Senior Conservator (Ref: 15139) (based in Hong Kong)
A cornerstone of the West Kowloon Cultural District, M+ is Hong Kong’s new museum for visual culture, encompassing twentieth and twenty-first century art, design and architecture, and moving image from Hong Kong, China, Asia, and beyond.
Since 2012, M+ has been presenting diverse public programmes and exhibitions, and is amassing a permanent collection, in the run-up to the scheduled 2019 public opening of the museum building designed by Herzog & de Meuron with TFP Farrells and Ove Arup & Partners HK.
In July 2016, M+’s public programmes and exhibitions will move into the M+ Pavilion, a 300 sq.ft. exhibition space located in the District that will act as its primary site until the opening of the museum in 2019.
As part of the development of the M+ team, we are seeking a highly experienced conservator with matching energy and motivation, strong leadership and communication skills to develop the conservation area within M+ Collection & Exhibition Services. The developing Conservation team will deal with the preventative and remedial conservation of the growing M+ Collection. The team will encompass various disciplines amongst which painting, objects, paper, photography and time-based media. For more information about this role, the M+ collection, team and building development, please go to: http://enews.westkowloon.hk/career/conservators.pdf
Reporting to the Head, Collection and Exhibition Services, M+, you are responsible for:
- managing all staff and activities of the conservation area to meet the highest possible standard, supervising and performing highly skilled conservation work, including examination, research, treatment, documentation and preparation for exhibition of M+ Collection objects;
- determining standards and procedures for the care of the collection; devising restoration and preservation methods and techniques;
- taking a lead to work collaboratively with curators, registrars, exhibition professionals and external stakeholders on issues related to the collection management and providing information on conservation matters to museum staff, colleagues and the public;
- leading the development of an emergency management and response plans for collection materials; and
- taking an active role on the development of the M+ conservation team and providing direct input with regards to the design of the future conservation spaces as part of the Conservation and Storage Facility (CSF) in the M+ building.
You should:
- possess a master degree in conservation from a recognised college / university, or a diploma / certificate in conservation from a recognised conservation training programme;
- have at least 8 years of verifiable museum conservation experience, beyond the degree of certificate; or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience preferably in a supervisory role for at least 2 years;
- have a significant record of professional accomplishments that may also include publishing and research;
- be able to anticipate the future needs of a developing institution and to design effective systems for meeting the museum’s obligations with regards to the care and preservation of the collection;
- demonstrate knowledge of the technology, materials, and equipment used in the conservation of museum objects (preferably with good understanding of Asian related techniques); procedures relating to the examination and preventative and remedial conservation of art / design objects; the environmental and handling requirements for storage, exhibition and travel of objects;
- demonstrate knowledge of advanced conservation equipment including polarized light microscopy, x-ray fluorescence, x-radiography and short-wave infrared imaging and digital imaging;
- be able to provide sound advice and recommendations regarding the design of facilities to ensure the proper display, storage and treatment of museum objects;
- be able to organise and manage complex projects; evaluate potential solutions to problems and adopt effective courses of action; develop and manage budgets;
- be able to supervise, direct, motivate and evaluate staff, interns and volunteers;
- have strong leadership, interpersonal, planning and organisational skills; and
- have strong oral, written and interpersonal communication skills in English and preferably in Cantonese or Mandarin.
For interested parties, please submit your application along with your CV on or before 13 May 2016 via online application http://www.westkowloon.hk/careers or by mail quoting the reference number, name of the position, expected salary and your availability to:
Ms Agnes Chan
West Kowloon Cultural District Authority
29/F, Tower 6, The Gateway
9 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Data collected will only be used for job application processing. Applicants not being invited for interview within 4 weeks from 13 May 2016 may assume their applications unsuccessful.
All related information will be kept up to 24 months and all personal data will be destroyed afterwards.
For more information
http://www.westkowloon.hk or contact
Ms Agnes Chan at (852) 2200-0013