Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary History
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Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary History | Fixed Term 12 Months | 35 hours
Full Time Salary: £34,368 - £37,189
Hours: 35 hours per week | Monday - Friday
Location: National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh; National Museum of Rural Life, East Kilbride; National War Museum, Edinburgh Castle and National Museums Collection Centre, Granton, Edinburgh | 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, working in the Modern & Contemporary History section of the department of Scottish History and Archaeology.
Benefits of joining us as our Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary 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 morefrom 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, within the Modern and Contemporary History section. This is a fixed-term, full-time post, for 12 months whilst the substantive post holder is covering a maternity leave post, based within the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, working also at the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle, the National Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride and the National Museums Collection Centre in Granton, Edinburgh.
The Modern and Contemporary History collections represent cultural, social, political, military and rural history in Scotland from c.1750 to the present day. Notable collections include: Scottish decorative arts, from precious jewellery to glass and ceramics; unrivalled bagpiping collections and the material culture of working life, from ploughs to weavers’ tools. We hold extensive material representing military history and rural life, reflecting the strength of the foundational collections of the National War Museum and National Museum of Rural Life.
As an Assistant Curator in Modern and Contemporary 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 required.
- 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 Modern and Contemporary 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 Friday 6 March 2026. The Selection Event is likely to take place week beginning 23 or 30 March.
Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary History
Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
EH1 1JF
£34,368 to £37,189 per year Generous Civil Service Pension Scheme, Holidays and more
Temporary - Full-time
Posted today
Closing date: 07/03/2026
Job reference: NMS148706
Documents
AC Mod Con - RecruitmentPack FINAL.pdf
Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary History
Edinburgh, City of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
£34,368 to £37,189 per year Generous Civil Service Pension Scheme, Holidays and more