Deputy Curator (Content)
Salary £ 31,117 gross per annum
Central London
Vacancy listed 16/09/2025
Application deadline 12/10/2025
Details
The Postal Museum is one of the newest and most exciting museums in London. We opened in 2017 and have already established the museum as a must-visit destination with award-winning experiences. Alongside hands-on exhibitions exploring over 500 years of British social and communications history, visitors can experience a subterranean ride through the tunnels of the old Post Office Underground Railway – Mail Rail. The museum welcomes over 160,000 visitors and our online content reaches almost a million users a year. We deliver award-winning learning, access and outreach programmes and provide unique experiences including popular Tunnel Walks under the streets of London. The museum also operates a children’s play space – Sorted – popular with young families and schools. Alongside all this we offer one of the most unique venues in London for corporate hire and filming locations.

Job Title: Deputy Curator (Content)
Salary: £31,117 gross per annum
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 35 hours a week
Location: The Postal Museum and Debden Collections Store

Who We Are 
The Postal Museum tells the story of postal communication and its impact on a global society.
What We Do
We use our collection to explore stories around communication, and to inspire everyone to make richer and more meaningful connections in their lives. 
Our Values Are
• Openness
• Generosity
• Innovation
• Curiosity
• Playfulness
We Will
• Be open and generous in spirit and action
• Deliver innovation
• Communicate our stories with clarity and playfulness
• Be curious about people’s stories and experiences           


Strategic Objectives


Core
  • Champion good communication and connections in individuals, families, communities and society
  • Look after our collection and expand access to it
  • Ensure our collections, content and spaces reflect our diverse audiences, so that visitors feel seen and welcome

Supporting
  • Develop and maintain a sustainable financial model
  • Grow our partnerships across the country and around the world

The Museum’s vision is to ‘use our collection to explore stories around communication, and to inspire everyone to make richer and more meaningful connections in their lives.’ The post holder is a key person in the delivery of this vision.

The Deputy (Content) will support the Curator (Content) and the Senior Curator in delivering research-led content projects. Supported by the Curator (Content) they will undertake research and create content. They will work in collaboration across the Curatorial Team and teams across the museum in the delivery of research-led content by sharing research and supporting the delivery of collections-based events and programming. The Curatorial team has a planned research programme for 2025 and 2026 which includes travelling post offices, Windrush Generation histories in the context of the Post Office, LGBTQ+ histories and Post Office cultures, and British postal communications during global conflicts.

The Postal Museum is working in new ways and the postholder must be able to support how the content of the Museum is made available. Content at the Museum is everything it produces, and the Deputy Curator will need to support the Curator (Content), Senior Curator, Exhibitions, Access and Learning team, Marketing and Communications team and Operations team to deliver content projects.

They will support the Curator (Collections Management) in ensuring the collections are cared for to Accreditation standards, supporting the delivery of Curatorial team process and procedures including supervising storage, administration of loans and undertaking regular checks of the collections at The Postal Museum and the museum’s offsite storage facility at Debden, Essex. 

The Museum is committed to decolonising its collections through targeted activities including working with identified communities and collections-based activities, including producing content that offers alternative voices and perspectives on our collections. The Postal Museum has recently piloted a co-production model for its current temporary exhibition, Voices of Resistance: Slavery and Post in the Caribbean, which explores how postal operations enabled and benefitted from transatlantic trafficking of enslaved African people. The organisation plans to evaluate and learn from this project in our approach to future research and displays.

The Postal Museum has a small, friendly team with a can-do attitude. The postholder will be expected to roll their sleeves up and get involved with practical, everyday activities as well as helping to deliver the long-term strategies of the museum.


Key Responsibilities & Duties


Content 
  • Supporting the Senior Curator and Curator (Content) in the delivery of research programmes by undertaking research as agreed.
  • Working with the Curator (Content) and Curator (Collections Management) to deliver volunteering projects. Work with, and supervise, volunteers, interns and trainees.
  • Supporting the Curator (Content) in producing updates on research programmes. 
  • Working with the Curator (Content) to ensure research documentation findings are shared and made available across The Postal Museum.
  • Supporting teams across the museum to access the collection and research.
  • Working with team across the museum to deliver collections-based projects as agreed with the Curator (Content) including:
    • Supporting the delivery of major exhibition and research projects.
    • Leading and managing the delivery of display case changes in the permanent gallery, pop-up displays and online content such as blogs and information pages.
    • Working with the Marketing and Communications to produce copy for written content and working with them in the delivery of digital content including social media and digital media.
    • Development and delivery of collections public engagement activities at TPM events such as family days, which may require weekend and/or evening work.
    • Delivering activities with the Exhibitions, Access and Learning team to support engagement with the collections across target communities and audiences to ensure alternative voices and perspectives on our collections.
    • Development and delivery of specialist tours and talks as required.
    • Co-ordinate the production of content for digital platforms across the Collections team to ensure they support delivery of suitable content for the audiences.
    • Work with the Senior Curator and Curator (Content) in generating ideas for research and content.
    • Monitoring and answering enquiries from the public via email.

