Work for us - Science Museum Group

The Science Museum Group:

5 world class museums
5.5 million visitors last year
7 million items within our unrivalled collections

We’ve achieved so much and we have no intention of slowing down.

With world-class collections and inspiring and innovative programmes, we strive to make our museums the best in the world and have many exciting and ambitious plans still to come.

Find out more about working for SMG and our latest vacancies below:

Our benefits:

Working at the Science Museum Group comes with a range of benefits to help you plan for the future, save money and enjoy life. This includes:

Enhanced contributory pension
Generous annual leave entitlement
Opt-in BUPA dental & health cover (Enterprise contracts)
Interest-free loans
Buy and sell up to 5 days annual leave
Employee assistance wellbeing helpline and support
Flexible working environment
Generous maternity, paternity and adoption leave policies
Career breaks
Group Income protection (Enterprise contracts)
Trade Union recognition
Discounts in on-site cafes, shops and cinemas
Free entry to exhibitions
Discounts at other museums within NMDC

Our mission and values

At the Science Museum Group, we make it our mission to inspire futures. Our talented and dedicated colleagues are guided by five values that encapsulate what we’re all about:

We think big, pushing the limits of what’s possible
We challenge ourselves to reveal wonder
We use our passion, expertise and creativity to share authentic stories
We aim to ignite curiosity in our audiences and our colleagues
We take pride in being open for all

SMG careers images

Training and Development

We know that learning and career development are important to our colleagues, so we want to provide everyone with opportunities to expand their skills and support their professional development.

We’re passionate about ongoing learning and development, and we foster a culture of support and knowledge sharing across the business.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a key area of focus for the Science Museum Group moving into the future. We recognise our strength as the world’s leading group of science museums to engage our visitors with the challenge of climate change through the lens of our collection. Embedding sustainability throughout our organisation is a collective endeavour and colleagues can help to shape our direction through our Sustainability Guiding Teams.

We empower and educate colleagues about environmental sustainability and we hold Group-wide climate conversations through Carbon Literacy training. We’re proud to have reduced our carbon emissions by 69% since 2011, and have set ambitious targets for the future.

Diversity and Inclusion at SMG

SMG aims to represent the society in which we work, but recognise that the museum sector still has much work to do in this area.

One of our organisational pillars is to be ‘Open for All’. This is considered in everything we do, from our collections and programming, the visitor experience at each of our museums, as well as our workforce and how we recruit new talent into the business.

For more information on life and culture at SMG, check out our series of blog posts on our website.

So, you’ve seen your dream job with SMG. What do you do now?

You’ll need to apply for the position via our website. We ask all candidates to complete an application form for our vacancies instead of a traditional CV, as we prefer to shortlist based on values, experience and skills to ensure a fair and equitable process for all candidates. As part of this process, we’ll ask you to provide answers to up to three Supporting Statement questions, as well as some basic personal information which we will need for equal opportunities monitoring.

We review all applications against the criteria detailed in the Vacancy Information Pack, so please do ensure you fully detail how you meet the criteria of the role. We love it when our applicants write thorough and thoughtful responses to the Supporting Statement questions, so don’t be afraid to go into detail. This will ensure we get a good understanding of your skills and experience, and how you meet the requirements of the role.

You’ll hear from us within a couple of weeks of the closing date if your application has been shortlisted, most likely by email. You will be given full details as to the date, time, location and structure of the interview, and who you’ll be meeting on the day, so you know what to expect.

If you’re successful, congratulations! You will be contacted with full details of the job offer and contract, and we will discuss your start date. And if you’re not successful at this time, don’t lose heart. We aim to provide interview feedback to those who want it. Unfortunately,

we can’t always provide feedback if you’re not shortlisted, due to the volume of applications we receive. Do keep an eye on our website, or our social media channels, and feel free to apply again.

HOW DO I APPLY FOR A JOB?

To apply for any of our vacancies you need to create an account and apply online. Follow the link to ‘Apply now’ within the vacancy advert. Instructions are provided as you go along. If you’re having problems applying, please contact [email protected] or 01904 685 750.

Accessibility and disability

We ask all candidates to complete an application form when applying for a position with SMG. This ensures all candidate information comes through to us in a consistent and standardised format. We know that some people applying for roles with us may need support to apply a different way. If this is the case for you, please contact us on [email protected] or 01904 685 750 and we’ll do everything we can to help.

If you are invited to an interview and need adjustments or support in order to attend the interview, please let us know.

CAN I SUBMIT MY CV, WITHOUT APPLYING FOR A SPECIFIC JOB, SO IT CAN BE KEPT ON FILE?

