International Touring Exhibitions Curator

International Touring Exhibitions Curator

Vacancy Type: Fixed Term Contract length 12 months

Working Hours: 3.5 days per week

Working Pattern: Part Time

Is hybrid working available? Yes

If hybrid how many days on site minimum? at least 2 days per week on-site in Bloomsbury, London

Location: Bloomsbury, London (Hybrid)

Salary: £31,413.20 per annum (£44,876 FTE)

Application Deadline: Sunday, November 1, 2026

Job Profile: Job Profile document

Role Summary

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced museum curator to help shape exhibitions that bring the ancient world to audiences internationally. This role offers the opportunity to combine scholarship, creativity and public engagement, working with outstanding collections and specialist colleagues to develop exhibitions for audiences around the world.

Working within our International Engagement team and alongside curatorial colleagues across the Museum, you will develop and co-curate exhibitions drawing on the British Museum’s ancient world collections. A key priority for the role will be to co-curate an exhibition exploring Byzantium, which is already in development.

You will join at an important stage in the development of the Byzantium exhibition while also having the opportunity to contribute your own thinking to the future international exhibitions programme. It would particularly suit someone who enjoys the collaborative nature of exhibition-making but is equally comfortable taking ownership, making connections and pursuing a strong curatorial idea. We are particularly interested in candidates who have practical experience of developing and curating exhibitions and who know how to translate academic research and complex ideas into engaging, accessible experiences for public audiences.

Please note that this role may involve occasional international travel.

About you

You will be a curator with experience of working in a museum environment and a strong understanding of how exhibitions are researched, developed and delivered.

You will bring:

• Experience in a museum environment, ideally with curating exhibitions and with a clear understanding of what it takes to turn a curatorial concept into an engaging public exhibition.
• Good knowledge of the history, art and/or archaeology of the ancient Mediterranean, Egypt or Middle East, together with familiarity with relevant material culture. Expertise in Roman and/or Byzantine art, history or archaeology would be particularly valuable.
• The ability to communicate academic research and complex ideas clearly and engagingly to non-specialist audiences, supported by experience of public engagement.
• Strong research and writing skills, with the ability to produce authoritative yet accessible exhibition interpretation and academic content.
• A collaborative approach and confidence in developing relationships with colleagues across different curatorial and specialist areas.
• The initiative to seek out expertise, develop ideas and move projects forward independently, as well as the judgement to know when collaboration is needed.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence, build support for ideas and work tactfully with a wide range of internal and international stakeholders.
• Strong organisation and self-discipline, with the ability to balance several projects and

Key areas of responsibility

In this role, you will:

• Co-curate the Museum’s developing exhibition on Byzantium, collaborating closely with curatorial and project colleagues.
• Develop and curate other international touring exhibitions based on the British Museum’s ancient world collections, contributing to projects at different stages of development.
• Propose new and imaginative exhibition concepts, identifying opportunities to bring the collections and their stories to international audiences.
• Build productive relationships across the Museum, proactively reaching out to curators and colleagues in other departments to develop content, identify suitable objects and gather specialist knowledge.
• Research and develop exhibition narratives, producing engaging and authoritative content including catalogue essays, object labels and exhibition texts.
• Turn specialist research and complex subjects into compelling stories that are meaningful and accessible to a broad public audience.
• Work with project colleagues and international host venues, reviewing exhibition designs, interpretation, catalogue content and marketing materials.
• Help communicate and promote exhibitions through presentations, gallery tours, lectures, opening events and, where required, media activity.

The Masterplan

The British Museum is undertaking its biggest transformation since its founding nearly 300 years ago. This physical and intellectual transformation includes large scale building and gallery transformation, new ways of connecting with audiences and different ways of working. As we look towards this exciting future, we remain guided by the words of our founder Hans Sloane - who dreamed of a museum connecting all arts and sciences, which would be accessible to everyone, everywhere.

Benefits

At the British Museum, we believe our people are at the heart of everything we do and have designed a benefits package that goes beyond the ordinary. Our full list of benefits can be found here, but we’ve outlined some highlights below:

• Free exhibition entry for you and guests, exclusive private views, ICOM and reciprocal museum access.
• Civil Service Pension Scheme defined benefit with considerable employer contribution.
• 25 days’ annual leave plus bank holidays and 2.5 privilege days (and +5 days after 10 years).
• Learning and development through courses, mentoring and Athena as well as support for professional qualifications.
• Employee Assistance Programme available 24/7 for counselling, wellbeing support and more.
• Enhanced parental leave including maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave.
• Support for carers through Employers for Carers.

Values

Our values drive everything we do, from how we handle our objects to how we work in our team to fostering a culture where everyone feels heard and empowered:

• Care Deeply
• Embrace the Unknown
• Spark Curiosity
• Value Many Voices

These are a core part of how we recruit. Throughout the application, interview and selection process, we look for examples of how candidates demonstrate these behaviours in their own work and experiences. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with our values and reflect them in your application.

Additional information

If you have any additional needs that we should be aware of to support you with your application, please provide details to bmrecruit@britishmuseum.org .

Internal Applicants

We welcome internal applicants regardless of background, department or length of service but encourage you to let your manager know before applying. If you are on a permanent contract and want the fixed-term contract to be treated as a secondment, you will need to obtain your manager’s support before submitting an application.

The Museum also adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for pre-employment screening of Civil Servants.

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