Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary History

Overview

Assistant Curator, Modern and Contemporary History | Fixed Term 12 Months | 35 hours

Full Time Salary: £34,368 - £37,189.

Hours:

35 hours per week | Monday - Friday.

Location:

National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh;
National Museum of Rural Life, East Kilbride;
National War Museum, Edinburgh Castle and National Museums Collection Centre, Granton, Edinburgh. Hybrid.

National Museums Scotland is one of the leading museum groups in Europe with one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world. Our values are Creative, Inclusive, Collaborative and Forward-thinking. We are looking for enthusiastic, knowledgeable and reliable individuals to join our curatorial team, working in the Modern & Contemporary History section of the department of Scottish History and Archaeology.

• Annually alongside your salary, National Museums Scotland contributes 28.97% of this towards you being a member of the Civil Service Pension Scheme
• A generous annual leave of 28.5 days - rising to 33.5 after 5 years, plus an additional 8 paid days public holidays.
• Free access to national (and international) museums and exhibitions.
• A range of wellbeing benefits including Employee Assistance Programme 24/7.
• Access to all the above and more from day one of employment.

Based at the National Museum of Scotland you will support the work of the Department of Scottish History and Archaeology, within the Modern and Contemporary History section. This is a fixed-term, full-time post, for 12 months whilst the substantive post holder is covering a maternity leave post, based within the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, working also at the National War Museum at Edinburgh Castle, the National Museum of Rural Life in East Kilbride and the National Museums Collection Centre in Granton, Edinburgh.

The Modern and Contemporary History collections represent cultural, social, political, military and rural history in Scotland from c.1750 to the present day. Notable collections include:
Scottish decorative arts, from precious jewellery to glass and ceramics; unrivalled bagpiping collections and the material culture of working life, from ploughs to weavers’ tools. We hold extensive material representing military history and rural life, reflecting the strength of the foundational collections of the National War Museum and National Museum of Rural Life.

• Apply expert knowledge of subjects and collections to create and improve National Museums’ documentation programmes.
• Assist with programmes of improvement to collections care to meet National Museums’ best practice.
• Be responsible for the secure movement and appropriate documentation procedures of the collections, as required.
• Answer public and researcher enquiries and enable access to collections.

• Knowledge of, an interest in, or enthusiasm about the Modern and Contemporary History collections at NMS
• Demonstrable experience in paid or unpaid work in museums or similar environment.
• ICT skills in Microsoft Word, Excel and Outlook, and database entry.
• Experience of dealing with public enquiries, visitors and/or volunteers.

Please view relevant attachments for this role (available on our Careers Portal: ) for full details of the position.

The closing date for this role is Friday 6 March 2026. The Selection Event is likely to take place week beginning 23 or 30 March.