Aircraft Conservator

National Museums Scotland is one of the leading museum groups in Europe. With one of the largest and most diverse collections in the world, we are responsible for the acquisition, preservation and display of a substantial part of Scotland’s cultural, historic and national heritage.

Millions of local and international visitors enjoy our four museums each year, and we also introduce our collections to a much wider audience than can physically visit our museums through, touring exhibitions, loans, community engagement, digital programmes and research.

Over the last decade, we have invested over £120 million in our sites and have more than doubled our visitor numbers, with over 3 million people now visiting our four museums. Alongside this, we have continued to transform how we communicate and engage with our audiences. 2019 has seen the completion of our Masterplan for the National Museum of Scotland with the opening of three new galleries dedicated to Ancient Egypt, East Asia and the Art of Ceramics.

We have an exciting opportunity at the National Museum of Flight in East Lothian, Scotland for a competent Conservator, with a background in aviation conservation and restoration. This post will support our Aviation Conservator and volunteers with the ongoing care and maintenance of our external aviation collection.

As the successful candidate, you will have experience of working on aircraft and associated aviation collections. You will have an excellent understanding of material issues and treatments. As part of the conservation/restoration process you will be competent at dismantling and re-assembling complex objects with many mechanical parts. You will be aware of professional conservation standards and best practice. With a degree in a relevant subject, you will likely have a conservation qualification, or in the absence of formal qualifications you will be able to demonstrate relevant experience in an aviation context within the cultural heritage sector. You will be adept at problem solving, able to manage your time and work alone or with others, to meet deadlines. You will have experience of working with volunteers and leading and guiding them on practical projects. You will have strong communication and ICT skills.

This post is predominantly based at the National Museum of Flight, but the successful candidate will be expected to work at our other sites when necessary. This post will involve occasional working at heights in an outdoor environment and a degree of manual handling. A driving licence is required to operate the aircraft tug on site.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys practical projects and takes pride in their work. We would welcome applications from individuals looking for a secondment to broaden their knowledge and experience.