Exhibitions Workshop & Display Technician

On-site in London·Full-time·Added 3 days ago (last checked 9 Nov)

Imperial War Museums

8 open roles

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Our summary

Work mode: On-site, London
Contract: Permanent, full-time hours

Skills

Requirements

What we're looking for

GCSE-level education or equivalent, together with a relevant vocational, technical or professional qualification.
Practical workshop experience, ideally within a museum, gallery, exhibition, heritage or similar environment.
Strong carpentry, construction and maintenance skills, including woodworking, decorating, plastering, painting and exhibition or set building.
Experience safely using workshop machinery, hand tools and power tools, including panel saws, band saws, bench saws, planers, spindle moulders and pillar drills.
Good IT skills, including experience using Microsoft Office applications such as Excel, Teams and Outlook.
The ability to work independently and collaboratively while managing multiple priorities and responding to changing operational needs.
Strong communication and organisational skills, with the ability to maintain accurate records and work effectively with a wide range of colleagues.
A good understanding of health and safety requirements and safe working practices within workshop, maintenance or exhibition environments.

The role

At IWM, we're driven by a shared purpose: helping people understand the causes, course and consequences of conflict and its impact on people's lives. As an Exhibitions Workshop & Display Technician, you'll play a hands-on role in maintaining and enhancing the galleries and exhibitions that bring these stories to life. Working as part of the Exhibitions Production team, you'll help ensure that gallery spaces remain safe, functional and visually engaging for visitors while supporting the construction, installation and deinstallation of exhibitions across IWM sites. This role offers a varied mix of workshop, maintenance and display activities. From carpentry and decorating to exhibition builds, case maintenance and collections care, you'll work closely with colleagues across the museum to deliver high-quality gallery environments and exhibition experiences. Every day presents new challenges and opportunities to contribute directly to the visitor experience while working with exhibitions, displays and museum collections.

Why This Role Matters

IWM's galleries and exhibitions are central to how the museum shares powerful stories of conflict and their impact on people's lives. As an Exhibitions Workshop & Display Technician, you'll help ensure these spaces remain safe, accessible, visually impactful and maintained to the highest standards. Through gallery maintenance, exhibition construction and display support, you'll play an important role in protecting museum assets and collections while helping visitors engage with exhibitions in the way they were intended. Your work will directly contribute to preserving presentation standards across IWM's galleries and exhibition spaces, minimising disruption, supporting collections care and ensuring exhibitions remain engaging and operational throughout their lifecycle. By helping to maintain and improve exhibition environments, you'll support IWM's mission and enhance the visitor experience across our sites.

What You'll Be Doing

What you'll do

Carry out daily gallery inspections and maintenance checks, reporting issues and monitoring maintenance requests through to completion.
Maintain long-term gallery environments through repairs, decorating, painting, carpentry and general maintenance activities.
Clean and redress display cases and support approved object removals for photography, filming, press activities and other museum requirements.
Construct exhibition walls, display cases, cladding, plinths, panels and exhibition furniture from design plans and project briefs.
Support the installation and removal of temporary and permanent exhibitions, including decoration and making-good works.
Assist with the installation of audiovisual equipment and exhibition technology.
Support the installation, dressing and deinstallation of exhibits in galleries and temporary exhibition spaces.
Work alongside art technicians and specialist contractors to hang and install works of art and exhibition objects.
Assist with showcase access, display case maintenance, object handling and transportation across IWM sites.
Maintain accurate gallery, showcase and object movement records using departmental systems, including the Axiell collections database.

How You'll Work

This is a permanent, full-time position based at IWM London within the Exhibitions, Production & Delivery team, part of the Collections & Curatorial Directorate. Reporting to the Senior Workshop Technician, you'll work primarily on site, supporting galleries and exhibitions across IWM's London branches and occasionally other IWM locations within the UK.

The role operates on a 36-hour net working week, with core hours of 8:00am to 4:15pm Monday to Thursday and 8:00am to 4:00pm Friday. This is a physically demanding role involving practical workshop, maintenance and installation activities.

Occasional flexibility, travel, weekend working and out-of-hours support may be required to meet exhibition project deadlines and operational priorities, with time off in lieu provided where applicable.

What Success Looks Like (First 3 Months)

Build a strong understanding of IWM's purpose, values and the role of the Exhibitions Production team.
Complete induction programmes, mandatory training and health and safety requirements.
Become familiar with gallery maintenance routines, exhibition support activities, departmental systems and record-keeping processes.
Establish positive working relationships with colleagues across the Workshop & Display, Production and wider museum teams.
Confidently contribute to routine maintenance, workshop and display activities with limited supervision.
Demonstrate effective use of maintenance reporting systems, work requests and departmental records.
Develop a good understanding of collections care, conservation requirements and object handling procedures.

For a full list of duties and the person specification (which your application will be marked against), please view the Job Description.