Conservator

Oxfordshire County Council; Oxford; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government authority in Oxfordshire seeks a dedicated Conservator to ensure the preservation of an extensive collection at the Oxfordshire Museum Service. The successful candidate will monitor environmental conditions, perform conservation tasks, and engage with the public. Strong communication and a relevant degree are essential to applying. This position offers competitive benefits and opportunities for professional development.

Benefits

10% discount in the Museum Café and Shop

30 days holiday pro rata plus bank holidays

Employee Assistance Programme

Learning and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Degree in conservation or a related field.
• Professional conservation qualification with accredited status.
• Experience in a museum environment as a Conservator is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and maintain environmental conditions for collections.
• Carry out preventive and remedial conservation.
• Support loans, exhibitions, and public programming.

Skills

Conservation techniques

Strong communication skills

Computer literacy

Understanding of preventive care for collections

Education

Relevant degree in Conservation

Professional conservation qualification (or working towards)

Tools

Collections management systems/databases

Job description

About Us

Oxfordshire County Council are seeking to appoint a Conservator at the Oxfordshire Museum Service on a permanent basis. This is an exciting time to join the service as we strive to enhance our collections and explore new ways to make them accessible to audiences.

Our museum service cares for a collection of approximately 112,000 objects, split equally between Archaeology and Social History, each overseen by a dedicated Curator. The collections are diverse, with objects from the Palaeolithic period through to contemporary collecting, and encompass a range of object types, including amongst others, metals, textiles, plastics, organics, stoneware, wood, and human remains. Objects we work with each day can vary from Roman coin hoards to a full‑size Victorian coach, with notable pieces such as a Viking sword and an exceptional costume collection that illustrate the richness of the county’s heritage.

We make our collections accessible via our range of services including through our key operating sites. The Oxfordshire Museum is our flagship site of permanent and temporary galleries, attracting over 100,000 visitors every year. The Museum Resource Centre (MRC) is our bespoke storage and conservation centre. Home to tens of thousands of objects as well as curatorial and learning staff, the MRC is where conservation and collections management takes place. The service also manages two remote sites, Swalcliffe Barn (near Banbury), a Medieval tithe barn with agricultural collections, and the Bishops Palace (Witney) an open archaeological site of special historic interest.

About the Role

The Conservator plays a vital part in caring for our remarkable collections, delivering high standards of conservation and collections engagement. The role monitors and maintains environmental conditions, carries out preventive and remedial conservation, and supports loans, exhibitions, and public programming. This is a hands‑on role where the Conservator’s expertise is central to preserving objects for future generations, ensuring they are protected, maintained, and made accessible to all.

The Conservator cares for the whole collection, whilst reporting directly to the Curator of Social History. The post will work closely with Collections team colleagues in both Social History and Archaeology, passionate volunteers, and alongside a range of other colleagues across the service.

About you

The successful candidate will have a relevant degree and a professional conservation qualification with, or working towards, an accredited status such as ICON. We’re looking for someone who can demonstrate conservation techniques across a variety of museum objects and who understands preventive care for collections, whether on display or in storage. They will have strong communication skills and computer literacy, a familiarity with collections management systems/databases, and the ability to undertake manual tasks.

Experience working in a museum environment or as a professional Conservator is helpful but not essential. The successful applicant will have a genuine interest in promoting collections to audiences and will help us deliver high standards of collections care and engagement by demonstrating the Oxfordshire County Council values of ‘Taking Responsibility’ and ‘Equality and Integrity in everything we do’. They will be happy working independently, as part of the Collections team, or with wider museum colleagues, and with volunteers.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Nicole Perry-Bradford, Curator of Social History [e-mail]

Provisional interview date is Tuesday 20th January 2026

Rewards and benefits

• 10% discount in the Museum Café and Shop
• Culture of flexible working
• Technology to support agile working where role permits
• 30 day’s holiday pro rata plus bank holidays
• Option to ‘buy’ additional holiday
• Employee Assistance Programme including access to health and wellbeing support
• Membership of the Local Government contributory pension scheme, with an employer’s contribution of up to 19.9%
• Enhanced family friendly policies
• Local and national discounts for shopping and travel
• Great learning and development opportunities to support your ongoing development.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Oxfordshire County Council we are proud of our diverse workforce. Everyone is accepted for who they are, regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital status, race, faith or belief, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, or on maternity or family leave. We have a number of staff network groups which provide peer support, education and safe spaces for all.

Guaranteed Interview Schemes

As a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee an interview for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the job. We also guarantee interviews to care leavers who have completed further education and who meet the essential criteria for the job. For those leaving care without any further education, we guarantee an interview for our apprenticeships. We are also committed to helping and supporting those transitioning from HM Armed Forces to civilian life and guarantee an interview for those demonstrating the essential criteria for the role, within three years of leaving the service.

Safeguarding

Oxfordshire County Council are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and adults. We expect all employees, workers and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect these commitments.

Flexible Working

We are open to discussions about flexible working, which can include flexi‑time, part‑time working, job‑sharing, nine‑day fortnights and annualised hours, depending on the requirements of the role and the service.

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