The Museum
The National Museum of Australia is a place that celebrates our people and our culture of storytelling. It is a place to explore our relationships to each other, to the places we live, and to the objects and events in our past. The Museum is the place where we come together to share stories of our unique and distinctive nation, to be part of a national conversation. Come and join the conversation. Be part of the story. Our story.
Information about our collections, galleries, research, temporary exhibitions and public programs, as well as corporate documents including annual reports, strategic plans and visitor research is available on our website at www.nma.gov.au. Applicants are encouraged to review this information as part of their application preparation.
Working environment and remuneration
The Museum offers:
- creative and diverse work
- a flexible and family friendly working environment
- results that you can see and from which you can have immediate job satisfaction.
Responsibilities of the section
The Curatorial and Research section is responsible for the conceptual development of the Museum’s collections, research, exhibitions and public programs. It has three thematic areas – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories; Australian History and Society since 1788; and People’s interaction with the Environment. The section has the following responsibilities:
- Developing the National Historical Collection to represent Australian history and experience for present and future generations
- Maintaining and developing high quality exhibitions and other programs that are challenging and entertaining for national and international audiences
- Enhancing the NMA’s research standing as an authority on Australian history and experience
- Cultivating partnerships with leading cultural and academic organisations and associations
- Contributing to the development of a stimulating and productive workplace in which staff are valued and respected
Responsibilities of the position
The position reports to the Senior Indigenous Advisor and is primarily responsible for:
- Contributing to the development and delivery of the Seven Sisters Songlines exhibition. This includes content development for interpretation and display in a wide range of media in particular state of the art multimedia projections in a three-dimensional environment.
- Contributing to the development and delivery of significant aspects of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Project – Alive with the Dreaming: Songlines of the Western Desert. This will include obtaining documentation, stories about works, sites and kinship connections on all works, in consultation with communities, for use in the exhibition.
- The end to end management of the DomeLab sub-project including technical and strategic aspects, relationship development and content delivery.
- Undertaking and supporting fieldwork, research and community consultation with due regard to appropriate consent clearances and cultural protocols pertinent to different regions, in particular the Western Desert and the Museum’s Indigenous Cultural Rights and Engagement Policy.
- Overseeing and managing the administration of grants, budgets, contracts, schedules and funding applications related to the exhibition and the ARC projects.
- Assisting in preparing correspondence, briefing materials, reports and proposals as well as journal articles, exhibition texts, books, online information and other publications as required.
- Managing the organisational aspects of the Songlines symposium with intellectual input and a range of other workshops, seminars and Elders meetings.
- Developing and managing databases including transfer of data between external and internal systems related to both the exhibition and the ARC archival research project for Songlines.
- Contributing to other Museum programs as required.
Selection criteria
Applicants must respond to each of the following selection criteria in their application:
- Extensive understanding and experience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, history, culture, art and traditions, and the diversity of circumstances of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
- Demonstrated experience working with Western Desert Indigenous communities from an anthropological perspective with a working knowledge of relevant networks, artists and art centres.
- Demonstrated skills and knowledge of curatorial practice, including the ability to undertake research in diverse modes and contribute to collection and exhibition development.
- Demonstrated application of conceptual and analytical skills with a proven ability to undertake high level research and prepare quality texts in a variety of formats or mediums.
- Experience and ability to communicate with skill, negotiate and consult on complex cultural and cross-cultural issues with clarity and sensitivity to a range of audiences and stakeholders.
- Demonstrated ability to manage complex and sensitive projects, manage tasks and competing deadlines and ensuring quality work is delivered within time and budget.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and cooperatively in the development and implementation of an integrated approach to a project and provide support to other projects and colleagues when required as a team member.
- Well-developed technical skills in multimedia, particularly in relation to the delivery of exhibition content, and including demonstrated experience using a range of Microsoft Office programs and databases.
- Knowledge and understanding of workplace safety and health issues.
Note: Applications should include contact details for two referees.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for this vacancy, applicants must:
- be an Australian Citizen
- undergo a number of pre-employment checks, which includes a police records check.
Further enquiries
If you have any questions regarding this position please contact Margo Neale, (02) 6208 5370, [email protected].
Apply
Applicants are encouraged to apply online.
If you have problems submitting your online application, please email [email protected]
