Jewish Museum London

JEWISH MUSEUM LONDON

Curatorial Assistant

Job Description

This document contains the following information:

1. Basic details of the post 2. Duties and Responsibilities 3. Person specification 4. Museum mission and mandate 5. Background to The Jewish Museum 6. Equal opportunities policy and monitoring form

To apply, please send your current CV and a cover letter, explaining your interest in this post and relevant experience and qualifications, together with details of at least two referees and information regarding your availability.

Please also indicate if there are any restrictions on you taking up employment in the UK and, if so, provide details.

The Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form should be completed and included with your application.

Applications should be sent either via email to [email protected] or to

Sian Worsfold The Jewish Museum Raymond Burton House 129-131 Albert Street London NW1 7NB

The closing date for applications is 23rd August 2013.

For further information about the Jewish Museum, please visit our website www.jewishmuseum.org.uk

of 8 1. Basic details of the post

Job title: Curatorial Assistant Salary: £18,000 to £20,000 per annum depending upon experience. Holiday entitlement: 20 days pro rata plus Bank Holidays. Additional time off is given when major Jewish festivals fall on working days (up to 13 per year). Hours: 38 hours per week over 5 days. Start date: As soon as possible Contract term: This is a fixed term contract which is not expected to continue beyond 31 March 2014

2. Duties and responsibilities

Report to the Curator of Social History. Documentation and Digitisation The main task of the Curatorial Assistant will be to contribute to the museum’s Documentation and Digitisation Programme. This will include:  Managing documentation and digitisation workflow, including selecting items for digitisation, creating batch lists for photography and coordination of photography sessions with the museum’s photographer  Documentation of collection items, including transferring information in paper records to the museum’s Adlib database, in accordance with project requirements and to Spectrum standards  Ascertaining copyright status of items to be digitized; obtaining copyright permissions where necessary  Cropping, resizing and renaming images to be uploaded to Adlib and the museum’s online database

Other collection related tasks  Accessioning new donations to the collection  Working with the museum’s curator to clear a documentation backlog  Contributing to the correct storage of the museum collection, and assisting the Curator of Social History in making improvements as necessary  Carrying out audits of the collection stores

Other tasks  Assisting with curatorial and picture library enquiries and research requests  Supervising research visits  Assisting with the production of small temporary showcase displays on the museum’s Ground Floor  Supporting the Curator of Social History in other relevant curatorial work General  Willingness to undertake training as deemed appropriate by the Curator of Social History.  Carry out any other reasonable duties as requested by the Chief Executive or other designated senior staff.  This Job Description is subject to alteration in response to changes in legislation or the Jewish Museum’s operational procedures.

of 8 3. Person specification

The ideal candidate should be able to demonstrate the following:  A degree in a relevant subject and a postgraduate qualification in Museum Studies is highly desirable.  A sound knowledge and understanding of museum practice, including practical experience of object handling.  Sound knowledge and understanding of collections management practice, including museum documentation and collections management systems (CMS). Experience of Adlib Museum or a similar CMS would be an advantage.  Demonstrable ICT skills, including experience in Microsoft Office and Photoshop.  Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, the ability to manage a range of tasks simultaneously and work as part of a team.

of 8 4. The museum’s mission and mandate

MISSION

The Jewish Museum aims to explore and preserve Jewish heritage, celebrate diversity and challenge prejudice.

MANDATE

The Jewish Museum collects, preserves, interprets and exhibits material relating to Jewish history, culture and religious life. It draws on the Jewish experience as a focus for the exploration of identity in a multicultural society, actively engaging with the shared experiences represented in the diverse cultural heritage of London, Britain and the wider world. As a forum for education, learning and interfaith dialogue, the museum encourages understanding and respect by challenging stereotypes and combating prejudice in all its forms.

5. Background to the Jewish Museum

Founded in 1932, the Jewish Museum relocated in 1994 to an elegant, early Victorian listed building in the vibrant neighbourhood of Camden Town. In the same year it amalgamated, on a two-site basis, with the former London Museum of Jewish Life, in Finchley. Following the amalgamation, the museum operated as a single organisation with a unified management structure, but with two locations (the Jewish Museum - Camden Town and the Jewish Museum - Finchley), with complementary collections, displays and activities. In September 2007, both sites of the museum closed in preparation for a major capital development project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The combined museum reopened on a single expanded site in Camden Town in March 2010, bringing all its collections and activities together for the first time.

The museum’s collections cover Jewish history, culture and religious life in Britain and beyond. The Judaica collections were awarded Designated status by the Museums Libraries & Archives Council in 1997 in recognition of their outstanding national importance, and are widely considered to be one of the world’s finest collections of Jewish ceremonial art. The history collections span from the medieval period through to the present day, reflecting the diverse roots and heritage of different waves of Jewish migration to Britain, with a particular emphasis on the Jewish East End of London and the experience of refugees from Nazism.

Since the merger, the museum has built up a wide range of exhibitions and activities, including an acclaimed programme of Holocaust and anti-racist education, Discovering Judaism programmes for young people and events for all ages.

In 2013 we look forward to an ambitious and exciting programme of changing exhibitions that will range from paintings by R.B Kitaj to our major autumn exhibition on football.

The Museum Chairman is Lord Young of Graffham and HRH The Prince of Wales is the museum’s Royal Patron.

of 8 Our new museum

Following its £10m transformation, the Jewish Museum offers a range of facilities and displays which aim to engage visitors from all ages, faiths and backgrounds, to encourage a sense of discovery and creativity, and to build interfaith understanding and connections.

