Job Description

International and National Partnerships (Portable Antiquities & Treasure team)

Full-time, 41 hours per week including a paid lunch break

Fixed term, until 31

st

March 2026

30,898 per annum

Application deadline: 12pm (midday) on Tuesday, 24 June 2025

About the role:

The British Museum (BM) is looking for a dynamic, knowledgeable and organised person to join our team administering finds of Treasure reported under the Treasure Act 1996. The Treasure Act is a cornerstone of heritage legislation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, ensuring that important discoveries of archaeological material can end up in public collections. The successful candidate will work with two other Treasure Registration Coordinators to provide important logistical direction to the rest of team and ensure efficient processing of valuations and reward payments in cases that are acquired by museums. They will liaise closely with colleagues throughout the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), as well as curatorial, conservation, scientific and financial departments at the BM, coroners' offices and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Key areas of responsibility:

Facilitating the deposit, collection and viewing of items of Treasure at the BM, and movement of items within museum and ensuring documentation is accurately maintained. Commissioning valuations from appropriate members of the antiquities trade on items of Treasure that museums wish to acquire, distributing these to interested parties and preparing the cases for Treasure Valuation Committee (TVC) meetings. Onboarding new members of the trade as appropriate. Aiding in the smooth operation of TVC meetings by preparing artefacts for viewing, ensuring all relevant documentation is available to Committee members in an organised fashion, and other tasks as needed on the day of the meeting. Processing of reward payments in BM financial system, including: invoicing the museum that is acquiring an item of Treasure, supporting museums in the timely payment of invoices, inputting bank details of interested parties, posting invoice payments and processing monthly payments of rewards. Line managing one Treasure Registrar and taking an active role in the training of other members of the team, and assist in determining workload priorities, as appropriate. Assisting with the wider operations of the PAS, for example by representing the PAS Central Unit at regional meetings and serving on interview panels

About you:

The successful candidate will have extensive experience with and be comfortable using Microsoft Office Products (Word, Excel, Powerpoint). They will be self-motivated and willing and able to seek out new tasks when one is finished; they will be highly organised but also flexible and able to adapt to changes at short notice. They will have experience working with museum collections or comparable material in an official capacity and in processing financial paperwork (e.g. purchase orders, invoices). The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the law regarding Treasure in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, both its purpose and how it operates in practice. They will be educated to at least A-level or equivalent, preferably having a university degree. The candidate will be required to work from the main museum site in Bloomsbury at least three days per week and whenever work requires it.

About the British Museum:

Founded in 1753, the British Museum's remarkable collection spans over two million years of human history and culture. The Museum is a leading visitor attraction, and its world-famous collection includes the Rosetta Stone, Egyptian mummies, the Sutton-Hoo finds, and the Lewis Chessmen. The Museum also holds an extensive collection of prints and drawings spanning 600 years, including works by the greatest graphic artists such as Durer, Michelangelo and Rembrandt.


You can view a selection of our impressive collection of prints and drawings in our virtual gallery.


The Museum offers a competitive benefits package including:


Generous annual leave allowance of 25 days (rising to 30 days after 10 years' service) plus 2.5 privilege days and plus bank holidays. Membership of the civil service defined benefit pension scheme (find out herewhat benefits a civil service pension provides). Free entry to a wide range of museums and exhibitions Participation in private and public Museum activities, including talks by leading curators from around the world and behind-the-scenes opportunities to learn how museums care for and manage their extraordinary collections. Interest-free travel, bicycle, and rental deposit loans Professional and personal development opportunities Employee Assistance Programme Discounts on food and gift shop purchases

Additional details:

For more information about this role, please see the job description.


The interviews are expected to take place in the week commencing 7th July.


If you have any additional needs that we should be aware of to support you with your application, please provide details to bmrecruit@britishmuseum.org.

We have a legal responsibility to ensure that employees have the right to work in the UK. If you currently do not hold the right to work in the UK, we can only sponsor a limited number of roles that meet eligibility criteria. To offer a sponsorship, the job role you apply needs to be in the list of eligible occupations: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skilled-worker-visa-eligible-occupations. Additionally (with some limited exceptions), the role will need to meet the minimum salary threshold of 38,700 or the going rate for the job, whichever is the highest. You can find more information here: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa/your-job


The British Museum is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all staff and job applicants. We aim to create a working environment in which all individuals can make best use of their skills, free from unlawful discrimination or harassment. We value the benefits that a diverse workforce brings to a museum which represents world culture. The Museum is committed to ensuring that no job applicant suffers unlawful discrimination because of any protected characteristics. Our recruitment procedures aim to ensure that individuals are treated because of their relevant knowledge, skills, and experience.


We specifically encourage applications from candidates from ethnic minority groups who are underrepresented within our senior roles.


We offer a flexible way of working scheme that allows our employees to work remotely in a way that suits them and the organisation. We welcome questions and conversations at interview stage about how flexible working could work for you.

The Museum also adheres to the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) for pre-employment screening of Civil Servants.