Curatorial Assistant (seasonal)

Job Posting: Curatorial Assistant (seasonal)

 Who are we looking for?

We are seeking creative, detail-oriented, and motivated people to assist in our curatorial department, ensuring the department’s activities run effectively and efficiently. These positions will offer students valuable work and learning experiences, encouraging them to explore our world, history, and culture. You will get to experience the wide-ranging responsibilities of the curatorial team, learning not only about museological and curatorial practice but also about how our organization’s focus on relationship-building has contributed to Truth and Reconciliation. Students will experience everything from data entry to exhibit design and installation, giving them real-world experience of a regional museum’s operation. You will be joining a team of enthusiastic and passionate individuals whose goal is to work together for the success of all departments and have fun doing it! Everyone plays a role in The Exploration Place’s daily operations. We are seeking someone comfortable working with colleagues in different departments to help meet our shared goals and make a positive impact on our community.

What are the hours and benefits?

This is a full-time (40 hours/week) seasonal position, Monday to Friday. A regular workday is 8 hours, with a 30-minute unpaid lunch break. Statutory holidays and occasional extended hours may also be required with notice.

 Job Summary:

The objectives of the Curatorial Assistant positions will be to update our public online curatorial database, catch up on accession and digitization backlogs, assist with exhibit creation and installation, interpret exhibits on the gallery floor, as well as support our curatorial team with other duties that arise. This position reports directly to the Curator and Assistant Curator – Botany, in collaboration with the leadership team.

The successful applicant will be responsible for the following:

• Assisting with the arrangement and description of unprocessed artifacts and archival collections
• Correcting descriptions and adding keywords in the online database
• Cataloguing backlog of artifacts and archival documents
• Documentation, research identification, photographing, scanning, and data entry
• Entering data into the collections database
• Assisting with the creation, installation, and strike of exhibits, both onsite and online
• Engaging in research activities; locating, assembling, analyzing, consolidating, and presenting information on a variety of topics
• Conducting registration of artifacts, including the preparation of legal documents and assigning of accession numbers
• Assisting in support tasks such as answering public inquiries, local history requests, and photographic image requests
• Interpreting museum exhibits and answering questions from a diverse group of visitors
• Greeting and engaging visitors, making them feel welcome
• Performing other daily routine duties, including general guest services and supervision, cleaning and maintenance, coverage for front desk, etc., as necessary
• Participating in activities and events in other departments as required, working as part of a team
• Representing the Museum with the utmost integrity, exemplifying the values and mission of our organization
• Aiding with various special events as necessary
• Other duties as assigned

 Knowledge, skills, and abilities we are looking for:

• Possess strong oral and written communication skills
• Be a self-motivated team player
• Must be able to work within a team environment, often with minimal supervision
• Possess excellent time management and multi-tasking skills
• Have the ability to work with diverse groups of people
• Have the willingness to learn
• Have a strong work ethic
• Be reliable
• Be familiar and comfortable with software, including but not limited to Microsoft Office Suite programs
• Must show flexibility when asked to perform other tasks as needed
• Be able to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds on select occasions and stand for long periods
• Must be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and willing to abide by all COVID-19 regulations
• To comply with funding guidelines, candidates are required to be Canadian citizens or permanent residents, or have refugee status in Canada, be between the ages of 15 and 30, be enrolled in full-time secondary or post-secondary education in the previous school year, and to intend to return to full-time studies in the fall. Please indicate the name of your post-secondary institution and field of study on your resume.

The following will be considered an asset for this position:

• Completion of at least first year of post-secondary studies in a related field, such as Museum Studies, History, Archaeology, Anthropology, or Paleontology
• Knowledge of museum processes and ethical protocols related to the care and display of artifacts
• Knowledge related to the care, display, and repatriation of First Nations material culture
• Experience working with artifacts, archival sources, audio files, oral histories, and photographic materials
• Experience with photography

 The Exploration Place is an equal opportunity employer.

We do not discriminate against ability, ethnicity, gender identity, socioeconomic background, or sexual orientation. We strongly encourage applications from individuals from under-represented communities and diverse backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We’re looking for motivated, compassionate people who can execute from the ground up. The Exploration Place is committed to providing our team members with safe, quality work experience, employability skills, and access to career development through professional development opportunities and mentoring. We use an in-depth, hands-on training program that allows our new employees to learn by doing, working closely with all departments and with our leadership team.

 All offers are subject to satisfactory completion of reference, criminal record checks, and proof of vaccination.

Only successful applicants will be contacted. Please email your application with the subject heading “Curatorial Assistant Application” as a PDF (lastname_firstname_documentname.pdf)  with your resume, cover letter, and three professional references to:

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