitzwilliam Museum collection comprises 500,000 objects, displayed in galleries or housed in storage. The Hamilton Kerr Institute (HKI) is one of the world's leading centres for teaching and research in conservation and heritage science.
Reporting to the Senior Curator of Manuscripts and Rare Books, this 2-year post will oversee the cataloguing and documentation of the literary and artistic archives held within the Fitzwilliam Museum, undertake research on targeted parts of the collection and seek to build impactful collaborations with colleagues in the University and beyond. The post-holder will create opportunities to engage audiences around this under-researched part of the collection. They will be knowledgeable about, and have experience of working with and cataloguing, 18th- and 19th-century literary and/or artistic archives in Britain and Europe, an understanding of the wider historical and cultural context, and be committed to developing new inclusive and diverse perspectives on these collections.
The post-holder will lead on archive cataloguing, research and projects relating to the literary, artistic, and other archives. They will research and catalogue archives in line with the Museum's research projects and priorities, ensuring improved documentation and accessibility of these collections using the Axiell collections database. They will have the opportunity to formulate and contribute to research projects based on the Museum's archival collections, building partnerships in Cambridge and beyond, undertaking their own - and facilitating others' - research. We particularly encourage applicants who will seek to bring new perspectives to these collections, including from under-represented audiences and considering collection histories.
We are seeking someone who has experience of a wide range of curatorial work in a museum, library or archive, particularly working with literary and artistic archives. The role holder will be someone with excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to develop, establish and utilise internal and external relationships with individuals and institutions.
In return we offer an encouraging and supportive environment, an attractive pension scheme, generous holiday allowance and many employee benefits such as a shopping discounts scheme.
To help support our staff to thrive both professionally and personally, we have adopted a system of hybrid working, meaning staff are empowered to split their time between in-person collaboration and remote working. The frequency of remote working may vary due to role needs and will be subject to discussion with your line manager. Due to the nature of this role, a signification proportion of the role holder's time will be spent on site.
Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available for 24 months in the first instance.
Once an offer of employment has been accepted, the successful candidate will be required to undergo a basic disclosure (criminal records check) check and a security check.
Click the 'Apply' button below to register an account with our recruitment system (if you have not already) and apply online. Please quote reference DA38122 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.
Closing date for applications: 1 October 2023
Interviews for the role will be held: 18 October 2023
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.
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