Position at English Heritage

Collections Care Assistant (WEST)
National Collections Group
Curatorial Department
English Heritage

Location: Osborne House, Isle of Wight
Responsible to: Conservator (West)

Salary: UKP16,386
Closing Date: 8 February 2012

As a Collections Care Assistant, you will have the opportunity to be
involved in implementing standards of conservation care for a
variety of collections at sites in the West Territory.  This is a
wide ranging job both geographically (West territory including Isle
of Wight) and professionally (dealing with collections from stores,
historic houses, archaeology sites and even military defences).

The post will require you to plan, undertake and support appropriate
collections care standards in historic properties and stores across
the territory for conservation housekeeping, environmental
monitoring, insect pest management, functions protection and light
control.

You will need to have previous experience of undertaking
conservation housekeeping in a historic environment and to have
completed housekeeping and environmental training (preferably
English Heritage or National Trust short courses).  Experience of
pest monitoring and emergency salvage response would be an
advantage.

If you have the relevant experience, plus you are flexible, have
excellent people and communication skills, great manual dexterity,
confidence working at height and organisational skills which are
second to none then this could be the job for you.

Further information and application form:

    <URL:http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/jobs/job/?ref=2441>

The Conservation team is professionally responsible for defining and
guiding the implementation of conservation standards for collections
and archives in our care, working closely with teams within the
department and the wider group responsible for their management.

Overall purpose of the job:

    To undertake and support the care of collections located in West
    Territory (including the Isle of Wight, Hampshire, Berkshire,
    Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire).  Collections totalling 91,802
    artefacts located at 38 sites. The role will focus on the
    conservation cleaning of historic objects and interiors and
    insect pest monitoring at Osborne House and Hampshire sites

Main duties and responsibilities:

    Plan, undertake and support appropriate collections care
    standards in historic properties and stores across the
    region/territory for conservation housekeeping, environmental
    monitoring, insect pest management, functions
    protection/monitoring and light control

    Assist with the completion of realistic conservation
    housekeeping schedules which outline cleaning methods and
    frequency, for each site that houses a collection (including
    stores)

    Develop and maintain excellent working relationships with
    colleagues responsible for the operation of historic properties
    and the curation of collections to develop sustainable
    collections care standards

    Establish quarterly insect pest management checks at all sites
    with vulnerable collections and forward results to the
    collections pest control and maintenance manager

    Provide collections care training and support to site staff and
    volunteers relating to conservation housekeeping and insect pest
    management and provide ongoing support through visits and over
    the phone

    To assist with conservation cleaning campaigns at sites outside
    the territory

Person specification

Training, experience and qualifications

Essential:

    Completion of either; the English Heritage Safeguarding Historic
    Collections Short Courses, the National Trust Housekeeping and
    Environmental Management courses or equivalent training

    Experience of undertaking conservation housekeeping work for
    historic house collections

Desirable:

    Experience of insect pest monitoring

    Emergency salvage training

Knowledge and skills

Essential:

    Excellent manual dexterity skills with a patient but efficient
    approach to completing tasks

    Good organisation skills

    Willingness to work from scaffolds and ladders

    Computer literate

    Physically fit and confident working on ladders and scaffolding

    Willingness to travel throughout territory

    Driving Licence

Desirable:

    Experience of using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets

Interpersonal skills

Essential:

    Good people and communication skills; able to influence,
    motivate and support site staff and volunteers

    Flexible attitude, comfortable working alone and with a team


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                  Conservation DistList Instance 25:34
                 Distributed: Sunday, January 22, 2012
                       Message Id: cdl-25-34-036
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