Museums and Botanic Garden Education and Outreach Officer Traineeships
Oxford University Museums and Collections (OUMC)
Funded by Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF)
Role description and selection criteria
Role title
Museums and Botanic Garden Education and Outreach Officer
Traineeships (4 available)
Department
Ashmolean Museum
Location
Oxford University Museums and Collections (OUMC)
Bursary
£13,500 bursary per year (may be subject to tax)
Hours
Full time (36.5 hours per week)
Contract type
18 month fixed-term Traineeship
Reporting to
Ashmolean Museum Head of Education or placement Mentors
Oxford University Museums and Collections (OUMC)
The University of Oxford is home to five of the world's greatest university museums and
botanic gardens – The Ashmolean Museum, Pitt Rivers Museum, Museum of the History of
Science, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and the Botanic Garden and
Harcourt Arboretum. Their collections span subjects including fine art, archaeology, science,
anthropology and nature, and include such treasures as the most extensive collection of
Raphael drawings in the world, the earliest documented dinosaur fossils, and the most
diverse grouping of plants within the smallest space in the world. The Museums and Garden
are renowned as being of international importance yet are placed firmly in the heart of the
local community. In 2009 the Oxford Museums and Botanic Garden were all awarded The
Queen's Anniversary Prize, in recognition of their outstanding collections and high public
benefit.
For more information please visit: http://www.museums.ox.ac.uk/
and http://www.ashmolean.org/education/skillsforthefuture/
Ashmolean Museum
The Ashmolean Museum has been described as “unquestionably the finest university
museum in the world” (The Times, October 29th, 2009). The Museum is a part of the Oxford
University Museums Group and houses the University’s collections of art and archaeology
together with objects and works owned by other private individuals and bodies and loaned to
it. The collections themselves are of world significance. They range from archaeology to the
fine and decorative arts of Europe and Asia and from coins to casts of classical sculpture.
These are used for teaching and research purposes both within the University and in the
worldwide academic and research communities. Above all, the Ashmolean is a great public
Museum, open to all without charge.
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The vision of the Ashmolean Museum is to be an open door to the excellence of Oxford,
sparking in everyone a curiosity for the beauty, diversity and intellectual richness of our
collections. As an essential step towards achieving this, the Museum completed its
“Masterplan” redevelopment in November 2009. This delivered 39 new permanent galleries
together with new temporary exhibition galleries, study and teaching facilities, conservation
studios and significantly enhanced visitor facilities, including Oxford’s first roof-top
restaurant. A new brand identity has also been established. The redevelopment has
received huge critical and public acclaim, evidenced by the very significant number of
visitors to the Museum since its reopening.
For more information please visit: http://www.ashmolean.org/
Overview of the role
The five organisations of the Oxford University Museums and Collections (OUMC) have
been jointly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and led by the Ashmolean Museum, to
deliver 18-month traineeships in museum and botanic garden education and outreach. This
offers excellent opportunities to people who wish to work in the sector but would otherwise
struggle to gain employment of this kind. These traineeships will expand the use of our
collections and will help to create more heritage educators who will be integral to the UK
heritage sector in the future.
Who is this programme aimed at?
This Heritage lottery Fund (HLF) Skills for the Future programme is aimed at people who
currently experience a barrier to entry to work in this sector, and people from groups that are
currently under-represented throughout this sector nationally, including people from Black
and Minority Ethnic Groups and people with disabilities.
Barriers to entry to work in this sector may include lack of relevant experience or
postgraduate qualifications, personal circumstances, financial reasons, redundancy or
change in career and so on.
Applicants will be asked to describe how and why they wish to work in this particular sector
and the barriers that they have faced in pursuing this aim.
Who is this programme not aimed at?
This programme has been designed to help people who lack significant experience or
perhaps higher level qualifications to gain insight into the sector of museum and collections
education and help to provide them with the foundations for future employment in the
heritage education and outreach sector. It is not aimed at (but does not exclude) anyone
who has extensive experience of working in the heritage education and outreach sector, or
people with higher level qualifications relating to the museums or botanic gardens.
What are the outcomes from this programme?
 Trained
 Accredited
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 Real experience to add to a CV
 New skills and knowledge
This programme is designed to be a springboard for those who reach the end of the
programme and who then wish to develop a career in the Museum Education sector.
This programme does not provide any paid employment or job opportunities for trainees.
Trainees will be encouraged to seek their own employment and career opportunities at the
end of the programme.
Key activities:
During the 18-month long placements, trainees will benefit from learning about collectionsbased education and outreach, encompassing everything from fine art and archaeology to
natural specimens and plants and trees. Trainees will also be trained on-the-job in order to
gain valuable first-hand experience in the practical nature of education and outreach work.
The programme will address seven key areas of heritage learning:

