Senior Curator

Overview

The Design Museum’s temporary exhibitions programme is the central focus of its activities. An exciting opportunity has arisen for a self-motivated Senior Curator who is passionate and knowledgeable about design to join the Curatorial team.

Job scope

The role will involve taking responsibility for developing and delivering excellent exhibitions that inspire our audiences. The senior curator will be expected to generate new exhibition concepts and developing pre-existing exhibition ideas that fit with the museum’s curatorial vision as well as and be responsible for the delivery of assigned projects and displays.

Senior Curator will suit an individual with a good working knowledge of design history, connections within the design industry and experience researching and developing projects collaboratively. The role combines practical curatorial skills and the ability to build partnerships with the opportunity to take personal initiative and develop a curatorial voice.

Job description

*The full job description and person specification are available to download from our careers portal vacancy posting.

Curatorial

• Generate ideas for exhibitions that fit with the museum’s mission and objectives.
• Develop exhibition content, including a concept and object list.
• Source objects/exhibits for the exhibition from other institutions and galleries as necessary.
• Lead on the curation of the exhibition including key exhibition components such as the narrative, interpretation plan, viable loans, object lists, captions and labels and sourcing objects.

Exhibition project management and administration

• Work closely with the Exhibition Project Manager and, if appropriate, exhibition designers to ensure the smooth and timely delivery of the exhibition as an integral member of a team.
• Make approaches to exhibitors and lenders and work with members of the Exhibitions team to ensure Loan Agreements are secured.
• Complete project documentation such as narrative, object list and design documents, ensuring that all relevant updates are accessible for all members of the team.

People management

• Lead and inspire direct reports and the team to achieve the highest level of performance and develop their skills and talents to enable them to reach their full potential.
• Manage direct reports in accordance with the museum’s policies and procedures.
• Lead by example to demonstrate and embed the museum’s values within the team and the wider museum.

Person specification

Essential – Knowledge, skills, and experience

• A degree in design history, art history or related field, with a proven expertise in design, architecture, fashion, technology, or science or equivalent experience.
• Knowledge of contemporary design and ability to draw on an existing network within this sphere.
• An adept communicator, particularly with regards presenting curatorial content to stakeholders.
• Ability to generate ideas, particularly for exhibitions.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to influence others and liaise effectively with colleagues and external contacts within a museum/gallery environment.
• Proven experience of working to international museum standards for loan requirements, transportation, packing, handling, and environmental requirements and negotiating loans and associated contracts.
• Experience of delivering successful visitor engagement in the context of exhibitions and displays.
• Experience of budgeting and monitoring procedures.

Terms and Conditions

Salary: up to £38,760 per annum, dependent on experience

Holidays: 25 days + Christmas eve (museum closed)

Hours: 35 hours/5 days per week

Location: the Design Museum, Kensington is the place of work, with a hybrid arrangement of 60% of an employee’s role to be performed at the museum and 40% remote

Special demands of the role: there may be a requirement on occasion to work outside of the United Kingdom.

Closing date: Sunday 27 July 2025, midnight

Interviews: Thursday 7 August 2025

Application process

Please visit our Careers page to apply via our online portal: https://careers.designmuseum.org/vacancies

If you encounter any issues while completing your application, please email peopleteam@designmuseum.org before the vacancy closing date. We will be in touch as soon as possible; (please note the inbox is monitored Monday-Friday).