We’re sorry that we are not able to save CVs on file, but we don’t want you to miss out on future vacancies. Instead you can create an account and register to receive email alerts when vacancies you might be interested in arise.

HOW OLD DO I HAVE TO BE TO WORK FOR YOU?

You need to be 16 years or over on the day you start working with us. However, some roles will require you to be 18 or over due to the nature of the responsibilities (e.g. serving alcohol). If you are in any doubt, please contact [email protected] for advice.

DO I NEED A WORK PERMIT TO WORK FOR YOU?

You will need to prove that you have the right to work in the UK. For up-to-date advice on how employers carry out right-to-work checks, and what documents we can accept, please visit www.gov.uk.

CAN YOU SPONSOR ME TO WORK FOR YOU?

We only sponsor individuals from outside the EU who require a visa in limited circumstances. If you are in this position, email [email protected] to check if we are able to consider sponsoring your application ahead of the closing date.

WHAT HOURS, DAYS OR SHIFTS WILL I BE ASKED TO WORK?

We have a very wide range of roles covering many different working patterns. Details for each role will be given in the advert or vacancy information pack.

I’VE BEEN INVITED TO AN ASSESSMENT DAY, WHAT DOES THIS INVOLVE?

When recruiting into certain roles, we may hold assessment days. Our assessment days vary depending on the type of role that you apply for, but typically involve group and individual tasks while also giving you a chance to learn more about the role you’re applying for, meet some of the key people you’d be working with and gain an insight into the work we do at SMG. The assessment days will usually last half a day. We’ll try to be as accommodating as we can when arranging these days.

We want to ensure that every assessment day is a positive experience for you regardless of the outcome of your application, and we will provide feedback to all candidates who attend on the day.

I’ve been asked to provide personal information on the application form. Why is this?

We collect certain personal data from our candidates in order to assist us in our equal opportunities and diversity monitoring. Please be assured this personal data is not be shared with anyone involved in hiring decisions and is only used for continuous monitoring of statistics.

Can I apply for work experience or an internship at SMG?

At present, SMG does not offer internships. We can support with some work experience requests, depending on the department. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

SMG are always looking for volunteers to support us at our museums, across various departments. Please visit the volunteering page for more information and to apply. All internal vacancies across the Group are open to volunteers.

WHERE CAN I FIND MORE INFORMATION?

You can follow our LinkedIn and Twitter channels to keep up to date with all the latest opportunities and updates.

HOW VIDEO INTERVIEW INVITES WORK?

When we invite you to interview you will receive an email asking you to book a time slot on the given interview date(s). Once you’ve booked a slot another email will be sent to you within the next few days with a link to ‘Join Microsoft Teams Meeting’. This should correspond with the slot you’ve booked and this will be the link you need to click into when it is time for your video interview.

DO I NEED TO HAVE MICROSOFT TEAMS INSTALLED?

No, you don’t need Microsoft Teams or an Office 365 account. You can simply click the ‘Join Microsoft Teams Meeting’ link and select the option ‘Continue on this browser’ which will let you join the meeting as a new window in your internet browser without needing to install anything. You can also use Microsoft teams on your smart phone or tablet too.

MY INTERVIEW INVITE MENTIONED A TASK, WHEN WILL I RECEIVE THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS?

In some interviews you may be asked to complete a task prior to the video interview itself. If you need to complete a task, you will be informed that we will send you an email prior to your interview. For example if your interview invite it says you will be emailed a task 30mins before your interview then for a 10:00 slot you would be emailed your task at 9:30 so be sure to keep an eye on your emails (including your junk mailbox).

DO I NEED MY CAMERA ON FOR THE INTERVIEW?

Yes, if possible, we try to make our video interviews as good a substitute for in-person interviews as we can so the preference is that cameras are switched on that way we can see you and you can see us.

WHAT IF MY SIGNAL DROPS OR THERE IS A POOR-QUALITY CONNECTION?

If you are struggling to hear the interviewers’ questions or there are connection issues, please let us know. For each of our video interviews we factor in extra time should there be any technical issues, so please don’t be afraid to inform the panel if the connection is poor, you won’t be marked down for this. There are a number of solutions to help improve the connection on a Microsoft Teams call such as; turning cameras off, muting your microphone whilst you’re not speaking, disconnecting from any VPN connections, ensuring there are no ongoing downloads using the same internet connection and leaving and re-joining the call. Ultimately if the technical issues can’t be solved, we may ask to re-arrange your interview or conduct a telephone interview with you instead, but again this won’t count against you in any way.

Our vacancies

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Our people and culture

Our recruitment process

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General FAQs

Video Interview FAQs

Further reading