Conservation Assistant

THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 29,000; Part time

Job summary

A renowned surgical institution is seeking a Conservation Assistant in London to provide essential support for moving and conserving collections. The role entails packing objects for safe transportation, conducting audits, and pest inspections, requiring a relevant degree and conservation training. With flexible working and generous holiday, this position offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the care of historic collections in a multisite environment.

Benefits

27 days paid holiday plus bank holidays

Flexible working

Enhanced pension scheme

Learning and development opportunities

Wellbeing programme

Qualifications

• Relevant degree or vocational qualification needed.
• Must have conservation training.
• Experience in museum or heritage conservation is required.

Responsibilities

• Packing museum collections for transportation.
• Conduct audits and track location changes.
• Perform pest inspections of organic collections.

Skills

Conservation training

Experience in packing collections

Natural history/medical collections experience

Education

Relevant degree or level 3 vocational qualification

Tools

Collections management system (CMS)

Job description

Job Title: Conservation Assistant

Salary: £28,961

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract -14 months

Location: Southeast and Central London- multisite working

About the role

The Museums of the Royal College of Surgeons of England cares for 70,000 objects and organic preparations.23,000 of these are currently housed in offsite storage, including artworks, historic surgical instruments and organic preparations (including human tissue).These need to be moved to a new store by November 2026.To achieve this RCS England Museums are seeking to appoint a Conservation Assistant to provide conservation support and help in the preparation and physical move of the collections.

As the Conservation Assistant, you will pack objects and specimens for safe transportation and long-term storage, carry out pest inspections of organic preparations, and assist in auditing, monitoring and tracking movements of the collections.

The role requires the post holder to work a five-day week.This role requires multisite working, at RCS Central London headquarters, the offsite store in Southeast London, and a future store within England (location tbd). Please note this job will involve physical work.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is the professional body for surgery. Our mission is to build the future of the surgical profession and improve the delivery of surgical care. We do this through education, training, examination, supporting surgical research and providing support and advice for surgeons at all stages of their careers.

Responsibilities

• Packing museum collections for safe transportation and long‑term storage
• To carry out audits and track and update location changes
• To carry out pest inspections of organic collections
• To assist in auditing, monitoring and recording the integrity of the collections and stores
• To record conservation activity on the collections management database

About you

• Hold a relevant degree or level 3 vocational qualification
• Have conservation training
• Have museum or heritage conservation work experience
• Have experience of preparing and packing collections for safe transportation
• Experience of working with natural history/medical collections is desirable
• Have used a collections management system (CMS)

What we can offer you

• 27 days paid holiday + bank holidays and up to 4 college closure days
• Flexible working
• Enhanced contributory pension scheme & other leave entitlements
• Variety of learning and development opportunities
• Wellbeing programme & Employee Assistance Scheme

Interested Candidates

If you wish to apply or if you have any questions about this position please email your CV together with a cover letter to [e-mail].

Any personal data collected from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us in accordance with our recruitment processes. If unsuccessful in your application, your information will be held by us on our database for a period of 6 months before deletion. If you would like your information removed sooner, please contact [e-mail]

Closing date: 4 January 2026

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We are open to all talent and we actively ensure that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regards to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is committed to protecting your privacy. We are registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). All College employees are responsible for records held, created and used as part of their work for the College including patient/client, corporate and administrative records. Records are managed according to the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018 and ensure confidentiality. The College ensures that staff are trained to handle the information you submit to us with care and discretion, seeking advice where necessary.