Collections Care Officer

Location: West Dean, West Sussex
Department: Collections / Education
Contract: Permanent
Hours: 21 hours per week
Salary: £16,524 per annum (FTE £27,540)
Closing date: 30 October 2026
Interviews: Mid-November 2026

About West Dean

West Dean is a unique place to work and visit, combining an internationally recognised centre for arts, design, craft and conservation with award-winning public gardens, historic collections and a working estate.

Our Sussex campus is set within the 6,350-acre West Dean Estate in the South Downs National Park. It is home to West Dean College, renowned gardens attracting thousands of visitors each year, heritage glasshouses, a kitchen garden and tranquil parkland walks. The estate also includes our Tapestry Studio and historic staterooms, which host events, exhibitions and private functions.

Our London campus in Bloomsbury is home to the prestigious KLC School of Design, surrounded by world-class museums, galleries and theatres.

Together, our two campuses bring together education, heritage, hospitality and visitor experiences. Working at West Dean means becoming part of a community that values creativity, craftsmanship, sustainability and inclusivity, while helping to safeguard and share one of the UK's most distinctive cultural institutions.

About the Role

We are looking for a Collections Care Officer to join our Collections team and play an important role in caring for and protecting West Dean College's exceptional collections, historic interiors and archives.

Working closely with the Collections Manager and wider Collections team, you will help ensure that our collections are cared for to a high standard through practical conservation, preventative conservation, environmental monitoring, documentation and risk management.

This is a varied and hands-on role, with the opportunity to work across the College and contribute to a wide range of collections care activities. You will work with colleagues, students and volunteers, providing training and guidance and helping to develop a strong culture of collections care across West Dean.

You will also support access to the collections, exhibitions, loans, house tours and other activities, ensuring that objects and historic interiors are handled, displayed and cared for appropriately.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about heritage and conservation and who enjoys working in a unique historic environment where no two days are necessarily the same.

Key Responsibilities

As Collections Care Officer, you will:

• Support the Collections Manager in implementing and maintaining collections care policies and procedures.
• Help develop and improve practical collections care standards across the College.
• Ensure the collections and historic interiors are cared for and maintained in line with recognised conservation best practice.
• Carry out regular condition checks and identify and report potential risks or conservation issues.
• Monitor temperature, humidity, light levels and pest activity and take appropriate action where concerns are identified.
• Maintain accurate collections care and condition records using the Axiell collections management system.
• Work closely with Housekeeping to ensure appropriate cleaning methods, materials and products are used within historic interiors.
• Provide advice, guidance and training to colleagues, students and volunteers.
• Deliver practical collections care training and demonstrations alongside School of Conservation tutors.
• Support volunteer collections care projects where appropriate.
• Supervise and facilitate appropriate access to the collections, historic interiors and archive.
• Assist with house tours, collection inductions and introductions to the collection.
• Support the installation, movement and deinstallation of objects, displays and exhibitions.
• Assist with the preparation, packing, movement and installation of loans.
• Support the management and organisation of collection storage areas.
• Maintain appropriate stocks of cleaning, conservation and collections care materials.
• Provide appropriate cover for the Historic Object Officer when required.
• Promote good collections care and conservation awareness across the College.
• Ensure compliance with relevant Health & Safety requirements and College policies.

About You

We are looking for someone with practical collections care experience, a genuine passion for heritage and conservation, and a careful and methodical approach to working with historic objects and interiors.

You will have a good understanding of preventative conservation and collections care and will be comfortable working hands-on with collections. You will also enjoy sharing your knowledge and working with a wide range of people, including colleagues, students, volunteers and visitors.

You will be organised, proactive and approachable, with the ability to work independently while also contributing positively to a wider team. You will bring excellent attention to detail, curiosity and a practical, solutions-focused approach to collections care.

What You'll Bring

Essential:

• A relevant qualification in Museum Studies, Conservation, Collections Care, Heritage, History, Archaeology or a related discipline, or equivalent professional experience.
• Demonstrable knowledge of collections care and preventative conservation.
• Practical experience of caring for collections and historic objects.
• Knowledge of appropriate methods for cleaning, handling, storing and displaying historic objects.
• Understanding of environmental monitoring, including temperature, humidity and light levels.
• Understanding of integrated pest management and the risks pests can pose to collections.
• Experience of condition checking and/or risk assessment.
• Strong record-keeping and documentation skills.
• Good IT skills and the ability to use databases and collections management systems.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to provide clear guidance, training and practical demonstrations.
• A strong commitment to safe working practices and responsible collections care.
• The ability to work independently, manage competing priorities and contribute effectively as part of a team.

Desirable:

• Experience working in a historic house, museum, archive, gallery or similar heritage environment.
• Experience using Axiell or another collections management system.
• Knowledge of historic interiors and decorative surfaces, furniture, textiles or other historic materials.
• Experience of exhibition installation, object movement, packing or loans.
• Experience working with archives or mixed collections.
• Knowledge of emergency planning and salvage procedures.
• Experience of environmental monitoring using data loggers or similar equipment.
• Experience working towards Museum Accreditation standards or equivalent frameworks.
• Experience of working with volunteers or delivering training.
• Relevant Health & Safety, pest management, environmental monitoring or emergency planning training.

What We Offer

Alongside the opportunity to work with an exceptional collection in a unique historic environment, we offer a range of benefits, including:

• 33 days' annual leave, including bank holidays, pro rata for part-time employees.
• Generous contributory pension scheme, with employer matching from 4% to 7.5%.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Access to Mental Health First Aiders.
• Cycle to Work Scheme.
• Free entry to West Dean Gardens.
• Discounts on retail goods in our Sussex shops.
• Free and discounted places on short courses at West Dean College.
• Free use of West Dean facilities, including the swimming pool, library and tennis courts.
• Subsidised bed and breakfast rates at the Sussex campus.

Closing date: 30 October 2026
Interviews: Mid-November 2026

Right to Work in the UK

Please note that this role is not eligible for visa sponsorship. Applicants must therefore have the existing right to live and work in the UK.

Diversity & Inclusion

West Dean College values the diversity of our staff and students. We are committed to being an inclusive and representative employer and welcome applications from suitably qualified candidates from all backgrounds.

We do not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, faith or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

GDPR

Our GDPR-compliant privacy notice for applicants is available through the West Dean careers site. By applying for this position, applicants will have the opportunity to review our privacy notice and understand how their personal data will be processed.

• Please view the Collections Care Officer Job Pack 10 2026 document (opens in a pop up)