Assistant Curator

Posted: 28/04/2025
- Closing Date: 07/05/2025
- Salary: $84,228.00 - $91,809.00
- Job Type: Ongoing / Non-ongoing; Full time
- Location: Canberra or Sydney
- Job Category: Arts, Culture

**About the National Film and Sound Archive**

The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) is Australia’s audiovisual archive, telling the national story by collecting, preserving and sharing audiovisual media, the cultural experience platforms of our time. The collection itself dates back to 1935, making it one of the world’s oldest audiovisual collections. It is also one of the country’s most used cultural collections, with around 125 million views of collection content each year. The NFSA is in a period of significant change. Following increased Government investment, the institution is in a process of digital transformation, establishing the NFSA as Australia’s most dynamic and valued cultural organisation. We are rebuilding our curatorial workforce and developing the NFSA’s capacity to digitise our collection at scale - to preserve it for the future, to make sure it can be discovered, and to share it with all Australians.

We continue to work on developing a stable, secure and future-proof workforce across our four physical sites based in Canberra and Mitchell in the ACT as well as in Sydney and Melbourne.

We are also undergoing a program of business improvement for many of our corporate systems to improve efficiency and reduce manual handling.

We are an ambitious organisation, and we aim to be an employer of choice within the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector, providing exciting and challenging work, as well as favourable employment conditions and unique development opportunities for our staff.

**Cultural Values**

We are an equal opportunity employer, embracing a diverse range of applicants such as veterans, and people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, LGBTQIA community members, individuals with disabilities and/or health conditions, as well as those from varied faith and cultural backgrounds. At the NFSA we prioritise the development of a safe, inclusive, and high-performance culture through shared actions and behaviours that align with our strategy and direction. This empowers our employees to effectively contribute to our goals.

The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia is committed to ensuring a child-safe and child-friendly environment. All employees are expected to demonstrate a commitment to, and support for these principles in theory and practice.

**About the Team**

The Content and Interpretation team is part of the Curatorial and Accessioning Branch. This team is responsible for curating and interpreting the collection to tell the national story through exhibitions, displays, experiences, programs, digital projects, and collection research opportunities. Additionally, the team works to build the collection and foster relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.

**The Opportunity**

The Assistant Curator plays a key role in supporting the delivery of curatorial projects that engage with the national collection, contributing to both physical and digital exhibitions and content. This position will provide support in the planning, research, and delivery of content, ensuring the collection is interpreted in meaningful ways for diverse audiences.
- Please note: This recruitment process is intended to fill both current and future vacancies. While the position on offer is ongoing, a merit pool of suitable applicants may be established to fill similar ongoing and non-ongoing positions within the next 18 months._

**Key Responsibilities/Duties**

Under limited direction, this position is responsible for delivering the following functions:

- Assist with the project planning, content development, interpretation, writing, research, and delivery of content from the Collection, that represents and tells the national story.
- Coordinate and oversee tasks related to digitisation and conservation requirements to meet deadlines whilst providing curatorial rigour.
- Manage collection activities relevant to projects, including accessioning and acquisition activities.
- Collaborate with internal teams and external stakeholders on projects and initiatives.

**Selection Criteria**
- Demonstrated experience working with audiovisual media or collections, including working with both analogue and digital material.
- Demonstrated skills in developing and interpreting collection content to tell clear, concise and engaging stories.
- Demonstrated experience in operating in a highly collaborative multifaceted creative environment to coordinate and deliver complex projects.
- Demonstrated experience working in, and knowledge of, Australia’s audiovisual industries and/or collections with an understanding of its history and current trends.
- Demonstrated ability to liaise and communicate concisely and effectively with internal teams and external stakehold