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CASTLE HOWARD ESTATE LIMITED JOB DESCRIPTION & PERSON SPECIFICATION

Job Title: Assistant Curator

Reports to: Curator Victoria Howard & Nicholas Howard

Liasing with: Chairman’s Office, Household Department, House Openings, Marketing Department, Works Department

Hours of work: 40 hours per week

Purpose: Contribute to the planning and co-ordination of the current and future strategies of the Curatorial department. As a department responsible for the care, promotion and enriched understanding of the Castle Howard collections and their history.

Key Deliverables

Care of the Collection

 Maintain standards of care of the Collections, with the emphasis on preventative conservation, in liaison with the Household Department, and external advisors  Manage Collections documentation standards, establishing procedures, standards and terminology to ensure the implementation of good documentation practice  Work closely with departmental Archives and Documentation Manager in maintaining the Collection Management System (Filemaker Pro), and assist in the analysis, interpretation and reporting of information  Work closely with conservators as required  Arrange for the restoration of items from the Collections as required  Monitor and advise on environmental conditions  Supervise handling and movement of objects  Assist with external valuation updates  Ensure the safety and security of the Collections at all times by actively minimising risk  Work with Security Committee for improving and maintaining procedures in the house  Assist with disaster planning, including the planning, implementation, and maintenance of a Disaster Salvage Manual, and be a member of the Disaster Salvage Team  Ensure best practice in Health & Safety as per the Health & Safety guidelines and procedures of the Department  Handle photographic permission requests, relating to exhibitions, publications, and research, dealing with copyright issues where necessary  Help maintain the image library

Interpretation/Education

 Manage and facilitate specialist conferences/study days/workshops  Manage and facilitate specialist group visits and tours  Provide support for the house guides including maintaining the guides’ notes  Assist with revisions to the guidebook and other interpretative literature  Write newsletter articles, and supply social media content  Take tours for the public and for guides  Pursue collaborative activity with other houses, museums, galleries, and universities, including the Yorkshire Country House Partnership  Liaise with and assist the Visitor Services Department to co-ordinate educational and schools activities and information, when required.

Presentation and Exhibitions

 Liaise with the Curator to devise, organise, and mount in-house exhibition programmes  Research and help develop interpretative displays, re-hangs, and other elements of presentation  Organise associated training for guides, exhibition previews, activities, literature/pamphlets  Work with the Marketing Department to co-ordinate publicity  Registrar duties in relation to external exhibitions; responsible for supervising and coordinating the loan of items from the Collections, duties to include: documentation, conservation, transportation, installation and de-installation, condition assessments, and to ensure that all Castle Howard’s conditions of loan are met; to undertake courier duties in the UK and abroad

Administration

CASTLE HOWARD YORK YO60 7DA www.castlehoward.co.uk Registered Office: Castle Howard Estate Limited, The Estate Office, Castle Howard, York, YO60 7DA Registered in England and Wales No. 480214  Oversee income and outgoing expenditure - contribute to the financial planning process to ensure effective use of financial resources.  Represent Castle Howard at meetings of museum institutions, societies or specialist bodies  Manage the Curatorial Department generally  Manage volunteers and interns when required

General

 Any other duties as reasonably required by the Curator, the Chairman, or other Heads of Department  Ensure clear communication channels are maintained with departments and colleagues including the private household  To undertake any training required for the advancement of the role and the needs of the business

Person Specification

 University degree in an appropriate subject, and/or a professional qualification in a relevant field  Proven record of curatorial experience  Enquiring mind with a keen interest in learning more about the history, identity and working of one of the UK’s most important historic houses  Ability to work independently, as well as in a departmental team, and also within the bigger confines of the organisation  Strong self-motivation with the ability to organise and prioritise time and tasks efficiently, and work to deadlines  Ability to grasp close, technical detail without losing sight of the bigger picture  Proven level of competence in IT, particularly in the use of databases, and digital comms  Confident and comfortable with public-facing duties  Good oral and written communicator  Honest, reliable, and trustworthy  Discretion in personal work and handling of Collections and archive material  Imaginative flair for devising and delivering new ideas  Understanding and maintaining knowledge of current professional developments  Experience and knowledge of reprographics and of copyright issues  Ability to drive

CASTLE HOWARD YORK YO60 7DA www.castlehoward.co.uk Registered Office: Castle Howard Estate Limited, The Estate Office, Castle Howard, York, YO60 7DA Registered in England and Wales No. 480214 CASTLE HOWARD YORK YO60 7DA www.castlehoward.co.uk Registered Office: Castle Howard Estate Limited, The Estate Office, Castle Howard, York, YO60 7DA Registered in England and Wales No. 480214