Collection assistant

Closing date for applications: 24th February 2025 at 9am

Salary: £23,793 per annum pro rata 

Contract: Fixed-term, 18-month contract 

Hours: Part-time, 22.2 hours (3 days) per week 

Location: The Hepworth Wakefield, Gallery Walk, Wakefield, WF1 5AW (hybrid working arrangements available)

Interviews: Interviews will take place on Thursday 6th March 2025 

Do you want to be part of preserving an extraordinary artistic legacy? Join The Hepworth Wakefield to help catalogue and digitise their newly acquired collection.

The Hepworth Wakefield has welcomed over 2.6 million visitors since opening in May 2011 and is now established as one of the most successful public art galleries in the UK, attracting critical acclaim and audiences from around the world. We present an ambitious programme of major exhibitions of the best international modern and contemporary art, alongside innovative displays drawn from Wakefield’s growing art collection. Central to our work is our learning programme that engages schools, families, adults and local community groups through inspiring creative learning opportunities. In 2019, we opened The Hepworth Wakefield Garden, designed by Tom Stuart-Smith, to complement our David Chipperfield-designed gallery and provide an inspiring public garden, free for all to enjoy.

We have recently been joined by neighbours Tileyard North, who have developed the 19th century mill complex opposite the gallery into a vibrant hub for the creative industries. We are now embarking upon two capital projects to complete our wider waterfront site, including returning our much-loved playground and creating a workshop and yard space for our Gardener and her team of volunteers.

We are looking for a Collection Assistant to work closely with the Head of Collection & Exhibitions, and Collection & Exhibitions team on a dedicated collection and archive project. In 2024, The Hepworth Wakefield presented the major retrospective ‘Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life’, which has resulted in 18 sculptures by Moody being acquired into the Wakefield Council Permanent Art Collection, as managed by The Hepworth Wakefield. We have also acquired the papers and archive of Cynthia Moody, Ronald Moody’s niece, who was instrumental in securing Moody’s legacy through her years of research.

The Collection Assistant will catalogue and digitise these new holdings, within the context of The Hepworth’s Archive and Collections Management processes. They will further promote the work of Ronald Moody, and Cynthia Moody’s research, by making it accessible to audiences and researchers, and by supporting the ambitions of The Hepworth Wakefield in finding tour partners to present Moody’s work in the future.

Responsibilities

• Catalogue the Cynthia Moody archive and papers, integrating the collection into the existing Archive at the The Hepworth Wakefield, including managing the storage provision, database and external access to the Archive.
• Assist with the Ronald Moody sculptural acquisitions, assisting the Collection and Exhibitions Registrar with accessioning and collection management, including updating the collection management system MODES.
• Digitise both the Ronald Moody sculptural acquisitions and the Cynthia Moody archive and papers, creating an engaging digital presence for the collection on The Hepworth Wakefield website.

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Experience of working in an art gallery / museum with collections and temporary exhibitions, either in a paid or voluntary capacity.
• Knowledge of art history and contemporary art with a particular knowledge or interest in 20th-century British art.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to develop relationships with a range of colleagues, stakeholders and audiences.
• An ability to manage workloads and prioritise in order to meet multiple deadlines.
• Excellent organisational skills and an eye for detail.
• Enthusiasm for contemporary and historical art.
• Highly motivated, flexible and adaptable.
• A supportive team player.

We are committed to improving diversity within our organisation and welcome applications from candidates who are under-represented within the arts sector. 

Please state in your application that you found this role through Creative Access.