Curator TheMuseumsLab (f/m/d)

Our Mission: Discovering and describing life and earth - with people, through dialogue.

The Museum für Naturkunde Berlin (MfN) is an excellent and integrated research museum of the Leibniz Association with an international reputation and globally networked research infrastructure. It is active in three closely interlinked fields: collection-based research, collection development and cataloguing, and research-based public and educational work. Over the next ten years, the Museum für Naturkunde will realise its plan for the future. New laboratories and jobs for cutting-edge research will be created. At the same time, one of the world's most comprehensive natural history collections with over 30 million objects will be housed in modern collection buildings and completely digitized in the process. The implementation of the Future Plan, funded with a total of 660 million euros from the Federal Government and the State of Berlin, will only succeed with strong interdisciplinary national and international partners.

Become part of our team

Curator TheMuseumsLab (f/m/d)

Work schedule: Full time (39 h 24 min per week), duration: at the earliest possible date until 31.12.2026, salary level: E 13 TV-L, code: 08/ 2024

Project Description:

TheMuseumsLab is a collaborative project designed to offer African and European museum professionals a platform for continuous joint learning, unlearning, networking, career development and perspective exchange on the future of museums in both Africa and Europe. Its primary objective is to facilitate connections that bridge individuals, institutions, and nations across two continents, fostering engaged discussions on how museums can confront their colonial past, meet the present societal, global challenges and work together to actively shape a more equitable future.

The thematic focus of TheMuseumsLab encompasses critical areas such as digitization, provenance research, decolonization, and the presence of objects from colonial contexts in European museums. Moreover, the programme aims at sparking a joint reflection on a new ethical framework for international cooperation.

Each year 25 Fellows from Africa and 25 Fellows from Europe are selected by an international commission. In the project years 2021 to 2023, 145 Fellows representing museums and cultural institutions from 21 African and 15 European countries participated.

TheMuseumsLab comprises three Modules, taking place online and on-site in Africa and Europe. Furthermore, each Fellow participates in a one-week Residency in Africa or Europe in one of the institutions from TheMuseumsLab Partner Museum Network.

Responsibilities:

• leading preparation and moderation for TheMuseumsLab curatorial workshops (digital / on-site) including development of preparatory materials and comprehensive information packages
• coordination and development of programme formats with partner museums in Berlin considering evaluation results of previous programme years
• coordination, communication and curatorial onboarding of speakers and moderators
• development and implementation of evaluation formats in coordination with event coordination
• processing of evaluation results and compilation of an annual evaluation report preparation of content for strategic board meetings
• processing project results for publications

Requirements:

• degree in museum studies, heritage studies, curatorial studies, communication sciences, cultural studies, or equivalent
• several years of professional experience in conceptualizing, coordinating, and implementing programmes for art, cultural and educational institutions, or equivalent
• professional experience in collaborative international projects and events
• professional experience in developing and processing evaluation formats
• expertise in the planning, implementation and follow-up of digital, hybrid and onsite events
• profound knowledge of the African and European museum landscape
• knowledge of current discourses regarding racism, discrimination, decolonization, diversity, and intersectionality
• fluent in English (both orally and in writing)
• excellent communication skills
• motivated, diligent, and independent approach to work
• enthusiasm for collaborative teamwork
• diversity competence

Special notes:

In support of equal rights applications from qualified women are particularly welcome. Handicapped individuals will be given preference in cases of identical qualifications.

Museum für Naturkunde Berlin offers the option of flexible working hours and mobile working by arrangement.

We look forward to receiving your application with the usual documents (cover letter, curriculum vitae, certificates) by 07.05.2024, preferably via our online application portal https://www.museumfuernaturkunde.berlin/en/jobs-and-career/jobs

For information on the application procedure, please contact recruiting@mfn.berlin.

Further information

Privacy Policy:

By sending your application, you provide us with your information for the purpose of processing your application by the Museum für Naturkunde. Your data will be kept strictly confidential at all times. Once we have received your application documents, they will be entered into our database. Your data will be stored on our server. In doing so, we observe the provisions of the data protection laws.

Information about the handling of applicant data at the MfN (in German) and Privacy policy for the MfN website (in German)

Family Policy:

The Museum für Naturkunde has set itself the goal of promoting a work-life balance and has been awarded the certificate berufundfamilie audit of berufundfamilie gGmbH - an initiative of the Hertie Foundation.

Further information can be found under: https://www.naturkundemuseum.berlin/de/jobs-und-karriere/arbeiten-am-museum-fuer-naturkunde/audit-berufundfamilie