{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"JobPosting","title":"Howard and Roberta Ahmanson Fellow in Art and Religion","description":"\n

HOWARD AND
\nROBERTA AHMANSON FELLOW IN ART AND RELIGION

THIF NATIONAL GALLERY

THE ROLE PROFILE

Job purpose

The National Gallery is seeking two outstanding early -career scholars to each take up an exciting 22 -month, full -time postdoctoral fellowship based in our newly established Research Department. These fellowships will offer a rare opportunity to work at the heart of one of the world's leading galleries while developing a distinctive portfolio of research, teaching, curating, and public engagement.

This position is designe d to cultivate both deep specialist expertise and, at the same time, gather a broad and highly transferable professional skillset, with past Ahmanson Fellows now in leading curatorial posts, full -time academic appointments, and senior theological roles.

This is an exceptional opportunity for an intellectually ambitious, imaginative, and highly motivated candidate seeking to build a career at the highest level in research, curating, public engagement, or academic life. We are looking for a creative individ ual who is invested in working across traditional boundaries and is able to bridge both different intellectual disciplines and different Gallery audiences, keen to engage with specialists and a broad general public alike.

Scope of job

The Fellows will play an active role across the full breadth of Gallery life. In particular, they will focus on four key, inter -related areas:

• Producing an original interdisciplinary research project of the highest academic standard that explores art’s relationship to religion, including outputs that respond directly to the Gallery’s collection and which advance the state of relevant academic fie lds.

• Undertaking a dedicated three -month placement within the Gallery’s Curatorial Department, supporting the research, interpretation, and display of permanent collections and/or temporary exhibitions.

• Teaching alongside colleagues on at least one module per academic year as part of the MA in ‘Theology, Bible, and the Arts’, co -convened between the National Gallery and King 's College London.

• Developing a collaborative project with our Learning and National Programmes Department and/or Digital Department that deepens public engagement with the Gallery’s religious artworks. This work should produce innovative and lasting

public programmes through, for example, digital exhibitions, schools’ resources, online films, public programme events, or work with community and faith groups.

In addition to these areas, Fellows may be called upon to share their expertise in support of other Gallery activity as and when opportunities arise and capacity allows. This may include contributing to the organisation of relevant research events, developing the Gallery’s research p artnerships and networks, and working with other Gallery teams outside of the Research Department to support their work, for instance the Development Department.

Key deliverables

As noted above, the post will focus on four key areas:

• Producing innovative interdisciplinary research

• Contributing to curatorial activity

• Teaching on our co -convened MA programme

• Developing collaborative public engagement projects

Key relationships

• The postholders will report to the Senior Research Lead in the Gallery's Research Department.

• Research Department: including Head of Research, Senior Research Lead, Chief Librarian & Archivist, and others.

• Curatorial Department: including the Head of Curatorial and individual specialist Curators and Associate Curators.

• Colleagues engaging with broad audiences: Head of Learning and National Programmes, Head of Digital, and their respective teams.

• Colleagues at King’s College London: in particular in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies where our co -taught MA is housed.

• Further relevant National Gallery departments, including Scientific, Conservation, Exhibitions, Development, Events, etc.

Key required skills

• Proven experience of undertaking high -quality, postgraduate -level research in at least one field relevant to the fellowship’s focus on art and religion.

• Demonstrable interest in and/or experience of teaching in a Higher Education setting.

• Demonstrable interest in and/or experience of public engagement in museum and gallery settings, or in equivalent settings.

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively both in writing and verbally.

• Excellent organisational skills, with proven ability to both meet deadlines and effectively manage long -term projects.

• Demonstrable interest in the National Gallery’s collection, including paintings of relevance to the fellowship’s focus on art and religion.

Key required attributes

• Collaborative and collegial, able to work well both independently and as part of a small, close -knit team.

• Willing to be actively involved in all levels of National Gallery research and contribute across departments.

