Seasonal Preventive Care Assistant, Cape Ann, Massachusetts

Description: Historic New England is looking to connect individuals who are new to or interested in the museum field with a hands-on, immersive collections care position working at Cogswell's Grant in Essex, Massachusetts and Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House in Gloucester, Massachusetts. This position works in support of the collections services and visitor experience teams to provide hands-on preventive collections care for Historic New England’s historic house museums.  Learn about preventive conservation and the museum’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program with professionals at the leading edge of the IPM field who are implementing new strategies and innovative technologies. This opportunity can give you an edge in the competitive museum-field job market and could be ideal for a pre-program conservation or museum studies student.

Responsibilities: This hourly position is responsible for weekly preventive care tasks including but not limited to dusting museum artifacts, vacuuming delicate textiles, cleaning historic interior surfaces, deploying and monitoring pest traps, and reporting museum pest activity. The preventive care assistant will also participate in the seasonal opening and closing of the historic house museum. Specialty training workshops will be provided by Historic New England’s collection services team, giving you access to the depth of knowledge our staff can provide.

Qualifications: A Bachelor’s degree in museum studies, history, art history, or a related field is preferred. Applicants should have strong attention to detail and an interest in history and working with museum objects. Experience with handling museum collections is preferred. Requires excellent communication skills and the ability to work both independently for extended periods of time as well as cooperatively within a small team. Requires problem solving skills, strong attention to detail, and basic computer skills.

As typically performed, this position regularly involves talking, hearing, sitting, standing, walking, climbing stairs, standing on ladders, bending/stooping, and driving. The position also involves lifting up to forty pounds and the ability to handle, lift, and move furniture and other decorative arts objects. This position also requires competency in computer applications, including use of internet, email, Microsoft Excel and Word, Zoom, and Dropbox.

Must commit to employment through the end of the 2026 season, April through October. Valid driver’s license and a means of transportation required.  

Historic New England is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.