Conservator: Storage

British Museum; Camden Town; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free exhibition entry

Civil Service Pension Scheme

25 days’ annual leave

Discounts at catering and shops

Learning and development

Employee Assistance Programme

Enhanced parental leave

Support for carers

Interest-free loans

Job summary

British Museum seeks a Conservator: Storage to provide preventive conservation support for stores across the estate, including Orsman Road and the Reading collection. You will lead on managing risks to stored objects, considering environmental and preservation needs of diverse materials.

You will also back preventive conservation across galleries and aid in collection moves, embedding conservation requirements in projects and the Museum Masterplan.

Qualifications

• Post qualification experience in the heritage sector with practical preventive conservation knowledge.
• Experience of collection storage and risk-based conservation planning.
• Ability to assess risks to diverse materials and monitor environmental data.

Responsibilities

• Protect the collection by identifying and managing preventive conservation risks across stores.
• Develop practical conservation solutions for environmental and preservation needs of materials.
• Monitor and interpret environmental data to identify emerging risks and actions.
• Support collection moves and storage projects from planning to delivery.
• Collaborate across the Museum to provide preventive conservation guidance.

Skills

Preventive conservation

Collection storage

Environmental monitoring

Risk assessment

Education

Conservation degree or PACR-equivalent

Job description

Vacancy Type Permanent Contract length Permanent Working Pattern Full Time Is hybrid working available? Yes If hybrid how many days on site minimum? at least 3 days per week on-site in Bloomsbury, London Location Bloomsbury (with occasional travel to other sites in London and Reading) Salary £40,513 per annum Application Deadline Sunday, November 15, 2026 Job Profile Job Profile document

Role Summary

As Conservator: Storage, your main focus will be providing preventive conservation support for collection stores across the British Museum estate, including Orsman Road and the British Museum Archaeological Research Collection in Reading. You will lead work to understand and manage risks to the collection in storage, taking account of the specific environmental and preservation needs of its varied materials.

Alongside this storage focus, you will support preventive conservation colleagues across the Museum's galleries and contribute to collection move and storage projects, helping to reduce risk throughout planning and delivery. Working collaboratively across the Museum, you will provide expert advice and help ensure preventive conservation requirements are embedded in projects, including work connected with the Museum's wider Masterplan.

About you

You will bring considerable post qualification experience in the heritage sector, with strong practical knowledge of preventive conservation and experience of collection storage. You will have a recognised professional conservation qualification to degree level or equivalent experience and be eligible for, or working towards, PACR accreditation.

You will be confident assessing risks to collections made from a wide range of materials, with experience of environmental monitoring, analysis and reporting. You will have experience of implementing and evaluating preventive conservation approaches, standards and preservation measures to support the long-term care of collections. You will combine sound professional judgement and problem solving skills with the ability to plan complex work, collaborate and influence effectively.

Key areas of responsibility

• Protect the collection by identifying and managing preventive conservation risks across collection stores
• Shape practical conservation solutions that respond to the different environmental and preservation needs of collection materials
• Monitor and interpret environmental data, using evidence to identify emerging risks and recommend effective action
• Support collection moves and storage projects, helping to minimise risk to objects from planning through to delivery
• Collaborate with colleagues across the Museum to provide preventive conservation advice for stores, galleries and other collection spaces

The Masterplan

The British Museum is undertaking its biggest transformation since its founding nearly 300 years ago. This physical and intellectual transformation includes large scale building and gallery transformation, new ways of connecting with audiences and different ways of working. As we look towards this exciting future, we remain guided by the words of our founder Hans Sloane - who dreamed of a museum connecting all arts and sciences, which would be accessible to everyone, everywhere.

Benefits

At the British Museum, we believe our people are at the heart of everything we do and have designed a benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary. Our full list of benefits can be found here , but we’ve outlined some highlights below:

• Free exhibition entry for you and guests, exclusive private views, ICOM and reciprocal museum access.
• Civil Service Pension Scheme defined benefit with considerable employer contribution.
• 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays and 2.5 privilege days (and +5 days after 10 years).
• Discounts at onsite catering, Museum shops and local Bloomsbury partners.

• Learning and development through courses, mentoring and Athena as well as support for professional qualifications.

• Employee Assistance Programme available 24/7 for counselling, wellbeing support and more.

• Enhanced parental leave including maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave.
• Support for carers through Employers for Carers.

• Interest‑free loans including season ticket, rental deposit and bicycle loans.

Values

Our values drive everything we do, from how we handle our objects to how we work in our team to fostering a culture where everyone feels heard and empowered:

• Care Deeply
• Embrace the Unknown
• Spark Curiosity
• Value Many Voices

These are a core part of how we recruit. Throughout the application, interview and selection process, we look for examples of how candidates demonstrate these behaviours in their own work and experiences. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with our values and reflect them in your application.

Additional information

If you have any additional needs that we should be aware of to support you with your application, please provide details to [e-mail] .

Right to Work

The British Museum holds a Skilled Worker sponsor licence. Applicants are responsible for determining whether the advertised salary and role meet current UKVI sponsorship requirements and for ensuring they have, or can obtain, the appropriate right to work in the UK. The Museum cannot provide immigration advice, and eligibility should be checked before submitting an application.

Internal Applicants

We welcome internal applicants regardless of background, department or length of service but encourage you to let your manager know before applying. If you are on a permanent contract and want the fixed-term contract to be treated as a secondment, you will need to obtain your manager’s support before submitting an application.

The Museum also adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for pre-employment screening of Civil Servants.