Director, Collections Care

Job Summary You’ll take ownership of how a globally significant collection is protected, developed and made accessible, balancing conservation excellence with public impact. From stewarding high-risk and sensitive material to advancing digitisation and sustainability. Job Description This is one of the most senior collections care roles in the UK museum sector. You'll take ownership of how a globally significant collection is protected, developed and made accessible, balancing conservation excellence with public impact. From stewarding high-risk and sensitive material to advancing digitisation and sustainability, your…

Job Summary

You’ll take ownership of how a globally significant collection is protected, developed and made accessible, balancing conservation excellence with public impact. From stewarding high-risk and sensitive material to advancing digitisation and sustainability.

Job Description

This is one of the most senior collections care roles in the UK museum sector.

You’ll take ownership of how a globally significant collection is protected, developed and made accessible, balancing conservation excellence with public impact. From stewarding high-risk and sensitive material to advancing digitisation and sustainability, your work will shape both current access and long-term legacy.

You’ll influence at executive level while leading a large, multidisciplinary function, ensuring collections are not only preserved to the highest standards, but actively enable exhibitions, research, partnerships and new digital opportunities.

Job Requirements

This role is suited to an established senior leader from a major museum, heritage or collections-based organisation.

We’re particularly interested in candidates who bring:

Proven senior leadership experience in a complex, collections-led environment A track record of delivering strategy, transformation or large-scale programmes Deep technical understanding of collections care (conservation, preservation, storage and/or digitisation) Strong commercial and operational judgement, including budget ownership and resource planning Experience working with governance, risk and regulatory frameworks (including complex or hazardous collections) The ability to influence at executive level and build credibility with diverse stakeholders A collaborative, people-focused leadership style with experience leading specialist teams A relevant professional background (e.g. museum studies, conservation, archives or similar)

Job Responsibilities

You’ll operate as a strategic leader, with end-to-end accountability for collections care across IWM:

Set and deliver a clear, future-focused strategy for collections care across multiple sites Lead major programmes across conservation, preventive care, storage, movement and digitisation Ensure collections are protected, compliant and accessible, including oversight of complex and hazardous materials Drive forward IWM’s Digital Futures ambitions for collections access and preservation Lead financial planning, resource allocation and supplier/contract oversight at scale Act as the organisation’s expert voice on collections care, advising senior leadership and shaping decisions Build and lead a high-performing, multidisciplinary team, developing capability and succession Enable collaboration across curatorial, exhibitions, digital and public engagement teams to maximise impact