Welcome Gallery  Multimedia installation highlighting the diverse backgrounds and multi-faceted identities of Jewish people in Britain today  A medieval mikveh, excavated in 2001 in the City of London – a key exhibit illustrating the long history of Jewish settlement in Britain

History: A British Story  Vibrant, interactive exhibition, illustrating the diverse roots and history of Jewish people, as part of Britain’s diverse cultural heritage  Lively and evocative displays on Jewish migration from around the world, the East End, refugees from Nazism and many other areas of British Jewish history, drawing on our wide-ranging collections of photographs, testimonies and artifacts  Highlights include ‘Migration game’, East End street with immigrant kitchen and tailoring workshop displays, Yiddish theatre karaoke

Judaism: A Living Faith  Displaying and interpreting the Museum's outstanding collection to illustrate Jewish religious life in the context of living Judaism today  Audio-visual and hands-on displays, including an immersive Sabbath experience and ‘Ask the Rabbi’ interactive

The Holocaust Gallery  Building on the museum’s highly acclaimed Holocaust and anti-racist education programmes  Based on testimonies of survivors and refugees who settled in Britain

Changing Exhibitions Gallery  To show wide-ranging exhibitions including high profile displays from international venues such as the Jewish museums of the world, and to provide extra space for the Museum’s own highly regarded exhibition programme

Displays for Children and Education Space  Hands-on displays for children and families throughout the galleries  Dedicated Education Space for school visits and creative workshops

Auditorium  A 100-seat multipurpose auditorium to house a wide variety of educational activities and cultural events

Research Library and Stores  Photographic archives, collections and print stores

A new café and shop  Attractive kosher café providing visitors with an opportunity to sample Jewish food  Enlarged shop stocking books and gifts, including high quality contemporary Judaica

For more information, please visit our website on www.jewishmuseum.org.uk

of 8 THE JEWISH MUSEUM EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES POLICY

1. Statement of Policy

The Jewish Museum endeavours to be an equal opportunity employer and has a policy for this purpose.

The aim of the policy is to ensure that no job applicant or employee receives less than favourable treatment on the grounds of sex, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, age, marital status, sexual orientation or disability or is disadvantaged by conditions or requirements which cannot be seen to be justifiable.

This policy covers all aspects of employment including vacancy advertising, selection, recruitment, training, conditions of service and reasons for termination of service.

To ensure that this policy is operating effectively and for no other purpose the Museum maintains records of employee’s racial origins, gender and disability. The Museum will ensure that there is ongoing monitoring and analysis of such records to provide the basis for appropriate action to eliminate unlawful direct and indirect discrimination and promote equality of opportunity.

The Museum Director is responsible for the effective operation of the Jewish Museum’s Equal Opportunities policy. A copy of the Jewish Museum’s Equal Opportunities policy is available from the Museum Director.

2. The Policy

2.1 Vacancy Advertising Wherever possible all vacancies will be advertised simultaneously internally and externally. Steps will be taken to ensure that knowledge of vacancies reaches underrepresented groups internally and externally.

All vacancy adverts will include an appropriate short statement on equal opportunity.

2.2 Selection and Recruitment Selection criteria (job description and employee specification) will be kept under constant review to ensure that they are justifiable on non-discriminatory grounds as being essential for the effective performance of the job.

At least two people must be involved in the selection interview and recruitment process, and should have received training in equal opportunities. Reasons for selection and rejection of applicants must be recorded. 2.3 Personnel Records In order to ensure the effective operation of the equal opportunities policy and for no other reason a record will be kept of all job applicants’ and employees’ racial origins and disability.

Where necessary employees will be able to check/ correct their own record with regard to equal opportunities. Otherwise access to this information will be protected.

Such records will be analysed regularly and appropriate follow up action taken.

of 8 2.4 Equal Opportunities and Volunteers The Jewish Museum is committed to supporting and developing its volunteers and will apply the spirit and where applicable the letter of this policy to them.

2.5 Service Users The Jewish Museum also seeks to provide equality of opportunity for service users of all backgrounds. Particular effort is made to reach the elderly, disabled and disadvantaged through its programme of outreach which includes educational programmes, talks and touring exhibitions.

Wherever possible efforts will be made to identify and remove unnecessary/ unjustifiable barriers and provide appropriate facilities and conditions of service to meet the needs of disadvantaged and/or underrepresented groups.

3. General

The objectives of this Equal Opportunities Employment policy are

 To ensure that the Jewish Museum has access to the widest labour market and secures the best employees for its needs.  Ensures that no applicant or employee receives less than favourable treatment and that wherever possible they are given the help they need to reach their full potential to the benefit of the Jewish Museum and themselves.

The cooperation of all employees is essential for the success of this policy. However the ultimate responsibility for achieving the policy’s objectives and for ensuring compliance with the relevant Acts of Parliament as well as the various codes of practice lies with the Jewish Museum. Behaviour against the spirit and/or the letter of the laws on which this policy is based will be considered a serious disciplinary matter and may in some cases lead to dismissal.

of 8 THE JEWISH MUSEUM

Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

The Jewish Museum is committed to equal opportunities in employment through its policy statement (attached). This form is used solely for Equal Opportunities monitoring purposes. All data is confidential and will not be referred to during the selection procedure. Please complete the form and return it with your application.

Name: Date:

Post applied for:

Gender Male Female

Ethnic origin White Chinese Please tick the box that best describes the Black African ethnic group to which you belong. Black Caribbean (please describe) Black – other Indian Pakistani (please describe) Bangladeshi Other

Are you Jewish? Yes

Disability Not disabled Please indicate whether you consider yourself to be disabled Disabled (please describe)