understanding how people learn

understanding learning from objects

skills and confidence to develop and deliver to a range of audiences

the importance and value of evaluation

understanding how museum learning relates to the wider context of
the museum profession

working with volunteers

museums, new media and web-based learning
Regular specialised training days will be held throughout the project to help trainees gain
insight into these areas.
Responsibilities/duties
Applicants will need to be over the age of 18 and hold an undergraduate degree in any
subject. Although this is a traineeship (not a job), applicants will need to demonstrate that
they are eligible to work and study in the United Kingdom. During the selection process we
will be looking for candidates who have the potential to become excellent heritage education
officers, who can demonstrate a commitment to the programme, and who would particularly
benefit from a traineeship of this kind.
Essential
 Education – undergraduate degree level qualification
 If English is not your first language, you may be asked for proof of language
capability to an Undergraduate level (possibly certificate or written test given)
 Evidence of commitment to education in a museum and collections environment
 Interest in how people learn in a museum and collections environment
 Enthusiasm for learning through objects or the natural environment
 Able to demonstrate how you have faced a barrier when trying to gain employment in
a museum or heritage environment
 Excellent communication skills, especially written and verbal
 Demonstrable experience of working within a team
 Excellent interpersonal skills
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 ICT literate (Word, PPT, Excel, web)
 Flexible, organised, independently motivated and reliable.
Desirable





Undergraduate Degree in heritage or learning related discipline
Understanding of learning
Experience of working with a range of ages and types of people
Awareness of the school curricula
Creative/innovative thinker
Person Specification:
Specification
headings
Experience
Specification for this role
Essential
Evidence
commitment
education
in
museum
collections
environment
Desirable
of Experience of working
to with a range of ages
a and types of people
and
Measured by:
Application (A)
Interview (I)
A, I
Able to demonstrate
how you have faced a
barrier when trying to
gain employment in a
museum or heritage
environment
A, I
Experience of team
work
Enthusiasm
for
learning
through
objects or the natural
environment
A
Qualifications
Undergraduate
Degree level
Skills
ICT
literate.
Competent
and
comfortable
using
Microsoft Office or
similar
applications
and the web.
A, I
Undergraduate
Degree in heritage or
learning related
discipline
A
A
4
Knowledge
Excellent
communication skills,
especially ability to
produce
word
processed reports
A, I
Excellent
interpersonal skills
I
Good
written
and Understanding
spoken
English learning
Personal
Interest in how people
qualities
or learn
dispositions
Flexible,
organised,
independently
motivated and reliable.
Constraints
Other factors
Awareness of
school curricula
of A, I
the A, I
Creative/innovative
thinker
Occasional requirement to train or help at events in evenings and at
weekends when necessary
Willingness to receive training
Willingness to train and gain experience in a range of organisations
Willingness to visit other sites when necessary
Criminal Records Bureau check is a requirement of the post
How to apply
Please apply by sending a completed application form and a copy of your CV to:
Victoria McGuinness
HLF Project Coordinator and Ashmolean Museum Project Manager
victoria.mcguinness@ashmus.ox.ac.uk
All applications must be received by 12 midday Friday 18 May 2012
Please note in normal circumstances, only interview travel expenses within the UK will be
reimbursed.
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