• Engaged and open, able to listen closely and carefully to other colleagues and the public.

• Respectful and courteous in dealing with a wide range of people, including colleagues, the general public, external associates, sponsors, etc.

• Committed to ensuring equality of opportunity in line with the Gallery mission in this area, promoting a positive environment that supports equality and diversity in all aspects.

Supervisory/Managerial responsibility

No direct reports.

Essential minimum qualification on entry

Candidates should hold a PhD or equivalent professional experience in a field relevant to the fellowship. As an interdisciplinary fellowship, we welcome applicants with backgrounds in art history, theology, or any other field/s relevant to the relationship between art and religion, including relevant practice -based research. We define all of these fields broadly.

An ideal candidate will have good prior experience in at least one or more areas covered by the fellowship, for instance interdisciplinary research, university -level teaching, curating, or public engagement. However, prior experience across all four of these broad areas is not essential.

SUMMARYOFTERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT

Howard and Roberta Ahmanson Fellow in Art and Religion

Contract

22 -month fixed -term contract , working full time hours of 35 per week.
\nThis post is on the Gallery’s Band D. The salary is £38,133 per annum.

HOW TO APPLY

It is important to complete all sections of our application form in order to ensure that we have all the information necessary to consider you for the job you are applying for. There are a number of sections to complete before submitting you application. H owever, you can save your application form at any stage and return at any time prior to the closing date to complete.

If you have any questions on the information you should provide, or have any difficulties completing the form, please contact the Human Resources Department at recruitment@nationalgallery.org.uk.

Employment & Academic History

Due to the value of our collection the Gallery undertakes extensive pre -employment screening, including a criminal record check . As part of our security screening process we need to account for all of your time over the past 3/5 years (dependant on role) and will verify the information provided. However we are interested in all of your relevant work experience so please provide us with your career history.

Supporting Information

Candidates should use this section of the application form to outline how their skills, knowledge and experience meets the role criteria and presents a good fit for the fellowship . The key skills and attri butes listed above show you the criteria which are necessary to carry out the responsibilities of the job and will be used to shortlist candidates for interview. In this section, applicants are welcome to either provide a narrative response in the style of an academic cover letter or address each of the individual points listed in the Role Profile in turn.

Alongside the completed application form, candidates should provide by email an academic CV outlining their academic employment, publications, teaching experience, conference contributions, and any other information relevant to the fellowship and the role profile. This CV should be formatted as a single PDF document and submitted by email to: recruitment@nationalgallery.org.uk

Shortlisting

The National Gallery operates name free recruitment, which means an applicant's name and personal details are not visible to recruiting managers in the shortlisting

process. By removing the applicant's name, we aim to ensure that people will be judged on merit and not on their background, race or gender.

Interview

Following shortlisting, candidates will be invited to an in -person interview at the National Gallery. Interviews will take place in early July . These interviews will involve a short presentation from candidates on their potential research and engagement projects for the fellowship. Bursaries may be available upon request to support candidates’ travel to London. Academic and professional references will be taken up for shortlisted candidates at this stage ; please do prepare your named referees that they may be required to submit a reference at short notice in early July. C andidates will also be asked to submit a sample of their academic writing for discussion during the interview.

Selection

For some roles at the Gallery we will ask you to complete a variety of selection activities to allow you to demonstrate your abilities and suitability for the post. These may include ability tests, personality questionnaires, work simulation exercises, int erviews, etc. Details of the specific activities will be advised to you as part of the process.

Equal Opportunities Monitoring

The Gallery is committed to equal opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Our policy is that no job applicant or employee should receive less favourable treatment than another on grounds of gender (including gender reassignment), sexual orienta tion, marital or family status, civil partnership status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or similar belief, disability, age or trade union membership or any other condition or requirement which cannot be shown to be justifi able.

Information you provide such as ethnic origin, gender and disability will be used solely for monitoring purposes and identifiable information will not be disclosed.

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