Collection Manager (Visual Arts).

Department: Cultural Engagement.
Contract: Indefinite (Permanent), 36 hours per week.
Location: West London, UK only.
Please note that the British Council Collection and operations will be relocating to Coventry in late 2025.
Pay band: 7.
Salary: Starting at £26,934 per annum plus £3,300 London Market Allowance.

Benefits Include, but are not limited to: 
•    32 days annual leave, in addition to public holidays
•    3 days volunteering leave
•    Career average defined benefit pension scheme
•    An unrivalled opportunity for you to get to use all the experience you’ve built up working in and/or leading global organisations to support us in building trust across the world.

British Council supports working in new ways such as hybrid working, subject to full approval by line management and conditional upon our ability to provide the appropriate level of service.  This may not be appropriate for all roles but can be explored at interview.

Closing Date: 20th August 2023 at 23:59 UK Time. 

You must have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application.

There is no relocation or sponsorship support. 

About the team

This role sits within the Cultural Engagement (CE) Strategic Business Unit (SBU). CE brings together our portfolio of work in arts, education, English, and research. Our UK arts team works with the arts and culture sector in the UK, and our global network of offices, to achieve significant impact and change by finding new ways of connecting and seeing each other through the arts.

Our work is delivered through four global programmes: Culture Connects supports artistic and cultural exchange between the UK and countries internationally; Spotlights on Culture engages and represents the UK’s cultural diversity and creativity at high-profile cultural events; Creative Economy analyses  creative ecosystems  and highlights emerging trends and areas of convergence and difference between creative economies; Culture Responds to Global Challenges celebrates the transformative power of arts and culture to change attitudes and the protection and promotion of cultural expression, diversity and heritage at risk.

In the Visual Arts team we use our connections and understanding of the UK contemporary art sector to advise and support our international colleagues on working with museums, galleries and artists within cultural relations programmes and provide a link to the UK. We work in partnership with museums, galleries and artists to develop projects to encourage showcasing, collaboration and professional exchange, and to build relationships between the museum, gallery and art communities in the UK and around the world.

The British Council Collection is a nationally significant collection of more than 8700 works of modern and contemporary British art, lent widely to museums and galleries in the UK and globally, and used in our collaborative professional development programmes with international institutional partners and UK organisations.

The Role.

As Collections Manager, you will lead on a programme of integrated collections management, care, and day to day administration of the British Council Collection, which includes the Mabey Collection, the Historic Crafts Collection, the Visual Arts Library and Archive, managing its documentation, audit, care, conservation, development, suitability and risk analysis.

The Collection Manager delivers policies, processes and procedures for the physical and intellectual control of the Collection, as part of the legislative and ethical obligations of the British Council ensuring end to end best practice and procedural compliance.

You will lead on a review of the collections management system database and online catalogue of object and artist information, looking for ways to improve access and enhance discoverability of works of art on British Council or partner platforms. You will implement several collections management projects including storage rationalisation and audit of works on paper; work with external art valuers on revaluation; and oversee a re-display of works in UK offices.

You will work with colleagues and partners on Collection content suggestions and suitability for exhibitions and digital programmes. Liaising with marketing and digital colleagues you will ensure that all internal and external promotional opportunities for the Collection are maximized.

The Collection Manager line manages the Collection Coordinator and Collection Content Coordinator and deputises for the Head of Collection when necessary.

The British Council Collection and operations will be relocating from London to a new home in Coventry in late 2025. This role will be based in West London until the relocation project is complete. The Collection Manager will support the relocation project including contributing expertise to the design of the new permanent home to increase access to and use of the Collection both in the UK and overseas in British Council programmes.

Accountabilities/Responsibilities include but are not limited to: 

Subject Expertise:

•    Keeps abreast of new developments in collections management and ensuring that compliance and best practice are at the core of all activity
•    Actively builds professional networks and information channels that maintain an excellent understanding of collections management developments, key priorities, best practice, policy and regulation in both the UK and internationally.
•    Working closely with the Loans Manager, provides specialist advice and support to colleagues in relation to the management, suitability, care and documentation of works of art and specifically of the Collection, in support of projects and programmes.

Programme management
•    Manages the day to day running and care of the British Council Collection.
•    Plans and prioritises the collections management programme with procedures including care; conservation; handling; storage solutions; and supports delivery through the management of finance, contracts, information systems, collation of feedback, evidence and evaluation; advising on and implementing operational improvements, to enhance cost effectiveness and efficiency.

Relationship & stakeholder management
•    Develops and maintains effective internal relationships to ensure effective and integrated delivery of collection management programme goals and that all promotional opportunities for the Collection are maximised.
•    Builds and maintains a network of external suppliers, conservators, contacts and artist representatives to support effective service provision and knowledge exchange and represent the British Council in discussions and dealings with external contacts.

Finance & resource management 
•    Develops and implements a budgeted plan for collections management including conservation, photography, archiving, consultants, monitoring budgets, following procurement processes, ensuring contracts are in place, seeking best value and recharging costs to third parties

Leadership & management          
•    Formal line management of the Collection Coordinator and Collection Content Coordinator holding them to account for achieving agreed performance targets aligned with organisational goals
•    Deputises for the Head of Collection in their absence.
•    Actively works to mainstream EDI and become anti-racist in our cultures and practices within our organisation and in our programmes.

Requirements of the role:

•    A good, wide knowledge of modern and contemporary UK visual arts
•    Demonstrable extensive experience in a public collection of collections management, care and documentation and in the context of related programmes such as exhibitions, displays and international touring exhibitions.
•    Demonstrable excellent knowledge of UKRG, GIS, ICOM and international museum standards, procedures and ethics for collection care: conservation, environmental control, Integrated Pest Management, condition checking, storage, security, handling and packing.
•    Demonstrable excellent knowledge of UKRG and SPECTRUM museum standards, procedures and ethics for documentation: audits, photography, copyright and Intellectual Property legislation
•    Demonstrable experience of leading on the use and functionality of a collections management database to SPECTRUM standards and procedures across a team for workflow

Closing Date:   Applications will close at 23:59 on 20th August 2023 UK Time. 

Interviews will be held around the middle of September 2023.

You must have the legal right to work in the UK at the time of application.