Project Assistant - 7 posts

University-of-Oxford; Oxford; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension scheme

38 days annual leave

Childcare services

Family leave schemes

Travel loans

Job summary

University of Oxford in Oxfordshire is seeking seven full‑time staff for the Move Project to relocate museum collections to a new storage facility near Swindon. The role involves packing, documentation and movement across sites, with training provided for manual handling.

Candidates should have museum or heritage experience, strong attention to detail, and competence with Excel. Roles are fixed‑term until 30 June 2027, 36.5 hours per week, with excellent pension and leave benefits.

Qualifications

• You will have experience of working in a museum or heritage environment, ideally within a collections or conservation department, together with practical experience of handling, packing and moving museum objects and delicate artefacts.
• You will have a sound understanding of collections documentation, museum databases and relevant health and safety procedures, alongside excellent attention to detail and accurate record‑keeping skills.
• You will be confident using computer applications, including email and Excel, and will have excellent communication and organisational skills.
• You will be able to manage competing priorities, meet deadlines and work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
• You will also be physically able to undertake the manual handling activities associated with the role, with appropriate equipment and reasonable adjustments where required.

Responsibilities

• Assist in preparing, packing and moving museum objects and artefacts across Oxfordshire to the new storage facility near Swindon.
• Update collections databases and maintain accurate location records.
• Undertake condition checks and coordinate with conservation and technical colleagues.
• Work across multiple sites, with regular manual handling, standing, stairs and ladders; training will be provided.

Skills

Museum environment

Handling & packing artefacts

Collections documentation

Health & safety

Attention to detail

Record-keeping

Communication skills

Organisational skills

Manual handling ability

Tools

Excel

Job description

UK date and time: 01-November-2026 04:39

Various sites across Gardens, Libraries and Museums. The team base is at the Collections Teaching & Research Centre, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QP

THIS POST COULD BE CONSIDERED AS A SECONDMENT OPPORTUNITY

About the role

You will join the University of Oxford's Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) Move Project, helping to deliver the final stage of an ambitious programme to relocate important museum collections into a new purpose-built storage facility.

Working alongside an experienced team, you will help prepare, pack, document and safely move collections from museum and off-site storage locations across Oxfordshire to the new Collections Storage Facility in Swindon.

You will handle a wide variety of museum objects and delicate artefacts, ensuring that collections are packed, transported and stored according to agreed professional standards. You will also update collections databases, maintain accurate location records, undertake condition checks and work closely with museum, conservation and technical colleagues.

This is a practical, hands‑on role involving regular manual handling, standing, using stairs and ladders, and operating specialist handling equipment, for which training will be provided. The role involves working across multiple sites, some of which are not easily accessible by public transport, so access to your own vehicle is required.

There are seven full‑time roles available on a fixed‑term basis, working 36.5 hours per week until 30th June 2027.

About You

You will have experience of working in a museum or heritage environment, ideally within a collections or conservation department, together with practical experience of handling, packing and moving museum objects and delicate artefacts. You will have a sound understanding of collections documentation, museum databases and relevant health and safety procedures, alongside excellent attention to detail and accurate record‑keeping skills. You will be confident using computer applications, including email and Excel, and will have excellent communication and organisational skills. You will be able to manage competing priorities, meet deadlines and work effectively both independently and as part of a team. You will also be physically able to undertake the manual handling activities associated with the role, with appropriate equipment and reasonable adjustments where required.

Knowledge of specialist museum collections, experience of museum cataloguing systems, or a qualification in Museum Studies or Conservation would be advantageous.

What We Offer

As an employer, we genuinely care about our employees’ wellbeing and this is reflected in the range of benefits that we offer including:

• An excellent contributory pension scheme
• 38 days of annual leave
• A comprehensive range of childcare services
• Family leave schemes
• Discounted bus travel and Season Ticket travel loans

Our staff and students come from all over the world, and we proudly promote a friendly and inclusive culture. Diversity is positively encouraged, through diverse groups and champions, as well as a number of family‑friendly policies, such as the right to apply for flexible working and support for staff returning from periods of extended absence, for example, shared parental leave.

We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are inclusive and accessible. If you require the job description or any other materials in an alternative format, or if you would like to request any adjustments to support you through the application or interview process, please contact the recruitment team at [e-mail] .

Please discuss secondments with your line manager in the first instance, as you must have their agreement that you can be released for a secondment before you submit an application https://hr.admin.ox.ac.uk/secondments

Only applications received online by 12.00 midday (GMT) on Monday 23rd November 2026 can be considered. Interviews are expected to take place during the week commencing Monday 7th December 2026.