Assistant Curator Renaissance and Early Modern History

NMS Enterprises Ltd; City of Edinburgh; On-site; GBP 60,000 - GBP 80,000; Full time

Job description

Assistant Curator, Renaissance and Early Modern History | Fixed Term 11 months | 35 hours

Full Time Salary: £31,929 - £34,549 (pay award pending)

Hours: 35 hours per week | Monday - Friday

Location: National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh and National Museums Collection Centre, Granton | Hybrid

National Museums Scotland is one of the leading museum groups in Europe with one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world.

As an organisation our values are Creative, Inclusive, Collaborative and Forward-thinking.

We are looking for enthusiastic, knowledgeable and reliable individuals to join our curatorial team Renaissance and Early Modern History section, in the department of Scottish History and Archaeology.

Benefits of joining us as our Assistant Curator, Renaissance and Early Modern History in Scottish History and Archaeology include:

• Annually alongside your salary, National Museums Scotland contributes 28.97% of this towards you being a member of the Civil Service Pension Scheme
• A generous annual leave of 28.5 days – rising to 33.5 after 5 years, plus an additional 8 paid days public holidays.
• Free access to national (and international) museums and exhibitions
• A range of wellbeing benefits including Employee Assistance Programme 24/7
• Access to all the above and more from day one of employment.

About the Assistant Curator role

Based at the National Museum of Scotland you will support the work of the Department of Scottish History and Archaeology, primarily within the Renaissance & Early Modern Section of the Department. This is a full‑time fixed term post, for 11 months whilst the substantive post holder is covering a maternity leave post, based within the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The department’s collections are also stored and displayed at the National Museum Collection Centre, Granton.

The Renaissance & Early Modern section collections are representative of cultural, social, political, military and domestic history in Scotland from c.1450-1750, including decorative arts, jewellery, metalwork, furniture and weaponry, and objects relating to monarchical power, religion, trade and everyday life.

As an Assistant Curator in Renaissance and Early Modern History at National Museums Scotland you will

• Apply expert knowledge of subjects and collections to create and improve National Museums’ documentation programmes
• Assist with programmes of improvement to collections care to meet National Museums’ best practice
• Be responsible for the secure movement and appropriate documentation procedures of the collections, as requires
• Answer public and researcher enquiries and enable access to collections

Skills and experience we’re looking for in our Assistant Curator

• Knowledge of, an interest in, or enthusiasm about the Renaissance and early modern history collections at NMS
• Demonstrable experience in paid or unpaid work in museums or similar environment
• ICT skills in Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook, and database entry.
• Experience of dealing with public enquiries, visitors and/or volunteers

Please be sure to view relevant attachments for this role (available on our Careers Portal: careers.nms.ac.uk) for full details of the position.

The closing date for this role is 18/02/26. The Selection Event is likely to take place week beginning 23/02/26.