| 5 |
Curator |
17-FEB
|
| The Clockworks, London |
| London, England |
£45,000 p.a. |
| 6 |
External Evaluator |
17-FEB
|
| The Wilson Museum and Art Gallery |
| Cheltenham, England |
P/T £10,000 p.a. |
|
|
| |
| Advert Date: |
|
Monday, 17th February 2025 |
|
|
| Printer Version |
|
 |
|
|
| Job Title: |
|
Curator |
| Organisation: |
|
The Clockworks, London |
 |
| Salary: |
|
£45,000 p.a. |
| Type: |
|
Full-Time Position
Contract: 3 years extendable |
| Location: |
|
London, England |
| Closing Date: |
|
Sunday, 9th March 2025 |
| Job Ref No: |
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
| Job Description |
| |
Background
The Clockworks, in West Norwood, London, is a unique charitable institution that combines a museum, library, archive, conservation workshop and event space, all focused on the subject of electrical timekeeping over the period 1840–1970, and accessible to a wide and growing public audience. To find out more, visit www.theclockworks.org or https://www.instagram.com/theclockworkscio/ or https://youtube.com/@theclockworkscio-g3n
Founding vision
The Clockworks came into existence in 2011 to meet three distinct needs. First and foremost, it was created as a venue to house and display an electrical horology collection assembled over the previous thirty years by historian James Nye. This is the most important and representative collection of electrical clocks and associated technologies accessible to the public anywhere in the world. It is supported by an increasingly extensive specialist library and archive.
Many of the clocks on show are displayed working (and more still are in working order). James had long identified a distinct knowledge and skills gap relating to the conservation of objects like these. From 1840 to 1970, electrical horology combined aspects of mechanical and electrical technologies that had rarely been considered together in the wider horological conservation community, particularly in the context of working and dynamic objects.
The Clockworks’ second goal was therefore to address this additional need by incorporating a conservation workshop fully equipped for this distinct conservation specialism. In part this was to support the conservation of the Clockworks collection itself. But it was also intended to be a training hub for this knowledge and its associated skills, and thus strengthen the wider museum and collector community by nurturing more electro-technical conservators.
Thirdly, The Clockworks was intended to be a global hub, research centre and meeting place for anyone with an interest in distributed and standardised time, precision horology, and any other aspect of electrical horology. To date this has been achieved through lectures, tours, masterclasses, research in the library and archive, and other types of informal learning.
Future plan
Fourteen years on, the vision is unchanged. It has been realised with success in terms of each of its primary objectives: curation, conservation and learning. With ongoing support from James Nye and a small group of supporters, The Clockworks has established itself as an important hub for anyone with an interest in electrical horology. Specialist visitors now know of and use the collection extensively. Its contents continue to undergo a programme of conservation. Conservators trained at The Clockworks now work in the UK, the Netherlands, France and Austria – including at the Uhrenmuseum, Vienna, and the Heritage Laboratory at CY Cergy Paris Université – sharing the skills they have developed working with these unique working objects.
Beyond this, The Clockworks has engaged with a much wider audience, from the hyper-local to the international. Tours and visits have been organised for a wide cross-section of visitors, including schools, disability groups, learning organisations like U3A and specialist bodies representing other historic crafts and skills. In 2020, the pandemic demonstrated the ways that readily accessible online technologies can greatly increase geographical reach as well as the diversity of audiences engaging with The Clockworks – if done with care and thought.
A limiting factor over the last decade has been expert capacity to advance a number of longer-term goals. These include improved interpretation and cataloguing of the gallery, providing a more useful website with enhanced capabilities, improving visibility and access, and ensuring long-term viability. The Clockworks team believes that it is now time to consolidate the organic growth of the last decade and move forward with renewed energy and new expertise. This is why we are now recruiting for a Curator of The Clockworks.
Governance structure
The Clockworks is owned and managed by the Clockworks Charitable Incorporated Organisation, which has five Trustees from a range of professional fields (including the founder, James Nye), supported by a part-time Secretary. The CIO is registered with the UK Charities Commission, no. 1192875.
The CIO owns the premises and their contents. It receives income from an investment portfolio, sufficient to cover all current regular outgoings. The Curator of The Clockworks will be an employee of the CIO.
A Conservator-in-Residence, Alex Jeffrey, presently uses bench space in the workshop in support of his own business, and in return provides conservation services and expert guiding in the museum. Alex is not employed by the CIO, and the Curator will not be responsible for any line management, though they will share the space with Alex and will be expected to collaborate closely with him on a regular basis.
