To deliver the Heritage team Vision by interpreting and displaying the collections, inspiring opportunities for enjoyment and learning with all our audiences, ensuring accessibility, inclusivity and diversity of engagement. Please note that this is a 12 month fixed term role.

Background

Founded in 1868, The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) is a private members’ club which organises and stages The Championships, Wimbledon. In December 2019, it acquired land adjacent to its current site and intends to incorporate this natural, historic landscape into its future plans.

The award-winning Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum is open year-round and welcomes around 100,000 visitors a year, enabling them to engage with the heritage of this prestigious club in the Museum and on the Tour. We provide a wide range of visitors with an array of enjoyable, informative, and educational experiences, that support our goals as a guardian of the game’s history, keeping AELTC at the pinnacle of the sport. The historic collections consist of over one million items comprising of museum objects, archives, photographs and books.

This is an exciting opportunity for an experienced and passionate individual to assist our team not only in staging displays and exhibitions in the Museum but developing a broader range of interpretative content for use across all our activities and sites.

Main Responsibilities

Curatorial responsibilities

• Contribute specialist knowledge to the exhibitions and display strategy for both the Museum and wider site.
• Assist the Interpretation Manager and Senior Curator with developing content and themes for exhibitions and displays and take on project management when delegated
• Write and edit interpretative content, briefing colleagues and contractors to ensure high-quality interpretive interactives or additional content for Tours and public engagement
• Assist in creating a range of flexible interpretation for the most important objects or themes within the collections, researching those items and adding to the collections’ knowledge within the team
• Contribute to interpretative content within Collections online, developing digital interpretation as appropriate and making use of social media to increase awareness of the collections
• Maintain links with museum experts and ensure latest research is always considered
• Assist in response to enquiries, supervise research visits when required and contribute to Tennis History Conference
• Work with colleagues in the Creative team to source designers and create well-designed and accessible exhibitions
• Act as a spokesperson for the team when required; give lectures and tours as delegated by the Interpretation Manager and Senior Curator
• Strive to make any content or interpretation accessible to the widest possible audience, providing opportunity for more diverse representation and more opportunity for visitor participation.

Collections responsibilities

• Be able to safely handle and care for the collections, observing best practice at all times
• Catalogue objects using the Vernon Collections Management system as required
• Strengthen understanding of Collections Development and be prepared to input your expertise to the Collections Development Group. Develop your understanding of, and champion, contemporary collecting, especially of non-traditional items

Professional skills

• Learn about the history of tennis and communicate this to the public as required
• Be prepared to talk to the public about the AELTC collections, this could be to any audience as part of the public programme
• Ability to work within deadlines and within budget

Other Duties

• This job description provides a guideline only. Your role will evolve and other duties may be required of you in the future, as directed by the Interpretation Manager or Senior Curator

The Championships

• Longer hours of work may be required during The Championships

Person Specification

Curatorial responsibilities

Essential

• Proven track record of creating interpretation for Museum collections and working with colleagues in Museum Learning and Visitor Experience to ensure engaging content
• Well-established research skills
• Experience of increasing accessibility in a public-facing arena
• Good understanding of current best-practice in audience engagement and interpretation
• Experience of developing online content

Desirable

• An interest in tennis and tennis history would be an advantage

Collections management

Essential

• A sound understanding of collections management and best practice around handling, storing and cataloguing collections
• Experience of using collections management software (particularly Vernon)

Communication skills

Essential

• Excellent communicator with experience of engaging with a wide variety of stakeholders
• Very good standard of written and spoken English
• Ability to learn and digest information quickly
• Confident when communicating with a wide variety of audiences and with the media
• Clear at communicating progress on a project and ability to provide regular updates

Other

• Excellent time-management skills with the ability to work within deadlines and budgets
• Proficient with Microsoft Office programmes
• Ability to work extended hours, some evenings and weekends as required
• Enthusiasm for museums and heritage and a desire to network and create links within relevant networks to further promote the best interests of the Museum. You will share your contacts willingly and ensure that you network actively within the Museum sector.
• Commitment to your own professional development