Job Description

18.5 hours per week (days & times to be discussed but will involve some weekend working)

This is a really great opportunity to be part of our fantastic Museum service, working at Eastney Engine Houses as our Lead Engineer!

The Service:

Portsmouth Museums & Visitor Services are responsible for the care of the city's museum collections - comprising some 500,000 items that document the history and culture of the city - and for making them accessible to both residents and visitors.


The service operates six museum sites - The D-Day Story, Southsea Castle, Charles Dickens' Birthplace, Portsmouth Natural History Museum, Portsmouth Museum and Art Gallery & Eastney Beam Engine House. A range of audience development initiatives ensure that people from communities across the city and beyond have access to and are able to benefit from the collections we hold.


We are:

Champions of Portsmouth's history and culture Welcoming, inclusive and community driven Listening to and engaging with our audiences Resourceful and focused on sustainability Passionate, inspiring and thought provoking

Our vision is to connectculture, communities and collections, creating links with our past and raising aspirations for the future.

What is the role?

You will maintain and operate the machines in the Beam Engine and Gas Engine Houses. The role will also involve supervising and creating workplans for engineering volunteers on the site whilst always ensuring health and safety standards are met.


You will also be the responsible person (duty manager) on site on designated days to act as a keyholder to enable access and in case of emergencies. You will work with the wider museum team to develop the site through master planning and fundraising. The role will also involve interpretation and sharing heritage with visitors.


To find out more about Eastney Engine Houses please visit our website - https://eastneyenginehouses.co.uk/

Who is the person?

You need to:

Have a good standard of education and ideally BTEC Level 2 Operation & Maintenance of Steam Systems, BTEC Level 2 Mechanical Engineering or equivalent experience. Have practical experience of maintaining and operating mechanical and steam engines/boilers. Ideally have experience of working in a heritage environment. Have experience of leading and managing teams of volunteers. Have good practical skills involving woodwork & metalwork, as well as of working with machinery. Have good IT skills for using collection databases, spreadsheets and word documents, as well as manipulating and storing digital images for reference. Have an expert knowledge of chemicals used for conservation and experience in the use of relevant materials, tools and safe working practices. Be able to use your own initiative and prioritise your workload. Excellent communication skills. Excellent decision-making, negotiation and project management skills.

When completing the application form, please thoroughly tailor your application to the 'Who is the Person' points with the use of examples from your experience. This is really important or you are likely not to be shortlisted. The full job profile is attached at the bottom of this page!

'We are a disability confident employer and Armed Forces Covenant gold standard. More information can be found at Equality, diversity and inclusion - Careers portal. We are committed to offering an interview to all those candidates that qualify under one of our commitments and meet the minimum criteria, however for roles that receive a large number of applications, this is not always possible, and we will select the candidates that best meet the minimum criteria.'

About Portsmouth City Council

What we can offer you:

Portsmouth City Council is a unique organisation, committed to making a difference, and is guided by core values that set who we are as people, what we stand for, and how we act.


Read more about working at Portsmouth City Council and our benefits on our careers portal homepage: Careers Portal - Find jobs with Portsmouth City Council

Should you require any support in completing the application form please contact recruit@portsmouthcc.gov.uk. or call the recruitment team on 023 92 616800