Project Curator - Mackintosh Illuminated

Reports to: Senior Curator

Location: South & West Region, but potentially flexible on an informal basis to work at some times from home following our Hybrid Working arrangements.

Department: Public Engagement and Research

Type of Contract: Full-Time, 40 Hours Per Week. Fixed-Term, 4-year contract (duration of the Mackintosh Illuminated Project )

JOB PURPOSE

This is a fixed term role delivering curatorial activity for The National Lottery Heritage Fund supported Mackintosh Illuminated Project which runs from 2025 – 2030.

The Trust is the custodian of two of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald’s most outstanding, publicly accessible places: The Hill House and The Mackintosh Tearooms (previously Mackintosh at the Willow). Together, these sites welcome 280,000 visitors annually, promoting the cultural legacy of Mackintosh and engaging visitors with the life and works of two of Scotland's most influential artists.

Mackintosh Illuminated will bring together these two properties in a joint engagement, outreach, communications and marketing programme to spotlight the design duo and the social and cultural context of their works and lives. It includes a significant conservation project at The Hill House, and a major engagement project to increase awareness of Mackintosh, including growing engagement with the two properties among local communities.

The Project Curator – Mackintosh Illuminated provides curatorial support for the National Trust for Scotland’s Mackintosh Illuminated project. Working with the Project Team, the Senior Curator and the Curator – South & West they ensure that The Hill House and The Mackintosh Tearooms are well researched, understood and interpreted for the public within the wider context of both design history and everyday life of the period. They will assist in researching and developing interpretation for the collections, interiors and social history of The Hill House and The Mackintosh Tearooms, ensuring that content is relevant and engaging for audiences, documentation is accurate and rigorous, and staff resources and training are up-to-date.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES

The National Trust for Scotland’s curators are storytellers. The team co-ordinates research, helps to disseminate stories and supports property and central teams with the knowledge, tools and training that they need to share the histories of our places with our visitors and supporters in engaging ways.

• Lead on curatorial research for Mackintosh Illuminated , supporting regional and project staff to ensure, collections, interiors and the wider social context of the properties are well researched and well documented.
• Work with the Mackintosh Illuminated project team to plan and develop interpretation, including content development (text writing, image research etc.) ensuring the collections, interiors and history of the properties are interpreted in engaging, creative and relevant ways informed by audience feedback and evaluation.
• Work with the Community Engagement team to support opportunities for community voices to influence and contribute to research, interpretation and display.
• Ensure collections information is accurate and recorded in a manner consistent with policy and best practice, including collating existing research on interiors and collections, and working with Collections Services to keep the Collections database up to date.
• Ensure staff training and resources are accurate and up-to-date.
• Deliver public lectures and talks, contribute to the NTS podcast, and contribute to content for the Trust’s webpages and social media channels
• Support with develop strong relationships with other organisations with Mackintosh/Macdonald collections and/or relevant academic research topics.
• Supervise volunteers, interns and student placements engaging in research and facilitate access to the collections.
• Support the development of and ensure work is consistent with policy and guidance on curatorial work, especially research, interpretation, and management of collections, with particular reference to the Curatorial Vison and Strategy .

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE

Qualifications and Experience

Essential

• Undergraduate degree in a relevant subject (e.g. Art/design history, Scottish history or social history) or suitable equivalent experience.
• Experience of working with historic collections and period interiors
• Demonstrable experience of planning and developing audience-focused interpretation/experiences in a historic house or museum context.
• Understanding of how to use evaluation and visitor research to inform exhibitions and interpretive developments.
• Demonstrable experience of a wide range of curatorial and collections management responsibilities in a museum/gallery or heritage environment.
• Experience of building effective working relationships in complex, changing work environment and matrix-management structures.
• Competent object recognition and analytical skills, ability and willingness to curate a wide range of object types.
• Sound understanding of SPECTRUM documentation standards and the requirements for Museum Accreditation.
• Experience of research from primary sources, producing and sharing research outputs.
• Experience of object cataloguing and use of collections management databases.

Desirable

• A post graduate qualification in relevant subject (e.g. history, heritage interpretation, museum studies).
• Excellent communication skills and evidence of collaborative working with communities/experience of co-design
• Specialist knowledge expertise and a track record of publications in a relevant subject
• Experience of effective leadership in a dynamic environment
• Experience of developing and managing collaborative research projects
• Experience of working on a National Lottery Heritage Fund project or project of similar scale/ambition
• Experience recruiting, supervising and coaching volunteers and student placements.
• Full UK driving licence.

DIMENSIONS AND SCOPE OF JOB

Scale

• Responsible for day-to-day curatorial work for the Mackintosh Illuminated Project across The Hill House and The Mackintosh Tearooms.

People Management

• Supervision of researchers, volunteers and student placements.
• Key internal relationships include: Project Director, Mackintosh Illuminated ; the MI project team and South West regional/operation teams; the Curatorial team; colleagues in the Public Engagement and Research directorate (i.e. Community Engagement & Participation, Heritage Planning, Learning,)
• The post holder will work closely with colleagues in the Collections Services team to ensure best practice in collections management is always followed.
• Stakeholders and external relationships with peers in other relevant institutions (The Hunterian, Glasgow Life, V&A Dundee etc.), and the local university sector (i.e. University of Glasgow/Glasgow School of Art) and the MI Expert Advisory Panel

Finance Management

• Monitoring expenditure within agreed budgets.

The Purpose , Context , Key Responsibilities , and Person Specification reflect the requirements of the job at the time of issue. The Trust reserves the right to amend these with appropriate consultation and/or request the post-holder to undertake any activities that it believes to be reasonable within the broad scope of the job or his/her general abilities.