Assistant Conservator

Ingenium • Ottawa, ON

17h • CA$75,116 - CA$91,361 • Hybrid

About The Position

The Assistant Conservator is responsible for the preservation, conservation, restoration, and maintenance of Ingenium Canada’s primary asset, the national collection of scientific and technological artifacts, for the purposes of storage, study, use, access, loan and exhibition.

Requirements

• Graduation from a University or Community College program in Conservation, OR an acceptable amount of equivalent experience.
• A valid driver’s licence (Ontario Class G or equivalent).
• A minimum of 5 years of experience in conservation treatment, condition assessment, collections care projects or related conservation activities for a wide variety of artifacts, including electronic and electrical objects.
• Thorough knowledge of current conservation techniques, methods, procedures, display and practices relating to industrial, archival, scientific, aviation, aerospace and agricultural artifacts and other types of artifacts in the Ingenium collection.
• Thorough knowledge of the physical and chemical properties and characteristics of a wide range of organic and inorganic materials and substances, and how to qualitatively and quantitatively identify and assess them analytically.
• Knowledge of the Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Practice for professional Canadian Conservators, museological principles, theory and practices, electronic collection management systems and photo documentation processes specific to artifacts and museums.
• Knowledge of the sources of conservation and technical information available to and within the profession.
• Knowledge of the safe operation of machinery, equipment and specialized tools relevant to the tasks performed.
• Knowledge of health and safety regulations, standards and best practices and issues which pertain to the unique and specialized workplaces at Ingenium, with special regards to hazards within the collection and with materials used in Conservation.
• Understanding of Ingenium’s organization and corporate mandate.
• Excellent fine motor, manual dexterity, colour perception skills and attention to detail skills are required to work with artifacts and perform treatments.
• Excellent communication skills (written, and oral) are required to communicate with colleagues, clients, volunteers, interns, and other stakeholders, write conservation reports, correspondence, as well as effectively communicate complicated or technically specific concepts to a less knowledgeable audience.
• Effective research and analytical skills are required for learning and adapting established conservation methods, treatments, and procedures and ability to soundly judge new collections and conservations/restoration procedures, materials, tests, methods etc. which are new to the field.
• Ability to perform the physical tasks relevant to the job including capacity to work in challenging work environments (confined spaces, hazard remediation, respond to collection emergencies etc.).
• Learn and expand knowledge of specialized terms, nomenclature, and lexicons etc. to various industries and fields of work.
• Ability to operate and maintain machinery and equipment related to conservation, restoration and collection management (e.g. Forklift, wood working tools, machine shop etc.).
• Effective supervisor and personal management skills are needed for working with volunteers and interns.
• Excellent time and project management skills are required for managing multiple projects at multiple campuses at the same time, including large special projects and daily tasks.
• Negotiation, tact, diplomacy, interpersonal, and conflict management/resolution skills are essential for working with other departments, colleagues and stakeholders where different teams have different priorities.
• Ability to be highly effective when working alone for long periods of time, and in small groups.
• Innovative thinking and problem-solving skills are needed to adapt to each artifact and project’s needs.
• Database (Emu)/Computer skills required for communication, and maintaining accurate artifact records.
• Photography skills needed to photo document work performed.
• Enhanced reliability security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Preservation, conservation, restoration, and maintenance of Ingenium Canada’s national collection of scientific and technological artifacts.
• Ensuring artifacts are suitable for storage, study, use, access, loan, and exhibition.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: Associate degree