Collections & House Officer

National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty; Coalbrookdale; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 28,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Substantial pension up to 10%

Free entry to National Trust places

Season ticket loan

EV car lease scheme

Perks at work discounts

Holiday allowance up to 32 days

Job summary

The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty is seeking a part-time Collections and House Officer for Ironbridge Gorge. You will care for remarkable collections, supervise volunteers, and support acquisitions and disposals to reflect the site’s significance.

You’ll work 30 hours per week, with some weekend work on a duty rota and time off in lieu. A full UK driving licence is required.

Qualifications

• Experience in collections care and management.
• Experience supervising a team or volunteers.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to set priorities and meet deadlines.
• Comfort with managing delegated budgets.
• Communication skills with diverse audiences.

Responsibilities

• Oversee routine collections care and preventive conservation.
• Lead the annual deep cleaning programme across the portfolio.
• Line manage volunteers and support volunteer contributions.
• Record information gathered during cleaning and housekeeping.
• Support acquisitions, disposals and portfolio development.
• Undertake targeted research to enhance understanding of collections and future planning.

Skills

Collections management

Supervision

Organization & planning

Budget management

People skills

Creativity for accessibility

Job description

Are you someone who cares deeply about achieving high standards, and helping to make beauty and history accessible to all? If so, you could become a Collections and House Officer at Ironbridge Gorge, bringing to life the history and significance of this much-loved place.

This is an exciting opportunity to help shape the future of Ironbridge as it enters a new chapter under the care of the National Trust.

You’ll work 30 hours per week. You’ll typically across Monday - Friday, and we can be flexible about which days these are.As part of the duty management rota, you’ll occasionally be required to work weekends. When this happens, you’ll receive time off in lieu (TOIL) during your normal working week. The amount of weekend working will vary depending on team requirements and staffing levels.

Due to the nature of the role and locations of the sites, a full UK driving licence is required.

Interview date: 11th November 2026

What it's like to work here

You’ll be part of a passionate, supportive team caring for remarkable collections, places and stories across an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Working with a nationally important collection of over 400,000 objects, from steam engines and historic vessels to decorative arts, textiles and social history collections, you’ll ensure our properties are well maintained, welcoming, and protected for future generations.

You’ll have the the opportunity to develop new approaches and make a real difference to collections care and management.

What you’ll be doing

Reporting to the Property Curator, you’ll combine practical collections care and attention to detail with close collaboration across teams and with volunteers. You’ll be responsible for routine care, preventive conservation and the annual programme of deep cleaning, helping to ensure excellent standards of care throughout the portfolio. You’ll also line manage a team of volunteers.

You’ll collect and record information gathered during cleaning and housekeeping, and contribute to the development of the collection by supporting acquisitions and disposals, helping to ensure the collection continues to reflect the property's significance.

There will also be opportunities to undertake targeted research to improve understanding of the collections and portfolio’s significance, and to support collections management, engagement and future planning.

Who we’re looking for

We’d love to hear from you if you’re:

• experienced in collections management and care
• able to work as part of a team, with skills in day-to-day supervision and management
• able to work independently and have strong organisational skills including setting priorities, managing deadlines, and problem solving
• comfortable with managing delegated budgets
• good at talking to, and getting on with, all kinds of people
• full of creative ideas about making places and objects accessible and relevant to diverse audiences

The package

The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.

• Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
• Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
• Season ticket loan
• EV car lease scheme (for roles that meet the salary criteria)
• Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
• Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.

National Trust place

Coalbrookdale, Coalbrookdale, Telford, TF8 7DQ

Documents

Collections & House Officer - Career Level B.pdf

Requirements

Compliance.Eligibility to Work in the UK

Additional information

Closing Date: 1st November 2026

Equal Opportunities Statement

The National Trust celebrates diversity and is committed to creating a fair and equal society, free from discrimination. You can read more about our commitment to inclusion and diversity here .

Safeguarding Statement

The National Trust is committed to a safe recruitment processes to help the organisation attract and appoint the right staff/volunteer for the role and responsibilities as set out in the vacancy advert. We will not accept applicants who are not suitable to work with children, young people or adults at risk. If you have any questions around your suitability for this vacancy, please contact the people service centre.