Salary (grade 6): £ 36,816 per annum (dependent of experience) Hours: 37.5 hours per week – 12 month fixed term contract (maternity cover) Contract : Permanent Location: National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Portsmouth The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) is recruiting for a Principal Conservator on a 12 month fixed term contract (maternity cover) to join the Museums Operations Directorate. The Principal Conservator leads a small team of conservators and shipkeepers in the maintenance and upkeep of our wide-ranging collections, based in Portsmouth. The successful candidate will oversee the continuation of existing conservation programmes, managing two conservators. The main focus of this 12-month contract will be to lead the conservation workflows on an exciting new development in Portsmouth, a NHLF-funded project to re-imagine Boathouse 6 as a new exhibition as part of the Royal Marines Museum offering at NMRN in Portsmouth. They will work closely with fellow conservators and the collections team, to help maintain the highest standards of conservation in all our work. Team work is a key part of this role to ensure that conservation best-practice is applied to our work with the collections. Key Opportunities Leading the conservation workflow on the exhibition project for the new Royal Marines Museum offering. Opportunity to gain practical experience of a wide range of conservation tasks, preventive and interventive, on a challenging collection. Working with colleagues in the curatorial team, providing conservation advice and guidance as well as practical assistance as appropriate. Contribute to the conservation of our nationally and internationally important collection of historic ships and objects. Knowledge/Experience A professional conservation qualification at degree level or equivalent experience is required for this role and demonstrable post-graduation experience working within a museum setting or historic building. Demonstrable experience of leading conservation workflow on exhibition projects in a museum setting. Knowledge of best practice approaches to preventive and interventive conservation of a range of materials, particularly within display and exhibition contexts. Sound awareness of conservation ethics and confidence in making conservation-led decisions. Experience managing conservators, students and/or volunteers. A positive attitude and passion for communicating the principles of conservation to different audiences. We Provide: The opportunity to be part of a friendly and diverse workplace within a unique heritage environment. Group pension plan with Royal London (6% employer contributions, 2% employee contributions and death in service benefit). Free onsite parking on receipt of a Car Pass. 25 days’ annual leave (plus bank holidays), increasing to 30 days’ annual leave (plus bank holidays) after 5 years’ service. Occupational sick pay. Enhanced maternity/adoption and paternity pay. Flexible working. Employee Assistance Programme. Free admission to other national museums and attractions within the reciprocal agreement. Discounts at our shops and cafes. Free and discounted tickets for family and friends. This post requires a DBS check as a requirement of working on the naval base, as well as the right to work in the UK. Please note we cannot currently sponsor work visas. For further details, or an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Diana Davies, Head of Conservation, at Diana.DavisNMRN.org.uk Applicants are asked to apply via https://jobs.nmrn.org.uk/ no later than 5pm, Monday 30th December 2024. If you require reasonable adjustments to be made to the application process because of a disability, please contact the HR team on recruitmentnmrn.org.uk for support.