Assistant National Curator

We have a fantastic opportunity for an Assistant National Curator to join the National Trust on a 12-month fixed-term basis. In this role, you’ll work closely with our photography collections, helping to develop them while expanding knowledge, access, and engagement. You’ll support colleagues at several significant places and contribute to our partnership work, ensuring these remarkable collections are shared and appreciated by all.

What it's like to work here

We care for over half a million photographs from the 1840s to today, including negatives, prints, and albums across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. In this role, you'll travel to select National Trust places, working with staff to develop plans for their photography collections.

As this is a national role, there is flexibility on your contractual place of work. Our hybrid working policy means you can balance office and home working with site visits and meetings at other National Trust places. We’ll talk about this in more detail at interview, but you should expect to be at a National Trust site for 40–60% of your working week.

What you'll be doing

As part of the national curatorial team, you’ll collaborate with colleagues across the Trust to enhance knowledge and access to our diverse photography collections, with a focus on photograph albums. Your expertise will help champion best practice through cataloguing, inclusive research, and deeper interpretation.

Working to support a key partnership, you’ll share stories and emerging themes to shape engaging interpretation and reach wider audiences. You’ll also support conservation colleagues in ensuring the long-term care of these collections. With your passion for photography, you’ll help increase its visibility, both digitally and at our places.

Who we're looking for

• a relevant degree or equivalent experience
• a curatorial and research photography specialism, or ability and desire to develop this
• experience with collections databases, museum documentation standards and practice
• research and curatorial experience in the museum, heritage or culture sector
• ability to communicate knowledge and enthusiasm in engaging ways
• confidence with working collaboratively and creatively, building effective relations with a wide range of people internally and externally
• competent working independently to plan, undertake and deliver objectives

The package

The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.

Benefits include:

• Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary
• Free entry to National Trust places for you, a guest and your children (under 18)
• Rental deposit loan scheme
• Season ticket loan
• EV car lease scheme
• Perks at work discounts such as gym memberships, shopping discount codes, cinema discounts
• Holiday allowance up to 32 days relating to length of service, plus holiday purchase scheme, subject to meeting minimum criteria.
• Flexible working whenever possible
• Employee assistance programme
• Free parking at most Trust places