Community Partnerships Curator

Contractual hours: 35

Region: South

Job category/type: Professional and Managerial

Job description

Fixed term 2 years (with the potential to extend at 0.50 FTE for 1 additional year)

By reference to the applicable SOC code for this role, sponsorship may be possible under the Skilled Worker Route. Applicants wishing to consider the SWR must ensure that they are able to meet the points requirement before applying. There is further information about this on the UK Visas and Immigration Website. 

Join us as Community Partnership Curator and help co‑create a landmark exhibition shaped by community voices and informed by researchers at the University of Reading.

Reading University’s UKRI‑funded Nation of Refuge project; working in partnership with the Museum of English Rural Life (MERL) and Reading Museum, is seeking a self-motivated curator committed to inclusive, community‑centred practice.

Working alongside the ‘Nation of Refuge’ research team, you will build meaningful relationships with refugee, asylum seeker and migrant communities in Reading, facilitating creative, trauma‑aware workshops and ensuring that lived experience drives the 2029 exhibition at Reading Museum.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, particularly people with lived experience of migration, displacement, or marginalisation. You’ll bring experience in community engagement, co‑production, and curatorial or collections‑based work, along with strong communication, partnership‑building and facilitation skills.

This multi‑site role offers flexibility, collaborative support, and the chance to make a tangible difference through ethical, imaginative, community‑led storytelling.

If you want your work to create real public impact, we’d love to hear from you.

You will have:

• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills, able to build trust and manage complex partnerships with professionalism.
• Strong facilitation skills, with experience running inclusive, participatory workshops (e.g., storytelling, writing, interpretation); and training, supporting and collaborating with community volunteers.
• Excellent editorial and interpretive writing skills, able to translate complex research into engaging public facing content.
• Strong capabilities in project management, multitasking, risk and change management, and delivering to deadlines across multiple partners (including academic, curatorial, and community based teams.)

Informal contact details

Contact Name: Ellen Pilsworth

Contact Job Title: Associate Professor

Contact Email address: e.m.pilsworth@reading.ac.uk

Alternative Contact Name: Phillippa Heath

Alternative Contact Job Title: Head of Learning and Engagement

Alternative Contact Email address: p.heath2@reading.ac.uk

The University is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce, supports the gender equality Athena SWAN Charter and the Race Equality Charter, and champions LGBT+ equality.

We are a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2). Applications for job-share, part-time and flexible working arrangements are welcomed and will be considered in line with business needs.

Closing date: 23:59 on 1 June 2026

Interview date: 25 June 2026

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