The National Gallery is seeking an Exhibitions Assistant to support the organisation and delivery of a range of exhibitions for our Trafalgar Square and Touring Exhibitions programme. Working concurrently on multiple projects, supporting different Exhibition Managers, you will need to be a highly organised, positive individual with a keen eye for detail. You will bring experience of working in a busy administrative role and can show yourself to be a calm, considerate and collaborative team member with the ability to work well with departments across the Gallery as well as with a number of external stakeholders.
Job context
The Exhibitions Assistant post supports the organisational management and delivery of specific exhibition projects within the gallery’s exhibition programme across on-site, national and international touring exhibition projects.
Job purpose
To support the organisation and delivery of multiple complex and high-profile exhibitions within the exhibition programme concurrently, including support for overall project and loan management from the start of a project to de-installation, including any onward tours.
Provide general administrative and financial support to the department, including coordinating internal and external meetings, circulating agendas and minute taking, maintaining budget trackers and arranging travel.
Maintain meticulous records on the collection management database and be responsible for accurate data entry, data queries and running reports. Use database to keep records of all aspects of exhibition project management: both digital and hard copy.
Scope of the job
Support the management of specific exhibition projects from inception to (de)installation: both on and off site. Support Exhibition Managers to deliver key milestones and meet deadlines whilst maintaining best practice and ensuring adherence to all internal processes and external regulations. Each Exhibitions Assistant works on multiple projects with different managers, across all strands of the programme, at any one time.
Assist and support management and record keeping across all aspects of the project lifecycle, including loan management, insurance and transport arrangements, design and interpretation processes, finance and procurement.
Maintain collegiate and positive internal and external stakeholder relationships.
Manage the upkeep of all paperwork and records in a meticulous, timely and orderly manner, including database records, lender files and invoices.
Exhibition Management
* Support Exhibition Managers across multiple (inter)national exhibition projects to deliver to schedule, budget and standard, on site at the National Gallery and at partner venues.
* Prepare UK indemnity and commercial insurance applications; assist with preparation of Due Diligence and Immunity from Seizure paperwork.
* Assist in communication with internal and external stakeholders (including designers, curators, lenders, transport agents and partner venues).
* Manage courier coordination including the preparation of courier itineraries, booking hotels and arranging per diems.
* Assist with the (de-)installation of exhibitions, providing on-site assistance, including overseeing the delivery of artwork. This includes working out of hours where necessary.
* On successfully completing NG courier training, accompany loans in transit, oversee handling and movements of the loans and undertake condition reporting.
* Set up and maintain meticulous exhibition records and loan lists.
* Run and issue regular and ad hoc reports as required.
Finance
* Prepare purchase orders, process invoices and code expenditure to relevant budgets swiftly and efficiently.
* Update budget monitoring sheets to track expenditure.
Administration
* Set up and maintain electronic and paper files for exhibition projects and for the department.
* Assist in providing information for regular internal and external reports. Arrange project and other key exhibition meetings, prepare agendas, take and circulate minutes.
* Support office administration across the department, including ordering stationery, responding to general enquiries and making travel bookings.
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
External: Partner institutions and Museums both national and worldwide, Private collections and collectors, Artists and their studio/gallery, ACE, DCMS, transport agents, External Curators.
Essential minimum qualification of entry
A good standard of education to at least A level or equivalent.
Required skills
* Excellent spoken and written English.
* Able to successfully plan, prioritise and manage a busy workload.
* Meticulous approach to work with a high level of attention to detail.
* Proactive and able to demonstrate initiative whilst also knowing when it is appropriate to seek advice from senior colleagues.
* Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a range of internal and external colleagues.
* Excellent team working: Able to build good working relationships with the immediate team and across the Gallery.
* Able to work collaboratively across a complex organisation and achieve results.
* High level of computer literacy, including working knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel.
Key required attributes
* Approachable and diplomatic in dealing with colleagues across the Gallery as well as external suppliers
* A practical, calm and flexible approach to working under pressure.
* Confident and clear communicator.
* Highly organised with excellent record keeping skills.
* Considerate and collaborative team player with a positive ‘can do’ attitude.
* Demonstrable experience in a comparable role in a busy office environment.
* Flexibility to work beyond normal working hours, including occasional evenings and weekends.
* An interest in the National Gallery’s exhibition programme and its collection.
* To value and respect colleagues and members of the public, regardless of their background, and promote a positive environment which supports equality and diversity.
* To cooperate and contribute to measures introduced by the Gallery to ensure equality of opportunity and encourage diversity.
Essential minimum qualification on entry
A good standard of education to at least A level or equivalent.
Additional essential criteria or considerations
* Demonstrable experience in a comparable role in a busy office environment.
* High level of computer literacy.
* Flexibility to work beyond normal working hours including evenings and weekends.
* An interest in the National Gallery’s exhibition programme and its collection.
* To value and respect colleagues and members of the public, regardless of their background, and promote a positive environment which supports equality and diversity.
* To cooperate and contribute to measures introduced by the Gallery to ensure equality of opportunity and encourage diversity.
Exhibitions Assistant
Contract
This is a permanent role, working full time hours of 35 per week. This post is on the Gallery’s Band C. The salary is £30,088 gross per annum.
Pay review
Pay increases are dependent upon government public sector pay policy and affordability, and the Gallery’s pay settlement arrangements. The following are for employee status:
* Occupational defined benefit scheme (Civil Service Alpha, details available through the Civil Service website); transfer from another Civil Service employer with an existing scheme (e.g. Classic) will be recognised.
* Annual leave entitlement begins at 248.5 hours pro rata (inc. Public and privilege holidays), rising to 283.5 hours (inclusive) at five years’ service.
* Flexible benefits from one month’s service, including discounts, holiday trading, cycle to work and other benefits which vary from time to time according to availability via the Gallery’s palette scheme.
* Happy to discuss flexible working.
* Participation in the reciprocal arrangement between cultural institutions for free entry.
* Employee discount in the Gallery’s retail and catering outlets, as well as several outlets in the vicinity of Trafalgar Square.
* Free tickets to Gallery exhibitions, up to four to share with friends and family.
* Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health, including annual flu vaccination, subject to availability.
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 your application. However, 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 preemployment 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 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 In this section you should provide any information that supports your application. The essential role criterion shows you the criteria which are necessary to carry out the responsibilities of the job and will be used to shortlist candidates for interview. By using the role profile, you should outline how your skills, knowledge and experience match the requirements of the post. 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 and other personal information, such as their ethnicity or the university they attended, we aim to ensure that people will be judged on merit and not on their background, race or gender.
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