Operations

JOB PURPOSE

The National Trust for Scotland’s curators are storytellers. The team co-ordinates research, helps to disseminate stories and supports property and central teams with the knowledge, tools and training that they need to share the histories of our places with our visitors and supporters in engaging ways.

The Curator North East provides curatorial support for the National Trust for Scotland’s North East region, excluding Fyvie Castle which is the responsibility of the Project Curator – Reimagining Fyvie Castle. They ensure that the cultural heritage of the properties in the region is well researched, understood and interpreted for the public. They have particular curatorial responsibility for the object collections and interiors at the region’s properties, but will also work with landscapes, gardens and intangible cultural heritage (ICH), facilitating cross-disciplinary research and ensuing integrated interpretation across all aspects of properties.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Undertake curatorial duties for a defined region or sub-regional cluster of properties, supporting regional and property teams to ensure collections, interiors, gardens and landscape elements are well researched, understood, and interpreted for the public. This will include:
o Training and development of colleagues
o Researching collections, interiors, people and places
o Interpreting our properties and their stories in creative and relevant ways, informed by audience feedback and evaluation
o Ensuring collections information is accurate and recorded in a manner consistent with policy and best practice.

• Support the development of and ensure work is consistent with policy and guidance on curatorial work, especially research, interpretation, and management of collections, with particular reference to the Curatorial Vison and Strategy.

• Support the development of Masterplan Projects at properties within the region, ensuring strategic direction is informed by strong understanding of cultural heritage and assets.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Qualifications and Experience

Essential
• Undergraduate degree in a relevant subject (e.g. art/architectural history, Scottish history, social history) or suitable equivalent experience.
• Experience of working with historic collections and period interiors and/or cultural landscapes
• Demonstrable experience of a wide range of curatorial and collections management responsibilities in a museum/gallery or heritage environment.
• Experience of building effective working relationships in complex, changing work environment and matrix-management structures.
• Competent object recognition and analytical skills, with proven ability and willingness to curate a wide range of object types.
• Sound understanding of SPECTRUM documentation standards and the requirements for Museum Accreditation.
• Experience of research from primary sources, producing and sharing research outputs.
• Experience of object cataloguing and use of collections management databases.
• Demonstrable experience of planning audience-focused exhibitions and displays.
• Demonstrable experience of creating and enabling audience-focused interpretive and visitor experience solutions.

Desirable
• A post graduate qualification in relevant subject (e.g. history, heritage interpretation, museum studies)
• Specialist knowledge expertise and a track record of publications in a relevant subject
• Experience of effective leadership in a dynamic environment
• Experience of developing and managing collaborative research projects
• A strong understanding of how to use evaluation and visitor research to inform exhibitions and interpretive developments.

Contract Type: Permanent

Grade: FC07

Salary: £34,914.86 – £43,437.09

Hours: 36 per week

Location: Kirkcaldy Galleries with travel across OnFife venues

Job Reference: ON000637

We are OnFife and we know how valuable creativity is to our communities. Whether we’re helping people learn or making them laugh – we’re here to bring people together and make them feel good. Our spaces are some of Fife’s favourite places – from historic buildings to mobile libraries, award-winning new destinations to much-loved community hubs. Museums, theatres, galleries, libraries, and archives – we offer them all. We’re built on strong values, and those values make us who we are – Fearless, Inviting, Fair and Exciting.

We’re a Real Living Wage employer, and we offer a local government pension scheme, generous holiday allowance and flexible working opportunities. We have a dedicated training scheme offering professional development opportunities and you can also access our employee discount scheme which offers local and national savings and a range of employee benefits. 

The Role

We are looking for a creative and community-focused Curator (Engagement) to join our Cultural Heritage team. In this role you will bring the collections and the stories they hold to life working closely with communities by providing meaningful opportunities for engagement, enjoyment and learning. Engaging with groups and individuals to enable them to contribute to collections, interpretation, displays and exhibitions. 

Typically working Monday – Friday, there may be requirements to work some evenings and weekends to meet business needs.  

You can view the full job spec on our current vacancies page.

About You

We want someone who is enthusiastic, imaginative, and deeply committed to community engagement in a museum context. You will have 1–3 years of relevant experience working in museums, galleries, or the heritage sector specifically working with communities; relevant qualifications and CPD. You will also have demonstrable skills in interpretation & exhibition work, collections management and partnership working. There is a requirement for the postholder to have a PVG. You will have access to transport and a willingness to travel across Fife, alongside flexibility for occasional evening and weekend working when required.  

How to Apply

If you would like to find out more information about this role before applying, please contact Gillian Crumpton for an informal chat. Please email gillian.crumpton@onfife.com to arrange this.     

When you’re ready to apply, please complete our application form and equal opportunities form and return them to the HR team.

The closing date for applications is 12:00 noon on Thursday 1 October.  

Interviews will take place on 22 and 23 October 2026.

OnFife is an equal opportunities employer. 

We are proud to support the Armed Forces community and are committed to the Armed Forces Covenant.

JOB PURPOSE
The Bute Preventive Conservation Internship, supported by the Trust’s Bute Memorial Fund, is an exceptional opportunity for an emerging conservation professional. The Trust is Scotland’s leading conservation charity, with an extensive portfolio of built heritage sites, from castles and country houses to cottages, working historic environments to modern museum facilities. Material culture collections are on open display at more than 50 of these properties, and their care is the responsibility of the Trust’s Collections Conservation and Management and Curatorial Teams. Our emphasis is on a collaborative approach rooted in strategy, preventive conservation principles and practice.
Since 2008, the NTS has supported twelve interns, ten of whom were funded through the Bute Memorial Fund. Through their time at NTS, they have all been given an outstanding opportunity to develop their conservation skills, building on the theory and experience of prior formal training.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
The Bute Preventive Conservation Intern will develop their knowledge, skills and experience under the guidance of the Conservator North East and other Trust staff.
The internship is for a fixed term of 18 months and will follow a work and learning plan mutually agreed between the intern and intern supervisor to include the following opportunities.
• Work closely with the NE Conservator to provide conservation advice, guidance and training to collection care staff to ensure a good level of collection care throughout the region.
• Contribute to all aspects of preventive conservation in an historic house setting, including environmental monitoring and control, condition assessing, integrated pest management, collection management, emergency planning and collection care and cleaning.
• Build on knowledge and skills learnt during formal conservation qualification, expanding real life experience of conservation issues and solutions.
• Experience the process of recognising the need for, and commissioning remedial conservation of collections.
• Attend training and development opportunities internally and externally where offered to develop knowledge, skills and experience in preventive conservation and develop a network of contacts across the sector.
• Contribute to public engagement activities, sharing conservation stories within the Trust and externally to promote both conservation practices and the Bute internship.
• Contribute to regional and national projects including the Fyvie Masterplan Project and the Environmental Monitoring Replacement Project.
• Manage small conservation projects with the support of the Conservator North East to develop project and time management skills.
12 months of the internship will focus on developing skills and experience. The last 6 months of the internship will involve more independent working on agreed projects.