This is a fixed term contract due to end when the previous employee returns from maternity leave.  At this point we cannot confirm exactly how long this contract will last, but it is unlikely to be more than 6 months.

You’ll be joining a dedicated team of property employees and volunteers who help make Petworth House and park an incredible place to work.

Hours: This is a full-time role with 37.5 hours per week for a 6 month period. The working pattern is usually Sunday to Thursday or Tuesday to Saturday but we ask for a flexible approach as this might include some evening and weekend working; to be discussed at interview.

We protect everything from bats to buildings to beaches – and we want to share them with everyone too. But how do we care for our special places, while helping everyone to enjoy them and their fascinating stories? It’s no small task. In fact, it’s a big team effort and it’s why our Collections Assistant are so important.

Petworth house and park is a wonderfully innovative and dynamic property currently open to visitors 363 days a year

We hope you'll share our enthusiasm for the preservation and presentation of our internationally renowned collection. By sharing experiences with colleagues, volunteers and visitors. Helping to raise awareness of the challenges we face providing collection care.

You’ll take a proactive and positive approach to provide support to wider property teams. Assisting in the delivery of a rolling programme of events, exhibitions and informative activities. Creating an innovative diverse and inclusive environment for a sustainable future.

Click here for more information about this location

As part of a Collection and House team you will deliver a high standard of day-to-day presentation and preventive conservation cleaning. You’ll also use opportunities during operational opening for volunteer/visitor engagement to demonstrate how you maintain excellent collection care. By monitoring environmental conditions and recording the effects of light, RH% and pest number, you’ll create and update collection related documentation to record wear and tear as part of our annual plan of collection care. Using NT collection management system to record collection movements, update salvage information and take measures to safeguard the collection during operational events and exhibitions.

To gain access the collection preventive conservation monitoring and cleaning often involves working at height from tower scaffold and the supervised movement of collection objects which are often large and heavy. 

Please also read the full role profile, attached to this advert.

We'd love to hear from you if you have;

• A keen interest in history, historic properties and conservation of their collections

• A good understanding of preventive conservation

• Knowledge of the approach required when working with fragile historic collections as well as Health & Safety and emergency procedures

• Good manual dexterity and eye-to-hand skills and ability to work from ladders and tower scaffold

• The ability to support volunteers to perform at their best

• Good interpersonal and communication skills, and are a great team player

• A willingness to undertake continuing professional development and personal skills development and have an enthusiasm to learn

The National Trust has the motto ‘For everyone, for ever’ at its heart. We’re working hard to create an inclusive culture, where everyone feels they belong. It’s important that our people reflect and represent the diversity of the communities and audiences we serve. We welcome and value difference, so when we say we’re for everyone, we want everyone to be welcome in our teams too.

Wherever you’re from, and whatever your background, we want to hear from you – and it doesn’t matter if you’re jam first, cream first, or even if you don’t like scones at all. Everyone is welcome.

Benefits for working at the National Trust include:

• Flexible working whenever possible

• Free parking at most locations

• Free entry to our properties for you, a guest and your children (under 18)

• Substantial pension scheme of up to 10% basic salary

Click here to find out more about the benefits we offer to support you.