Collections Management 
  • To work with the Curator (Collections Management) to supervise collections storage and ensure that best practice housing is implemented throughout the collections. This will involve manual handling and use of step ladders.
  • Support the Curator (Collections Management) in the administration of loans.
  • Assist with the delivery of daily operations of collections stores including the large object store and repositories at TPM as required, requiring lone working at off-site facility in Essex.
  • Supporting the Curator (Collections management) and Curator (Content) in updating catalogue records to reflect latest research.
  • Supporting collections reviews as required. 
  • Working with the Assistant Curator to manage the documentation around museum material on display in the gallery, including the rotation programme.
  • Support the Curator (Collections Management) in new acquisitions and managing access to the collection when the Assistant Curator is absent. 
  • Supporting the implementation of updated collections management process and procedures across the collection by working within established standards. 

Other
The postholder is expected to monitor and report on their work as directed by their line manager and adhere to office guidelines on handling, health and safety, lone working, etc., as advised, taking responsibility as appropriate. Occasional weekend and evening work will be required.  

Person Specification


Experience
(Essential criteria) 
  • Experienced in using museum documentation systems.
  • An understanding of the importance of museum documentation systems and processes, including SPECTRUM standards.  
  • Demonstrable experience in delivering research projects. 
  • Proven experience of careful handling of fragile objects. This can be from any job experience or sector. 
  • Experience of independent working and willingness to undertake lone working on a regular basis, including at our off-site storage facility. 
  • Confident in presenting complex information to different audiences. 
  • Experience of conducting historical research.

 (Desirable criteria)  
  • Experience of supervising and working alongside volunteers, interns and trainees.
  • Experience of conducting decolonisation projects. 
  • Experience of telling complex stories.
  • Experienced in working with community groups to create content. 
  • Experience of packing and moving museum objects. 
  • Experience of developing displays within a museum setting.
  • Experience of responding to public or customer enquiries.

Skills/Knowledge
(Essential criteria) 
  • Experience in data entry, use of databases and excellent computer literacy. 
  • Strong research skills with ability to interrogate historical sources.
  • Broad knowledge of British history and ability to critically debate historic events. 
  • Understanding of current trends and methods in engaging audiences with museum-based research.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with ability to tailor communication style to subject matter and audience. 
  • Ability to handle and pack fragile objects safely and carefully. 

(Desirable criteria) 
  • Demonstrable competency with customer care and public facing duties.  
  • Good, proven working knowledge of collections care best practice. 
  • Skilled in handling and packing museum objects.
  • Ability to design display case layouts, presenting complex ideas accessibly. 

Person
  • Motivated by, and with a passion for, the work of museums. 
  • Flexible, positive attitude and ability to work on own initiative. 
  • Organised with the ability to prioritise and work to deadlines independently.  
  • Proven excellent team worker. 
  • Articulate, enthusiastic and conscientious.
  • Able to empathise with a wide range of groups.
  • Curiosity, interest and enthusiasm for postal history.
  • Passionate about surfacing marginalised histories and understanding stories from diverse perspectives. 
  • Enthusiastic about museum objects and the stories they tell.


Working Hours 

The working hours shall be 35 per week, exclusive of meal breaks. These are usually flexible across the week and will be agreed in advance with the line manager, in line with The Postal Museum’s policies. Occasional lone working will be required at The Postal Museum offsite stores. Some out of hours working will be required to support events and weekend openings, and this will be notified in advance. Time off in lieu will be awarded in line with The Postal Museum’s policy. Flexible and hybrid working patterns will be considered.  

This position requires a basic DBS check which will reveal any unspent convictions. A criminal record may not necessarily be a bar to placement, as any decision will be treated on its merits and individual circumstances subject to the museum’s overriding obligations to protect the children and vulnerable adults in its charge, members of the public, the safety of the museum’s staff and the Collection.


How to Apply

Kindly upload your up-to-date CV and a cover letter detailing how you meet the requirements of the role.

Please note that all candidates must be eligible to work in the UK.
 
The Postal Museum is a Disability Confident Employer, if at this point you wish to disclose any disability, kindly let us know at hr@postalmuseum.org before the application deadline.

Closing Date

Sunday 12th October 2025

Proposed Interview Date

4th November 2025


apply