We're Hiring - Collections & Exhibitions Technician

Located in Dundas Ontario, the Dundas Museum & Archives collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets objects which demonstrate the founding, settlement, diversity and development of Dundas, for the education and enjoyment of our generation, and those of the future. The Dundas Museum & Archives houses more than 16,000 artifacts and over 30 metres of documents, spanning the entire history of the Dundas Valley – from 150 million year old calcite crystals, to digital photos taken up to the present day. These valuable resources can tell us the stories of how we used to live and who we have become over time.

This is a unique opportunity to join a small, curatorial and collections management team working to build and expand resources and opportunities for the local community. We are seeking an individual who has an interest in the collections management, exhibition, and conservation of a local history museum’s permanent collection. The candidate must be passionate about public access to collections and historical research.

Dates: May 14 – August 3, 2018
Hours: 9:30am – 4:30pm, Monday to Friday (6.5 hours per day)
Hourly rate: 14.00/hour + mandatory employer benefits
Location: Dundas Museum and Archives
139 Park Street West, Dundas, Ontario, L9H 1X8
905.627.7412

mail@dundasmuseum.ca

www.dundasmuseum.ca

Job Description:

• Build an inventory of artifacts, documents, and digital records within the collection related to the museum’s feature summer exhibition (“Finding Your Way: Maps of Dundas”) and fall exhibition (tentatively titled “Artists of Dundas and Hamilton”)
• Research topics, themes, people, and places as defined by the interpretive plan for each exhibition. Draft and edit exhibition text panels, and assist in the preparation and installation of artifacts.
• Create or update digital records in the Collections Management database based on existing accession documents and additional research.
• Photograph artifacts and documents, edit the photographs, and attach the files to the appropriate records in the Collections Management database.
• Greet museum visitors and respond to their inquiries as required.

Qualifications and skills:

A student who meets the Young Canada Works Summer Work Experience program criteria from a university or college program in museum studies, archival studies, library and information science, records management, history, public history or equivalent.

As well you should have the following skills:

• Strong attention to detail and ability to work independently.
• Experience researching in and writing about Canadian history
• Experience working in a museum, archives or library environment.
• Strong computer skills (MS Word, Excel, Adobe Creative Cloud, Collections Databases).
• Familiarity with scanning, photo editing, and data entry.
• Strong organizational, problem solving, interpersonal and communication skills.
• Fluency in English.

The successful candidate must meet the Young Canada Works Summer Work Experience program criteria:

• be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, or have refugee status in Canada. (Non-Canadian students or graduates holding temporary work visas or awaiting permanent status are not eligible.)
• be legally entitled to work in Canada.
• be between 15* and 30 years of age at the start of employment (*where permissible under provincial/territorial labour laws).
• meet the specific eligibility criteria of the program to which you apply.
• be registered in the YCW online candidate inventory.
• be willing to commit to the full duration of the work assignment (minimum 30 hours a week).
• not have another full-time job while employed in a YCW job.
• have registered as a full-time* student in the semester preceding the YCW job (*as defined by their educational institution).
• intend to return to full-time studies* in the semester immediately following the YCW summer job.

In addition, the candidate must be registered in the Young Canada Works inventory.

Please forward your resume with cover letter to Luke Stempien, Collections & Exhibitions Manager via email to luke@dundasmuseum.ca.

Applications must be received by 4:00pm on April 27, 2018.

The Dundas Museum and Archives is committed to transparent, fair, and accessible employment practices and invite applications from all the Government of Canada’s job equity groups.

When notified we will take reasonable steps to accommodate people with disabilities during the recruitment and assessment processes and when people are hired, including but not limited to ensuring application processes are easily accessed by support devices and ensuring that interviews are conducted in a location that permits use of any assistive devices that the applicant may require.

Information gathered will only be used for candidate selection purposes.

The Dundas Museum & Archives is located in Dundas, Ontario a community within the City of Hamilton. Dundas is home to quiet tree-lined streets, historic 19th century buildings, arts, culture, recreation and over 100 shops, restaurants and services nestled in the heart of picturesque Dundas Valley. Nearby attractions include the Dundas Valley School of Arts, the Carnegie Gallery, Cootes Paradise, the Bruce Trail and the Royal Botanical Gardens. For more information, visit downtowndundas.ca and tourismhamilton.com.

We thank all applicants, however only those selected for an interview will be contacted.