Photography Conservator

About the role

We are delighted to announce a new opportunity for an experienced Photography Conservator to join our Conservation Department. This is a newly created post and an exciting chance to help shape how we care for and interpret our rich and varied photography collection, which is extensive, diverse, complex, and full of stories waiting to be discovered.

To succeed in this post, you’ll bring resourcefulness, enthusiasm, and excellent interpersonal skills along with a strong professional network. As an experienced Photography Conservator, you will be confident in assessing and treating a wide range of materials and formats.

You will contribute directly to our mission to make art work for everyone. You’ll be at the heart sharing this collection with the widest possible audience. Your work will play a vital role in delivering our wider strategy, supporting our Public Offer, equalities, and environmental priorities.

You’ll help preserve the collection while enabling us to deliver an ambitious programme of exhibitions, a generous lending programme from our diverse collections and a busy acquisitions programme. Through research and outreach, you will deepen knowledge of the collection and help attract new audiences to engage with it.

The photographic collection includes historic and contemporary paper-based material which include photographic prints on a range of supports, slides, plastic and glass plate negatives, time-based media (including analogue, digitised, and born-digital film and video), photographic albums, cameras and other photographic studio equipment.

This is more than just a conservation role. It is an opportunity to make a lasting difference to the way we care for, understand, and share one of the most complex and compelling parts of the collection.

The difference you’ll make

The role sits within our Paper Conservation section within the Conservation Department, where you will work closely with colleagues specialising in preventive conservation, paintings, frames, sculpture, and time-based media. Together, we are a collaborative department where everyone strives to keep abreast of recent developments within the wider profession. Knowledge-sharing, research, and innovation are encouraged and celebrated. You will also have the chance to develop and embed professional approaches to the conservation of photographic materials across the collections.

Reporting to the Lead Paper Conservator, your core activities will include:
- Delivering conservation input for exhibitions involving photographic material, as well as supporting paper conservation colleagues in general exhibition preparation.
- Providing conservation advice for new acquisitions and loans and digitisation programmes together with the paper conservation team, with a focus on photographic material.
- Maintaining the collection, working with the curators and other colleagues to ensure high standards of collections care in our spaces, often through rehousing projects; and implementing preventive measures to safeguard objects during transit.
- Developing appropriate methodologies for documenting photographic material and completing documentation, including entering information into our collections management database.
- Communicating and collaborating frequently with colleagues including other conservators, technicians, registrars and curators.
- Keeping abreast of sector developments in photography conservation and undertaking appropriate art historical and heritage science research, to enhance our knowledge of the collection and inform working practices.
- Delivering activities to widen our audiences and encourage engagement with conservation.
- Working with and supervising volunteers, placement students and external conservation specialists.
- Delivering photographic conservation projects including interventive conservation treatments. For objects that fall outside your area of expertise, undertaking research and benchmarking with other organisations to devise appropriate strategies.

Who we are looking for:
- A recognised qualification in paper or photographic conservation with demonstrable specialism in photographs and related materials.
- Proven work experience in the museums sector (post-education/training).
- Professional accreditation through the Institute of Conservation (ICON) PACR scheme, or a clear commitment to work towards this.
- Experience in condition surveying photographic material across collections, identifying at-risk and hazardous objects, and implementing solutions for safe transport and public access.
- A track record of delivering photograph conservation projects for a range of formats and material types, with the ability to devise innovative solutions to new challenges.
- Experience of caring for non-paper-based photograph materials, including time-based media (or a desire and willingness to gain this knowledge).
- The ability to undertake research and experience of writing for publications and social media.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to produce clear, accurate and well-structured documentation.
- The ability to work effectively as part of a team, and the confidence to take on a leading role when required.
- Experience of supervising placement students and volunteers.
- Excellent time-management and organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise and deliver under pressure.
- Strong connections within the photographic conservation sector, and commitment to continuous professional development.
- Knowledge of relevant Health and Safety regulations.
- Excellent IT skills, including MS Office and image processing software.
- Experience of using a collections management database.

Please apply directly via our careers portal. Applications via email will not be accepted.

The closing date for applications is 12 noon Monday, 13 October 2025.

Museum Website: https://www.nationalgalleries.org/careers