Visitor Services

Full-time and Permanent
Salary £32,171 – £35,093 per annum
Plus generous benefits package
Hybrid / flexible working

About the role

We’re excited to offer a permanent opportunity within our Collection & Research department. We’re looking for a highly motivated, well-organised and collaborative individual who is passionate about engaging our visitors with art, to support our curatorial team in delivering a range of activities.

Are you a champion of European and Scottish art with a particular interest in the largely pre-1900 collection displayed in the National at the Mound in Edinburgh? Do you have experience of supporting curators in a gallery or museum environment, or with an art or heritage collection? Are you a good communicator and committed to promoting equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion? If so, we’d love to hear from you.

You must be forward-thinking, detail-oriented, positive and confident in managing your time effectively to meet targets and deadlines. You will also be able to work both independently and collaboratively, while being supported and guided by colleagues in the curatorial team.

This is a great opportunity to develop your skills and gain experience across a range of curatorial activities, particularly in display maintenance, provenance research and audience engagement. You’ll assist with several aspects of work carried out by the European and Scottish Art curators. You’ll also undertake research into the National Galleries of Scotland’s art collection, with a particular focus on spoliation-related provenance and collection audit and review, and will respond to enquiries about the collection.

In addition, you will help to maintain existing collection displays, document future display plans and support our acquisitions and loans processes, as well as the department’s contributions to our transformative capital project: The Art Works. The role includes developing and sharing information about European and Scottish art with our focus audiences, including giving in-gallery talks and tours across the collection and writing digital interpretation.

The difference you’ll make
Reporting to the head of the team, you will:
-Support colleagues in the European and Scottish Art team with various aspects of curatorial work.
-Assist with due diligence provenance research and collection audit and review programmes, in collaboration with Curatorial and Collections Access & Care colleagues.
-Work closely with colleagues within the team, department and wider organisation in the maintenance and delivery of displays and overall audience offer, especially but not exclusively at the National, including the new Scottish galleries. This includes supporting colleagues to implement artwork changes within collection displays.
-Share information on the collection with our audiences and partners, including answering research enquiries about the collection and facilitating access to items in store.
-Undertake directed research into the collection and potential acquisitions.
-Create and update collection records and future display lists on Axiell, our Collections Management system and support curatorial reporting and evaluation activity.
-Write accessible and engaging in-gallery and online interpretation about the collection for our focus audiences, in line with our organisational strategy and interpretation framework.

Who we are looking for
To succeed in this role, you’ll need the following range of knowledge, skills, and experience:
-A degree or equivalent in art history or a related subject.
-Knowledge and enthusiasm for a subject area relevant to the National Galleries of Scotland’s European and Scottish Art collection displayed at the National (largely 1300─1900, although the Scottish rooms extend to 1945).
-Some experience of provenance research.
-Relevant professional experience of working in a gallery or museum environment and/or evidence of relevant professional experience working with art/heritage collections.
-An enthusiastic, ‘can-do’ approach with the ability to take initiative and contribute to a positive working culture.
-Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
-Strong organisational and administrative skills, including an ability to prioritise effectively and work accurately without close supervision, and in alignment with our strategy.
-Ability to work as part of a team and develop and maintain effective working relations with a broad range of people and teams, internally and externally.
-A demonstrable commitment to supporting the organisation’s aim to embed equity, diversity, accessibility and inclusion in all areas of our work.
-Proficient IT skills particularly Microsoft Office 365.

It would also be great if you have:
-Working knowledge of Axiell Collections or another collections management system.
-Knowledge of a second, ideally European, language.
-Some knowledge or experience of Scottish art (1600─1945).

Please apply directly via our careers portal. Applications via email will not be accepted.

The closing date for applications is 12 noon on Friday, 21 August 2026.

Role profile

As the face of V&A Dundee, our Visitor Assistants facilitate a world-class experience for our visitors, in a safe, secure and accessible environment, supporting our mission to inspire and empower through design.

Working across our galleries, welcome areas and ticketing positions, our Visitor Assistants will put the visitor journey at the heart of everything that they do, creating a positive and memorable experience for all visitors and providing a tailored welcome as they arrive at the museum. They will greet visitors proactively as they enter our galleries, offering assistance and being present and available to answer queries and share knowledge and stories, developing a deep understanding of our building, objects and exhibits, and speaking confidently and engagingly about these with our visitors. They take pride in the museum’s appearance, see every day through the eyes of a visitor and question everything that does not look, or work perfectly.

Duties and Responsibilities

– To be a confident, proactive, approachable and visitor focused individual, helping visitors to engage with the museum and collections, whilst maintaining a consistent, engaging and professional manner at all times.

– To develop an extensive knowledge of the museum’s layout, exhibitions, activities, and the surrounding local area, to provide tailored service of the highest standard.

– To encourage visitor participation with a broad range of public programmes available at V&A Dundee, such as educational and family activities.

– To be a responsible and visible presence for an area of the museum on a daily basis, actively walking the galleries, carrying out invigilation duties and ensuring the safety and security of the exhibitions, objects and visitors.

– To work comfortably as part of the team, developing an understanding for the importance that each colleague plays in delivering the overall visitor experience, and communicating confidently to ensure this is achieved.

– Ensure that the museum is always presented to the highest standard, carrying out light cleaning, tidying and maintenance duties as required.

– To be security conscious and diligent, ensuring in depth knowledge and co-operation with all museum security procedures.

– To be able to respond quickly and efficiently to all incidents, near misses and emergency and evacuation procedures, by clearing and securing areas when necessary and ensuring the safety of visitors and colleagues by reporting issues through the appropriate channels.

– To promote equality, diversity, and inclusion within the museum, ensuring that visitors and colleagues are treated with respect and dignity, and to actively contribute to developments that support the museum strategy for widening access.

– To be committed to and promote health and safety, ensuring familiarity with all the museum’s health and safety policies and procedures.

– To be always presentable and approachable, wearing the uniform pieces provided whilst in all public areas.

– To attend training courses as required.

– To comply with all the museum’s HR, retail, cash and stock handling procedures.

– To carry out other ad hoc duties, instructions or reasonable requests required by the business by the Management team within the Visitor Operations Department.