As the world's leading museum of art, design and performance, we stage hugely successful exhibitions and events, and are expanding our physical sites and digital reach to make our collections more accessible than ever before. We need great people to help us sustain this success.
Your application
Apply online via the jobs page of the V&A’s website. At any point you may save and quit your form to return to later by using the Save and Quit button at the bottom of each page. Each time you Save and Quit, a link to your form will be automatically sent to the email address you have provided.
To find out how the V&A manages job applicants' personal data, please read our privacy notice.
Internal applicants
If you are a current employee at the V&A, then you must have successfully passed your probation to be eligible to apply for any V&A vacancies. An employee has a current contract of employment with the V&A, so will be on either a permanent or fixed term contract. This does not include zero-hour workers, contractors or volunteers. You will be asked to confirm that you have passed your probation at the start of any application you make. Please refer to the Recruitment Policy on the intranet's People Hub for further information.
Right to work
You will be asked to confirm that you have the right to work in the UK. If you do not have the right to work in the UK, you will not be able to progress your application further. For some vacancies you may also be asked to confirm that you meet some of the minimum role requirements (by answering “yes” or “no”).
Education
You will be asked to enter information about your education. Please only detail your highest (or most relevant) qualification, i.e. if you have a degree, you do not need to enter details about your secondary education.
We will request proof of all essential or desirable qualifications.
Work history
You will be asked to enter your work history, starting with your current or most recent employment. Please ensure you detail at least the last five years of your work history, accounting for any gaps lasting 28 days or more. If you have been working less than five years, please provide details of all employment since you left full-time education.
Supporting information
Your supporting statement is a very important part of your application. You should review the Person Specification on the Job Description and provide specific examples of what you have done (in work, volunteering, training or education) to meet the Person Specification requirements in the order they are listed. For example, if the Person Specification lists ‘Strong communication skills’ you should use specific examples to demonstrate how you have used and developed communication skills in the past. Please do not generalise e.g. “I usually….”.
If you believe that you could excel in this role but are not sure that you meet 100% of the essential criteria, we encourage you to apply. We are dedicated to considering a broad array of candidates, including those with diverse workplace experiences and backgrounds. Whether you’re new to museum or culture administration, returning to work after a gap in employment or looking to take the next step in your career, we welcome your application. Please use your supporting statement to tell us about your interest in the V&A and what you hope to bring to this role.
Your statement should not exceed 1,500 words. We recommend you draft and save your supporting statement outside of the application portal as your connection may time out.
References
We need references to cover your last five years of employment and/or education. One of these must be your line manager or HR department at your current or most recent employer (or course tutor if you were in full-time education).
For security reasons, if you have had any gaps in your employment/education lasting 28 days or more (excluding academic holidays whilst in full-time education) please provide an explanation, supporting evidence and a character reference (to cover each gap). If you have had multiple gaps, you can use the same referee provided they have known you for all the periods that you were not in employment or education. If you require more than two referees to cover the last five years, then choose “add another”. You will need to add as many referees as necessary to cover the last five years.
We only contact referees once we have offered you the role.
Equal opportunities and recruitment monitoring
We are committed to diversity and inclusion, and to eliminate the risk of bias, our recruiting managers short-list without access to personal information such as your name and address, and your equal opportunities information (blind short-listing).
This information helps the HR team measure diversity in our recruitment and ensures applicants are treated fairly and equally. It is strictly confidential.
Disability confident
We are committed to guaranteeing an interview for applicants who identify as having a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the post. If you are applying under the scheme, the recruiting manager will be notified. If short-listed, we will ask you about any reasonable adjustments you need to participate in the next stage of the selection process.
Declaration
This is your final opportunity to review your application prior to submitting. Please take this chance to use the navigation buttons to ensure that the information you have provided is accurate and complete. Once you have ticked the box below and pressed the ‘Submit’ button you will no longer be able to edit your application.
Help with your application
If you are having technical difficulties applying online, please use the online chat function on the bottom right hand side of the form. Alternatively, you can contact technical support on 015 0923 6434 quoting the vacancy reference and your application number.
If you require any reasonable adjustments to the application process you can email us – contactpeopleteam@vam.ac.uk or call us on 020 7942 2937, Monday to Friday 9.00 – 17:00.
What happens next?
After the closing date, your application will be reviewed against the essential and desirable criteria for the role. In most cases, you will be notified (by email) if you have been shortlisted for the next stage of the selection process, within seven days of the closing date. Please note it may sometimes take longer to notify successful applicants of the next stage, if there are a high volume of applications. Further details on the next stage of the selection process will be detailed in the email.
Offers of employment
Please note that all offers of employment require:
- References covering your last 5 years of employment and/or education
- Proof of the right to work in the UK
- Security clearance (Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check). This will be a Basic Disclosure and a Self-Disclosure unless you will have direct and regular contact with children and vulnerable adults where an Enhanced Disclosure is required.
- You will also be asked to complete a medical questionnaire to see if there are any reasonable adjustments or support that we could offer you in your new role
Working at the V&A
The V&A offers a range of benefits to permanent and fixed term employees:
Annual leave
28 days plus 8 days public holidays (pro rata for anyone working less than 36 hours per week)
Pension benefits
You will be auto enrolled into the museum’s Group Personal Pension Scheme and have the opportunity, upon completion of probation, to benefit from an enhanced pension provision.
Other benefits include:
- Free entry to a number of museums, galleries and exhibitions across the UK
- Complimentary tickets to V&A exhibitions for your friends or family
- Subsidised staff canteen
- 25% discount on purchases in V&A shops
- Non-contributory life assurance policy (to value of 4 x annual salary)
- An interest free season ticket or bicycle loan (available upon completion of probation)
- Employee Assistance line for all V&A employees and their families, 24 hours a day 7 days per week
