Organisation: Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation (BPHF)
Location of Placement: Blenheim Palace, Remote.
Placement Duration: 3 months full time or 6 months part time
Placement Dates: Flexible
Lead Contacts: Kelly Whitton - Head of Built Heritage, BPHF. Emily Spencer - Head of Operations, BPHF.
About the Organisation
Blenheim Palace Heritage Foundation is a charity that is responsible for the Grade I listed Blenheim Palace and the 2000 acres of World Heritage Site surrounding it. Blenheim is home to an active visitor attraction, seeing over 1m visitors through the gates every year, and over 400,000 guests though the Palace itself.
Placement Description
Curatorial Placement: Blenheim Palace
In January 2025, BPHF will embark on its most ambitious project to date.
Over a 2-year period, costing £12.4m, Above and Beyond will see the Great Hall, Saloon and the Heights reroofed and all stone work and windows repaired to both iconic North and South Porticos.
In order to ensure minimal impact to our guests, we are providing a series of new exhibitions to engage and inform. One such exhibition will be the creation of a Heritage, Innovation and Interpretation centre, which will celebrate restoration, research and repair at Blenheim through programmed workshops and tactile, guest led exhibition spaces.
Working part in-person at Blenheim Palace and remotely, the successful candidate will start curating the experience, alongside the team at Blenheim Palace and the Kickstarting Heritage Innovation team at the University of Oxford.
This may include curating and interpreting craft skills workshop spaces, creating audience led, paid for activity spaces such as ‘sign a slate’, designing a research project take over space and working with our events team to assist with programming events. The final outputs will be a physical exhibition space, printed interpretation, and a programme of events.
The candidate can work on-site on a day to day basis, with regular contact with supervisors; work can also be conducted remotely. The placement will provide the candidate with key insights into curating exhibitions for a leading UK heritage organisation and visitor business, become a member of the steering group for the engagement of visitors during the major Roof Project, mentoring from various members from Blenheim Palace, including the Head of Built Heritage and the Keeper of the Palace and an induction into developing visitor engagement during significant change.
Skills, Knowledge or Experience needed
The candidate will require excellent administration and communication skills, with experience of researching and writing interpretation. Experience of working or volunteering within a museum or heritage setting would be beneficial.
They will be required to undertake a related recruitment task as part of the selection process.
Some of the work will need to be carried out in person at Blenheim Palace. It is estimated this may require a minimum of 1 day per week.
Enthusiasm for a career in the Heritage or Museum sector would be an advantage.
How to Apply
Please send a CV and a short statement of interest to training@oocdtp.ac.uk by 12 noon on Friday 5 July 2024.
