National Museums Scotland

National Museums Scotland (NMS) is responsible for the acquisition, preservation and display of a substantial part of Scotland’s cultural, historic and national heritage.  Built up over nearly 250 years the collections comprise over twelve million objects from across the globe. NMS is now the most visited attraction in the UK outside London with over 3 million visitors visiting its four sites, the National Museum of Scotland; the National War Museum; the National Museum of Flight; and the National Museum of Rural Life.

NMS now seeks exceptional candidates for the role of Keeper, Scottish History and Archaeology. This department’s collection of over two million items includes some of the museum’s greatest treasures, from enigmatic Neolithic carvings to the famous Lewis chess pieces, stunning Iron Age gold torcs to jewellery associated with Mary, Queen of Scots.

The Keeper will be closely involved with a significant gallery renewal in the coming years which will serve as a rare opportunity to help modernise the narration of Scotland’s story.

Reporting to the Director of Collections, the successful candidate will lead and manage the development, organisation, preservation and public access to the collections in the department in support of the overall strategy and objectives of NMS.  They will be expected to contribute and participate at a senior level in the development and delivery of NMS’s policy and strategy and will be a charismatic leader and ambassador for the department, internally and externally.

The appointed candidate be a recognised thought leader in this space and will guide NMS to becoming the leading collection worldwide for Scottish material heritage. They will determine, manage and participate in departmental research activity in areas relevant to the department’s collections and activities, nationally and internationally, including in personal areas of expertise. Candidates will have experience of managing a comparable collection and will be cognisant of issues relating to access, research and collections care.

Saxton Bampfylde Ltd is acting as an employment agency advisor to National Museums Scotland on this appointment.  For more information about the role, including how to apply, please visit www.saxbam.com/jobs using job reference DDKP. Alternatively, email belinda.beck@saxbam.com or telephone +44 (0)20 7227 0880 (during office hours). Applications should arrive not later than noon on 12^th January 2024.