Collections Researcher
| Posting date: | 05 March 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £38,220 to £40,777 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 30 March 2026 |
| Location: | Bath, Bath & N E Somerset |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 5 days per week |
| Company: | Bath & North East Somerset Council |
| Job type: | Contract |
| Job reference: | RITM0233764 |
Summary
Fixed Term Contract (for one year)
About the Fashion Museum Bath
Fashion Museum Bath holds one of the world’s leading collections of fashion, spanning 400 years of human creativity, from 1600 to the present day. It is an exciting time for the Fashion Museum as we undertake a major capital project to open a new Fashion Museum (relocated from the old site). Opening in 2030 the new Museum will transform access to the Collection, with dynamic exhibitions, displays and programming.
Fashion Museum Bath has received funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund to undertake a research project to uncover, highlight and reposition narratives around Global Majority makers, designers, and wearers. This role is directly related to this project. The grant funds a one-year full-time (or equivalent) Collections Researcher to lead on research, start to build partnerships with relevant organisations and community groups, and share findings with the Fashion Museum team and more widely.
Our key aims are to:
• Uncover more Global Majority Stories within the collection
• Co-develop future priorities and initiatives for research, collection and co-curating with communities
• Strengthen relationships with community partner organisations
About the Role:
We are looking to appoint a Collections Researcher to lead this project. Despite the breath of the collection very little is known about the Global Majority stories held within it. The post holder will lead research into the collection to undercover stories held within. Given the expansive scope of this enquiry, and of our collection, we have kept the project brief quite open and will work with you to refine the focus, based on your own expertise and practice. Potential areas of investigation could include:
• Designers and makers
• Materials and their provenance
• Design aesthetics and stylistic influences
• Known wearers
• Donors and sellers who contributed to the collection
Your own practice – whether object-based, archival, artistic, or community-based – will inform the methodology and area of focus within the collection. We’ll work with you to ensure this also considers the need for a set quantity of research, the community impact of the work, and its ability to shape the museum’s narrative.
The researcher will work collaboratively with local and national partners and organisations to co-develop research priorities, shape interpretation, and inform future programming and priorities, including acquisitions.
The work will be flexible and iterative, responding to the nature of research and allowing space for co-working and community-focused inquiry. Activities will include in-depth focused research, community engagement sessions, partnership-building, and internal knowledge-sharing.
About You:
We’re looking for an experienced researcher/ curator/ fashion practitioner with an interest and drive for uncovering and spotlighting Global Majority fashion histories within and outside public archives and sharing them with others in varied and accessible ways. You will have:
Essential:
• Significant experience and expertise in an area of research or practice related to Global majority fashions
• Experience identifying and building partnerships and networks
• Experience communicating your research, through talks and publications
• Experience of object-based research
Desirable:
• Experience (or desire to learn) more about Museum record-keeping and collections management, including use of a Collections Management system
• Experience of (or desire to learn) Museum’s acquisition process
• Experience curating exhibitions and displays
• Experience of budget management
Location and Work-pattern:
Your work will be hybrid, split between the collections store in Warminster, our office in Bath, and home-working.
The role is recruited as a 1-year full-time post, but we are happy to discuss a part-time post (3 or 4 days per week) over a longer period of time.
Interested to find out more?
For more information about this role, please refer to Role Specific Criteria document.
The Role Profile also included is standardised across the sites in Heritage Services (Fashion Museum Bath, the Roman Baths & Pump Room, Victoria Art Gallery, and Bath Record Office) and so includes some information not applicable to this role. Specific information for this post is provided in the Role Specific Criteria document.
We particularly encourage applicants from Global Majority backgrounds, as we recognise they are under-represented in the cultural sector.
Interview date: Tuesday 14th April 2026 (in Bath or online).
If you are interested in this post and require more details after reading the job description or just to chat through the role and what’s involved, please contact Elisabeth Murray, Senior Curator on 01225 477833 or email elisabeth_murray@bathnes.gov.uk
About the Fashion Museum Bath
Fashion Museum Bath holds one of the world’s leading collections of fashion, spanning 400 years of human creativity, from 1600 to the present day. It is an exciting time for the Fashion Museum as we undertake a major capital project to open a new Fashion Museum (relocated from the old site). Opening in 2030 the new Museum will transform access to the Collection, with dynamic exhibitions, displays and programming.
Fashion Museum Bath has received funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Communities and Collections Fund to undertake a research project to uncover, highlight and reposition narratives around Global Majority makers, designers, and wearers. This role is directly related to this project. The grant funds a one-year full-time (or equivalent) Collections Researcher to lead on research, start to build partnerships with relevant organisations and community groups, and share findings with the Fashion Museum team and more widely.
Our key aims are to:
• Uncover more Global Majority Stories within the collection
• Co-develop future priorities and initiatives for research, collection and co-curating with communities
• Strengthen relationships with community partner organisations
About the Role:
We are looking to appoint a Collections Researcher to lead this project. Despite the breath of the collection very little is known about the Global Majority stories held within it. The post holder will lead research into the collection to undercover stories held within. Given the expansive scope of this enquiry, and of our collection, we have kept the project brief quite open and will work with you to refine the focus, based on your own expertise and practice. Potential areas of investigation could include:
• Designers and makers
• Materials and their provenance
• Design aesthetics and stylistic influences
• Known wearers
• Donors and sellers who contributed to the collection
Your own practice – whether object-based, archival, artistic, or community-based – will inform the methodology and area of focus within the collection. We’ll work with you to ensure this also considers the need for a set quantity of research, the community impact of the work, and its ability to shape the museum’s narrative.
The researcher will work collaboratively with local and national partners and organisations to co-develop research priorities, shape interpretation, and inform future programming and priorities, including acquisitions.
The work will be flexible and iterative, responding to the nature of research and allowing space for co-working and community-focused inquiry. Activities will include in-depth focused research, community engagement sessions, partnership-building, and internal knowledge-sharing.
About You:
We’re looking for an experienced researcher/ curator/ fashion practitioner with an interest and drive for uncovering and spotlighting Global Majority fashion histories within and outside public archives and sharing them with others in varied and accessible ways. You will have:
Essential:
• Significant experience and expertise in an area of research or practice related to Global majority fashions
• Experience identifying and building partnerships and networks
• Experience communicating your research, through talks and publications
• Experience of object-based research
Desirable:
• Experience (or desire to learn) more about Museum record-keeping and collections management, including use of a Collections Management system
• Experience of (or desire to learn) Museum’s acquisition process
• Experience curating exhibitions and displays
• Experience of budget management
Location and Work-pattern:
Your work will be hybrid, split between the collections store in Warminster, our office in Bath, and home-working.
The role is recruited as a 1-year full-time post, but we are happy to discuss a part-time post (3 or 4 days per week) over a longer period of time.
Interested to find out more?
For more information about this role, please refer to Role Specific Criteria document.
The Role Profile also included is standardised across the sites in Heritage Services (Fashion Museum Bath, the Roman Baths & Pump Room, Victoria Art Gallery, and Bath Record Office) and so includes some information not applicable to this role. Specific information for this post is provided in the Role Specific Criteria document.
We particularly encourage applicants from Global Majority backgrounds, as we recognise they are under-represented in the cultural sector.
Interview date: Tuesday 14th April 2026 (in Bath or online).
If you are interested in this post and require more details after reading the job description or just to chat through the role and what’s involved, please contact Elisabeth Murray, Senior Curator on 01225 477833 or email elisabeth_murray@bathnes.gov.uk
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