Lead Curator East Asian Collections

2 weeks ago

Saint Pancras, Greater London, United Kingdom The British Library Full time £42,179 - £60,000 per year

Contractual hours

36

Basis

Full time

Job category/type

Curation

Date posted

29/10/2025

Job reference

R

Location: St Pancras

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full time (36 hours)

Grade: A

Salary: £42,179 per annum

About the role

The British Library holds an outstanding collection of heritage and contemporary material from and relating to Japan and Korea, including manuscripts, printed books, journals, newspapers, prints and other items, from early written records to contemporary materials.

We are now recruiting for the post of Lead Curator, East Asian Collections to develop, manage, promote and make accessible the Library's collections in Japanese and Korean and to lead the associated staff.

The post-holder will be responsible for projects and activities relating to these collections and will take a leading role in developing future major programs and partnerships, working collaboratively within the Asian and African Collections department, across the Library and with external partners. They will work with the Head of East Asian Collections and with the East Asian Collections team in exploring new ways of interpreting, promoting and making accessible the collections through a range of activities, including documentation and digitisation projects, research, culture and public engagement events and exhibitions.

This is an exciting opportunity for candidates with a strong professional or research profile in an area or language/s relevant to Japanese or Korean collections, combined with proven expertise in managing heritage and contemporary collections in a library, archive or museum setting. We are looking for experience in successfully managing people, resources and projects, as well as in developing collaborative relationships with international partners. Excellent communication and organisational skills are essential to this post, as well as a passion for sharing expert knowledge and engage with diverse users and audiences.

About us

We are the national library of the UK and we are here for everyone. Our shelves hold over 170 million items – a living collection that gets bigger every day. Although our roots extend back centuries, we aim to collect everything published in the UK today, tomorrow and far into the future. Our trusted experts care for this collection and open it up for everyone to spark new discoveries, ideas and to help people do incredible things.

What we can offer you

  • A competitive salary.
  • A fantastic pension scheme with minimum employer contributions of 28.97% (this may be higher dependent on grade).
  • Flexible working hours, with the ability to take up to 5 days flexi leave in a 3-month period.
  • 25 days holiday.
  • Full details of employee benefits can be found on our Careers: Benefits

Closing date: 30 November 2025

We are able to provide sponsorship under the UK Skilled Worker visa for this role.

We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian, Mixed Race and other ethnically diverse candidates and disabled candidates. We would like to increase the representation of these groups within The British Library to ensure our workforce is as diverse as the public that we serve. Creating an inclusive workplace is the core of our business and a way to engage the diversity of thought that is essential to achieve our aims.

  • Curator Tibetan Collections

    2 weeks ago

    Saint Pancras, Greater London, United Kingdom The British Library Full time £34,608 per year

    Contractual hours36BasisFull timeJob category/typeCurationDate posted10/11/2025Job referenceR Location: St PancrasContract: PermanentHours: Full time (36 hours)Grade: BSalary: £34,608 per annumAbout the roleAn exciting opportunity has arisen for a Curator of Tibetan Collections to join a team of specialist curators in the Asian and African Collections...

  • Cataloguer, Will Self Born Digital Archive

    2 days ago

    Saint Pancras, Greater London, United Kingdom The British Library Full time £28,119 - £30,000 per year

    Contractual hours36BasisFull timeJob category/typeCataloguing & MetadataDate posted10/11/2025Job referenceR Location: St PancrasContract: Fixed term (22 months)Hours: Full time (36 hours)Grade: CSalary: £28,119 per annumAbout the roleThis is an exciting opportunity to be part of a ground-breaking project to catalogue a major born-digital archive at the...

  • Arabic Translator

    4 days ago

    Saint Pancras, Greater London, United Kingdom The British Library Full time £28,119 per year

    Contractual hours36BasisFull timeJob category/typeCataloguing & MetadataDate posted01/12/2025Job referenceR Location: St PancrasContract: Fixed term (12 months)Hours: Full time (36 hours)Grade: CSalary: £28,119 per annumAbout the roleThe British Library is working in partnership with the Qatar Foundation and Qatar National Library to make a wealth of...

  • Senior Interpretation Manager

    2 weeks ago

    Saint Pancras, Greater London, United Kingdom The British Library Full time £40,000 - £60,000 per year

    Contractual hours36BasisFull timeJob category/typeConservation & Collection CareDate posted14/10/2025Job referenceR Location: St PancrasContract: PermanentHours: Full time (36 hours)Grade: ASalary: £42,179 per annumAbout the roleThis role leads on the development of interpretation for the Library's temporary, touring and permanent exhibitions programme.The...

  • Camden Green Hub Coordinator

    2 weeks ago

    Saint Pancras, Greater London, United Kingdom The British Library Full time £34,508 per year

    Contractual hours36BasisFull timeJob category/typeCommercial, Culture & Learning, Events & Exhibitions, Marketing & CommunicationsDate posted06/10/2025Job referenceR Location: St PancrasContract: Fixed Term for until 31st August 2028Hours: Full time (36 hours)Grade: BSalary: £34,608 per annumAbout the roleThe British Library and Camden Libraries are looking...

  • Digitisation Manager, Sound and Vision

    1 week ago

    Saint Pancras, Greater London, United Kingdom The British Library Full time £35,000 - £55,000 per year

    Contractual hours36BasisFull timeJob category/typeDigital & Technology (IT)Date posted13/10/2025Job referenceR Location: St PancrasContract: PermanentHours: Full time (36 hours)Grade: ASalary: £42,179 per annumAbout the roleWe are looking for a Digitisation Manager to manage our sound and audiovisual digitisation team, helping to preserve one of the world's...

  • Exhibitions Manager

    2 days ago

    Saint Pancras, Greater London, United Kingdom The British Library Full time £34,608 - £40,000 per year

    Contractual hours36BasisFull timeJob category/typeEvents & ExhibitionsDate posted10/11/2025Job referenceR Location: St PancrasContract: PermanentHours: Full time (36 hours)Grade: BSalary: £34,608 per annumAbout the roleThe British Library organises a vibrant programme of temporary and permanent gallery exhibitions ranging from Beyond the Bassline: 500 years...

  • Publishing Assistant

    6 hours ago

    Saint Pancras, Greater London, United Kingdom The British Library Full time £25,928 - £40,000 per year

    Contractual hours36BasisFull timeJob category/typeCommercialDate posted13/11/2025Job referenceR Location: St PancrasContract: PermanentHours: Full time (36 hours)Grade: DSalary: £25,928 per annumAbout the roleBritish Library Publishing has transformed in the last decade into one of the foremost institutional publishers of exciting, innovative and...

  • Visitor Experience Assistant

    6 days ago

    Saint Pancras, Greater London, United Kingdom The British Library Full time £25,928 per year

    Contractual hours36BasisFull timeJob category/typeCustomer ServicesDate posted14/10/2025Job referenceR Location: St PancrasContract: Fixed term for 6 monthsHours: Full time (36 hours) Alternative Working PatternGrade: DSalary: £25,928 per annumAbout the roleWe have an exciting opportunity for a customer-focused team player to join the Visitor Experience...

  • Senior Social Media Manager

    2 weeks ago

    Saint Pancras, Greater London, United Kingdom Betway Group Full time £40,000 - £80,000 per year

    Kick-start your career in the online gaming world and experience the very latest in technology and innovation.Department:  Digital team – Social MediaReporting to:  Head of Social MediaLocation:  LondonWho we areWe're part of Super Group, the NYSE-listed digital gaming company behind some of the world's leading Sports and iGaming brands.At Betway, we're...