Vacancy: Collection officer management & registration at five Frisian museums

by | aug 10, 2021 | General | 0 Comments

birth spoon

THIS VACANCY HAS NOW BEEN FILLED

Are you the jack-of-all-trades who puts our collections in order?

Vacancy: Collection officer management & registration at five Frisian museums (respond by Sept. 5)

Who are we?
Museum Joure, Musea Noardeast Fryslân (Museum Dokkum and Museum 't Fiskershûske), Museum Opsterlân and Warkums Erfskip have joined forces. Together we are looking for a collections officer to manage and register our collections. The five museums all have broad collections, from archaeology to textiles and from utensils to art. The common thread is regional history, which is central to all five museums.

  • Museum Dokkum offers a special view of 2,000 years of culture in northeastern Friesland, within which Boniface occupies an important place, as well as old utensils, folk art, paintings, Frisian silver and Frisian pottery. The museum has a large collection of textiles. www.museumdokkum.nl
  • The Fiskershúske Moddergat collects and exhibits objects and records relating to ancient coastal fishing and the lives of the inhabitants of the twin village of Paesens-Moddergat. www.museummoddergat.nl
  • Warkums Erfskip: "From the Waag you experience Workum!" Museum Warkums Erfskip shows the history of Workum. www.warkumserfskip.nl
  • Museum Opsterland: Take a trip back in time and experience the past at Museum Opsterlân. With a historical fist axe, the hard life in the peat bog, the aristocracy, the craftsmen, the emerging socialism and the Jewish community. Experience it all at Museum Opsterlân. www.museumopsterlan.nl
  • Museum Joure has collections around the themes of Douwe Egberts/coffee & tea, Frisian clocks, metal (silver, copper) and printing. Common thread in the collections and permanent presentations is 'making', craft and industrial, past and present. www.museumjoure.nl

Who are we looking for?
We are looking for a hands-on worker, who at the same time thinks about how things can be done better. The emphasis is on collection registration, including work such as database management, provenance research and location research. Occasionally you will need help with jobs such as depot adjustments, cleaning the collection, and accessing collections online. Almost all museums are on the eve of redesigns. We expect you to think along and collaborate on these collection jobs, which vary greatly from museum to museum.

You not only focus on individual objects, but are able to oversee the bigger picture of the value of the collection within the museum and make improvements in consultation. Supervising and working with volunteers is an important part of the position.

We are all five museums with a small team of permanent staff. You will work a lot with the curators and directors of the various museums and with many volunteers with different areas of expertise and backgrounds. This gives you a broad view of the museum world as well as a broad network.

  • You have a (nearly) completed college or university degree in (art) history or you are a student at a curatorial program or at the Reinwardt Academy.
  • You have an affinity for working with museum collections.
  • Preferably, you also have experience with collection registration systems, collection digitization, taxonomic databases and/or scholarly and public information services.
  • You can express yourself well in Dutch, both verbally and in writing.
  • You interact well with people from different backgrounds.
  • Naturally, you are also customer and results-oriented, proactive, collegial, curious and flexible.

What do we offer?

  • Thanks to a grant from the Mondrian Fund, we can offer this new position to a heritage talent.
  • Work experience in five wonderful museums.
  • Opportunities to learn a lot about the museum world and build a great network.
  • An exciting job of about 24 hours per week in an appropriate scale corresponding to experience and level of education (Social Work collective labor agreement), for about 1 to 1.5 years, formal employment at Museum Joure (part of the Heritage, Nature and Landscape Foundation).
  • The position may be combined with the position of Collection Research and Exhibition(see job posting).
  • The practical distribution of time among the various locations is determined by mutual agreement. Options are fixed days at one location or a certain period at one location. Working partly from home is also a possibility.

Interested? Here's how to apply

  • By Sept. 5, email your motivation with CV to info@museumjoure.nl with the subject line application Collection Officer 5 Museums.
  • Job interviews, first and second round, will take place between Sept. 20 and 24.
  • Target date for completion is Oct. 1, 2021.
  • For further substantive questions, please call Hans Groeneweg (Museum Dokkum/ Het Fiskershúske) 0519 293 134.