Curatorial Assistant for Modern Continental European Medals (1450-21st century)

Location: Ashmolean Museum, Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2PH

Hours: Part time, 18.75 hours per week (50% FTE)

Contract type: Fixed term for 6 months

About the role

The Ashmolean Museum is the University of Oxford’s museum of art and archaeology, and the Heberden Coin Room is a leading international centre for numismatics and monetary history. You will help develop the documentation, organisation and understanding of its outstanding collection of nearly 6,000 continental European medals, dating from 1450 to the 21st century. 

You will lead the organisation, cataloguing and digitisation of the Ashmolean’s collection of nearly 6,000 modern continental European medals, dating from 1450 to the 21st century. You will research and document the collection, oversee photography and digitisation by volunteers, manage data quality, and liaise with colleagues, experts and stakeholders. 

This is a fixed-term post for 6 months, working part time for 18.75 hours per week (50% FTE). The role supports hybrid working, with home working up to one day a week. There is a possibility of varying the weekly hours and adjusting the contract duration correspondingly. 

About You

You will have a degree in History, Archaeology or a relevant subject, experience of medallic art and independent research, and experience of museum-based medal or coin collections. 

You will have strong organisational and communication skills, experience of structured datasets and cataloguing, good IT skills, reading knowledge of at least one modern European language in addition to English, and an understanding of collections care, conservation and security. 

What We Offer

As an employer, we genuinely care about our employees’ wellbeing and this is reflected in the range of benefits that we offer including:

• An excellent contributory pension scheme
• 38 days of annual leave
• A comprehensive range of childcare services
• Family leave schemes
• Cycle loan scheme
• Discounted bus travel and Season Ticket travel loans 

More information is available at https://www.ox.ac.uk/about/jobs/life-in-oxford 

Diversity

Our staff and students come from all over the world, and we proudly promote a friendly and inclusive culture. Diversity is positively encouraged, through diverse groups and champions, as well as a number of family-friendly policies, such as the right to apply for flexible working and support for staff returning from periods of extended absence, for example, shared parental leave. 

We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment processes are inclusive and accessible. If you require the job description or any other materials in an alternative format, or if you would like to request any adjustments to support you through the application or interview process, please contact the recruitment team at recruitment@glam.ox.ac.uk.

How to apply

You will be required to upload your CV and a supporting statement as part of your online application. Your supporting statement should list each of the essential and desirable selection criteria, as listed in the job description, and explain how you meet each one. CVs alone will not be considered. 

We aim to provide a supportive working environment and are happy to discuss training and professional development opportunities. The Chair of this recruitment panel will be Julian Baker, Assistant Keeper, Medieval and Modern Coins, who can be contacted with enquiries relating to the role (julian.baker@ashmus.ox.ac.uk). General queries about the recruitment and application process should be directed to the GLAM Recruitment team (recruitment@glam.ox.ac.uk). 

Only applications received online by 12.00 midday (BST) on Friday 16 October 2026 can be considered. Interviews are expected to take place on Friday 6 November.

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