Collections Online Officer
Organisation: The National Trust for Scotland
Salary: £35,800 per annum
Location: 50 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9LD
JOB PURPOSE
This role will play a key role in an initiative to create searchable online access to the Mackintosh and Macdonald collections held at The Hill House and The Mackintosh Tearooms via the NTS website. Creating access to the collections is a strand within the Development Phase of the Trust’s NHMF funded Mackintosh Illuminated Project.
There are two key elements to the role. One is to systematically review, edit and prepare for publication, the images and collections data needed to make The Hill House and The Mackintosh Tearooms collections searchable online. This will involve working with the Collections Systems Manager, Digital Collections Asset Manager, NTS archivist, and colleagues at the two properties, to apply the online collections data standard to catalogue records, check digital images, and commission and catalogue additional collections photography where there are gaps. The second will be to work with Collections Management staff and property teams to inventory, photograph and catalogue any collections that have not yet been added to the Collections Management system.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
• Work with colleagues to review and develop the online collections data standard to ensure consistent accessible data across the collections at The Hill House and The Mackintosh Tearooms
• Responsible for a systematic review of The Hill House and The Mackintosh Tearooms collections records in the collections management system.
• Apply the new museum data standard consistently, including editing records and checking image quality
• Ensure The Mackintosh Tearooms collections are fully inventoried and documented on the Axiell database in line with the Trust’s collections information policy
• Work with the Digital Collections Asset Manager to carry out a detailed assessment of all relevant collections images in the Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) to identify and remove duplicates
• Plan and deliver a small programme of prioritised re-photography of collections to ensure a consistent standard across the NTS collections – commissioning photographers, managing the logistics of access to collections and the ingest and, working with the Digital Collections Asset Manager, cataloguing of images into the DAMS
• Liaise closely with the Mackintosh Illuminated project team and other key colleagues across NTS, including the Project’s Digital Producer and the web agency tasked with creating the new web based collections search.
• Contributing to internal project communications and creating project progress content for social media as required
• Research elements of the Mackintosh and MacDonald collections, to create enriched database content where needed while liaising with project research staff
• Other project and data related responsibilities, as required by the project team
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE & KNOWLEDGE
Qualifications
Essential
• A degree in a relevant subject OR demonstrable track record of working in collections management or digital collections setting
Desirable
Post-graduate degree Museum studies or similar
Experience
Essential
Experience of working in collections management, or digital asset management, in an archive or heritage organization.
Experience of working with collections management databases, such as Axiell Collections, and digital asset management systems
Excellent skills in MS Excel, including managing large datasets
Excellent communication skills and experience of working with a variety of internal and external stakeholders
Analytical skills and scrupulous attention to detail
Ability to work independently with excellent time management
Desirable
• Knowledge of, and demonstrable interest in, the life and works of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald
• Experience of working on a collections online project
• Experience of object handling and inventory
Application Deadline: Sunday 15/03/2026
