Conservator: Storage

National Museums; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 36,000 - 45,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free exhibition entry

Civil Service Pension Scheme

Leave: 25 days + bank holidays + 2.5 +

Discounts at onsite catering and shops

Learning and development support

Employee Assistance Programme

Enhanced parental leave

Support for carers

Interest-free loans

Job summary

The British Museum is seeking a Conservator: Storage to provide preventive conservation support for its stores across the estate, including Orsman Road and the Reading collection. The role focuses on managing risks to stored objects and ensuring preservation needs are met.

You will lead risk assessment, environmental monitoring, and collaborative projects, contributing to the Museum's Masterplan while supporting moves and storage improvements throughout the site.

Qualifications

• Post-qualification experience in heritage with preventive conservation expertise.
• Degree-level conservation qualification or equivalent; eligible for PACR.
• Ability to assess risks to diverse materials and monitor environmental data.

Responsibilities

• Identify and manage preventive conservation risks across stores.
• Develop practical conservation solutions for various materials.
• Monitor environmental data and interpret results to identify risks.
• Support collection moves and storage projects from planning to delivery.
• Provide preventive conservation advice across stores, galleries, and spaces.

Skills

Preventive conservation

Collection storage

Environmental monitoring

Risk assessment

Project planning

Collaborative working

Education

Professional conservation qualification (degree level)

PACR accreditation (eligible or working towards)

Job description

Conservator: Storage

Full-time

Hybrid - at least 3 days per week on-site

Based in Bloomsbury (with occasional travel to other sites in London and Reading)

Permanent contract

£40,513 per annum

Application deadline: 23:59 on 15 November 2026.

About the role

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

• 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.

Our Values

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

Additional details

If you have any additional needs that we should be aware of to support you with your application, please provide details

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.

National Museum Directors' Council, National Museums Liverpool, World Museum, WilliamBrown Street, Liverpool, L3 8EN