Curator: Masterplan - London

Role Summary

Curator: Masterplan
Programme Management and Masterplan
Full-time, 41 hours per week (including one hour paid lunch break)
Permanent
£44,719 per annum
Application deadline: 12pm (midday) on 29th September 2025

About the role:

The successful postholder will contribute to the delivery of the current phase of the Museum’s Masterplan, which involves the redevelopment of the Western Range. This is the biggest renovation project in the Museum's history – rebuilding and restoring this patchwork of buildings to make them suitable for the 21st century. The Western Range includes all the galleries to the west of the Great Court, housing some of our most significant objects from the ancient Mediterranean, ancient Egypt, and the ancient Middle East. Alongside architectural transformation, the project has ambitious plans for redisplaying the collection.

The appointed Curator: Masterplan could be working on various tasks including (but not limited to) content development for new permanent galleries, interim displays and pilot projects, and developing and testing models for how the Museum will collaborate locally, nationally and internationally in their delivery.

The Masterplan curatorial team in Public Engagement work closely with colleagues from across the Museum, acting as facilitators and strategic leads in shaping innovative content for future galleries.

Ambitions for the Museum’s future public offer include:

• Collaborating with local, national and global partners to foreground different voices, showcase cutting edge research and tell unexpected stories.
• Creating spaces where the past speaks to the present, engaging visitors with the collection in ways that spark curiosity and conversation.
• Creating inclusive and open displays, inviting visitors to make connections across time and place.

Key areas of responsibility:

• To play a key role in the delivery of the Western Range and wider Masterplan projects, as part of a central project team.
• To work with colleagues across the Museum, including curatorial departments, on research and curatorial content development to support future permanent galleries and interim displays. This would include contributing to research plans and proposals, collections development (including acquisition proposals), and relevant publications.
• To be part of cross-Museum project teams that develop and delivery interim displays and pilot projects that ensure a strong public offer during Masterplan works, and that develop and test different approaches to curation, display, and interpretation.
• To work with colleagues across the Museum to develop and evaluate sustainable and effective models for collaborating with and engaging stakeholders and communities in the development of content for future galleries.
• To collaborate and coordinate relations with relevant institutions, groups and individuals, locally, nationally and internationally, to support the development and delivery of content for Masterplan projects, and to develop or ensure good relations with relevant stakeholders.
• To support fundraising and stakeholder management, and advocate for the Museum as required.
• To have a good understanding of museums and relevant best practice and share this with colleagues.
• Other duties as assigned.

About you:

• Experience of curating a temporary exhibition or gallery refurbishment.
• Demonstrable experience of engaging with the public through digital media, public programmes, or broadcast projects to spotlight various collections.
• Co-curation, co-creation and/or other methods of collaboration with academic and non-academic stakeholders in the delivery of display projects or public programmes.
• Experience of people and projects management experience, with good communication and interpersonal skills and outstanding attention to detail.
• Ability to present in public in an engaging manner.

About the British Museum:

Founded in 1753, the British Museum’s remarkable collection spans over two million years of human history and culture. The Museum is a leading visitor attraction, and its world-famous collection includes the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, the Sutton-Hoo finds, and the Lewis Chessmen. The Museum also holds an extensive collection of prints and drawings spanning 600 years, including works by the greatest graphic artists such as Dürer, Michelangelo and Rembrandt.

You can view a selection of our impressive collection of prints and drawings in our virtual gallery .

The Museum offers a competitive benefits package including:

• Generous annual leave allowance of 25 days (rising to 30 days after 10 years’ service) plus 2.5 privilege days and plus bank holidays.
• Membership of the civil service defined benefit pension scheme (find out here what benefits a civil service pension provides).
• Free entry to a wide range of museums and exhibitions
• Participation in private and public Museum activities, including talks by leading curators from around the world and behind-the-scenes opportunities to learn how museums care for and manage their extraordinary collections.
• Interest-free travel, bicycle, and rental deposit loans
• Professional and personal development opportunities
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounts on food and gift shop purchases

Additional details:

For more information about this role, please see the job description.

The interviews are expected to take place on Friday 17 th October 2025.

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

We have a legal responsibility to ensure that employees have the right to work in the UK. If you currently do not hold the right to work in the UK, we can only sponsor a limited number of roles that meet eligibility criteria. To offer a sponsorship, the job role you apply needs to be in the list of eligible occupations: . Additionally (with some limited exceptions), the role will need to meet the new minimum salary threshold of £41,700 or the going rate for the job, whichever is the highest. You can find more information here:

The British Museum is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all staff and job applicants. We aim to create a working environment in which all individuals can make best use of their skills, free from unlawful discrimination or harassment. We value the benefits that a diverse workforce brings to a museum which represents world culture. The Museum is committed to ensuring that no job applicant suffers unlawful discrimination because of any protected characteristics. Our recruitment procedures aim to ensure that individuals are treated because of their relevant knowledge, skills, and experience.

We specifically encourage applications from candidates from ethnic minority groups who are underrepresented within our senior roles.

We offer a flexible way of working scheme that allows our employees to work remotely in a way that suits them and the organisation. We welcome questions and conversations at interview stage about how flexible working could work for you. We would typically see this role as working on site about three to four days a week.

The Museum also adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for pre-employment screening of Civil Servants.