Key objectives for the role
The Curator, working with the CIO Trustees, Secretary, Conservator-in-Residence, volunteers and other specialists and stakeholders as necessary, will be responsible for all aspects of the development and operation of The Clockworks apart from object conservation.
They will research, interpret and share stories of electrical horology and the objects in the collection for a range of audiences, from specialist to general, whether located in-person, at a distance, or online.
This will include developing a knowledge and understanding of the collection, increasing the visibility and presence of The Clockworks among its target audiences, developing and delivering a curatorial strategy and forward plan, including potential future projects and ways of working, and helping shape and progress the institution’s display, interpretation, and engagement practices.
They will also be the primary advocate and public spokesperson for The Clockworks (working with the Conservator as appropriate) and will be the principal point of contact for the Secretary of the CIO, assisting them in the routine administration of the museum. Depending on the ambition of future plans for the museum’s development, the role is also likely to involve significant fundraising activity.
The Clockworks does not currently run a formal volunteer programme, but we are keen for potential in this area to be explored.
As the sole employee of The Clockworks, the Curator will carry out a wide range of tasks as part of the role, from high-level strategic development and stakeholder liaison, research, copywriting, web development, cataloguing, and guiding, to routine practical housekeeping, maintenance, and administration.
Hours
35 hours (five days) per week, though candidates wishing to work part time will be considered.
Contract type
Three-year contract (subject to successful completion of six-month probation period), extendable by mutual agreement.
Working patterns
The practical nature of many aspects of the role means the Curator will primarily be based on-site at The Clockworks, in West Norwood, London SE27. |
| |
| Required Skills / Qualifications |
| |
The Curator must have:
• Significant experience (developed over several years) of researching, curating, cataloguing, interpreting, and managing museum collections, ideally involving the history of science, technology, engineering or related fields
• A proven ability to interpret a technical subject for non-specialist as well as specialist audiences, using traditional and digital interpretation tools, with demonstrable experience working with websites, digital catalogues, and social media channels
• Excellent written and verbal skills, coupled with communications experience, including being comfortable communicating with a wide audience of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities - whether visitors, researchers, volunteers, funders, local stakeholders or the media
• A proven ability to be diplomatic and empathetic in prioritising the needs and perspectives of others and in representing The Clockworks to a wide range of stakeholders
• An ability and enthusiasm to carry out routine practical housekeeping, maintenance, and administration associated with the premises, with a problem-solving approach (experience of clock maintenance and operation is not required although the ability to liaise successfully with conservators and other technical specialists is essential)
• An ability to work independently without supervision – to be self-reliant and self-motivated but happy working with others
The Curator will ideally have:
• Experience in fundraising, ideally within a museum context, and an awareness of the varying needs of different types of funders, including corporate, trusts, foundations, local and national government, and individual giving
• Some experience of library or archive management, ideally within a museum context
• Some experience of volunteer management and motivation, ideally within a museum context |
| |
| Application Instructions |
| |
Interview process
We know it is important for potential candidates to have a good opportunity to assess the role before deciding whether to apply.
We will therefore be hosting an informal open late afternoon/evening at The Clockworks for prospective candidates to drop in, meet some of the team, and see what The Clockworks is all about. This will take place on 27 February 2025, 15:00–21:00. If you’d like to attend, please email James Nye (james.nye@theclockworks.org) by the day before with your approximate expected arrival time. We are also happy to meet with prospective candidates over Zoom for informal chats before the application period closes if they cannot make the open afternoon. Please email James to arrange a time if this would be useful. Neither of these is in any way obligatory for applicants.
First-round interviews will be held in person at the offices of the Antiquarian Horological Society in Lovat Lane, City of London, on 18 March 2025. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a second interview at The Clockworks on 24 March 2025.
How to apply
Please send a CV, together with a covering letter clearly explaining your motivations and suitability for the role, by email to james.nye@theclockworks.org. The covering letter should be on no more than two sides of A4 and these documents can be submitted in Word or PDF formats. The closing time and date for receipt of applications is 23:59 on 9 March 2025.
We will acknowledge receipt of all applications by email. If you haven’t had an acknowledgement after a day or two, please feel free to check we got it. We expect to issue invitations to interviews, as well as to inform those not being invited to interview, by 12 March 2025. |
|
|
|
|
|
|