Archivist
- Ongoing
- Full time
- Sydney CBD – The Domain
- Librarian/Archivist Grade 1
- Total Remuneration Package up to $115,671
- Salary range ($78,000 to $101,911)
Established in 1871, the Art Gallery of New South Wales is located in Sydney’s The Domain adjacent to the Royal Botanic Garden and near the Central Business District, the Gallery acknowledges the original custodians of this land – the Gadigal people.
The Art Gallery attracts around 2.6 million visitors annually and runs Australia’s largest education program with over 90,000 student and teacher visits per year.
With our expanded campus the Art Gallery has a new state-of-the-art building located next to our existing and much-loved building. Providing us with close to double the exhibition space, the expanded Art Gallery enables us to share more art with more people and provide more family, learning and educational programming for all our audiences.
We are seeking diverse, collaborative, supportive and brilliant individuals to work alongside our existing talent and build on our rich history to create an even more inspiring Art Gallery for the future.
For more information about the Gallery and our future, please visit our website www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au.
About the Role
The Art Gallery is home to the Edmund and Joanna Capon Research Library, National Art Archive and Ashley Dawson-Damer Children’s Art Library. The National Art Archive is the most significant collection of original archival material on the visual arts in Australia. It includes the Art Gallery’s Institutional Archive, dating back to 1871, along with the collected archives of over 420 artists, commercial galleries, art societies, art organisations, art historians and curators. The National Art Archive is a diverse and important record of Australian visual culture and art making and includes a variety of material across physical and digital formats.
The Archivist supports the Art Gallery in the development, management and provision of access to collected and institutional archival collections. The role also works within the research library to deliver high quality reference and reader services to Art Gallery staff, researchers and the general public.
For more information about the role please view the role description and information for applicants or call the nominated contact person listed in the advertisement.
What Technical/Soft Skills you require
- Relevant tertiary qualifications in archives, libraries or information management, or equivalent relevant experience in and understanding of the principles and practices of contemporary archives or librarianship
- Demonstrated research and reference skills, including the ability to source information that may not be readily available.
- Tertiary qualifications in art history, fine arts or demonstrated experience in these disciplines is highly desirable.
- Working with Children Check.
Targeted Questions
- The papers of an artist have recently been donated by their estate to the collection. The material covers a range of formats and has no discernable order.
How would you approach the processing of the material? (300 word limit)
- Describe a time when you assisted a researcher, colleague or member of the public with a complex information request. How did you identify their needs and fulfil the request? (300 word limit)
For your application to be considered, please submit your application online and provide:
- Your resume (maximum five pages)
- A covering letter addressing the technical/soft skills, as outlined above
- A response to the targeted questions, in the text box provided in your application form
Part of the assessment process may include additional online capability testing, skills testing or work samples in accordance with the Government Sector Employment Act 2013, therefore you may be contacted to participate.
Pre-employment checks are a critical part of our recruitment process and can include reference checks, working with children checks, criminal history checks, medical assessments, as well as various other checks to ensure your suitability for the role. It should be noted that discretion may be granted from the Art Gallery for those with a background check record. This is dependent on the role, its requirements, and the impact it has on the Art Gallery as a whole. A risk assessment will be carried out before a determination is made in this regard. Any criminal record information is kept in the strictest confidence, is not placed on an applicant's personal file, and is destroyed within very strict timeframes.
Our commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
We are committed to building a diverse, inclusive and flexible workplace and strongly encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, people who identify as LGBTIQA+, people with a disability and other diversity groups.
We strive to achieve an inclusive and accessible experience for all candidates. If you require any adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please reach out to the recruitment team via [email protected]. You can also view our diversity and inclusion strategic framework here.
Enquiries
If you require further details about this role, please contact Claire Eggleston, Head of Research Library and Archives at [email protected].
If you require assistance submitting your application online or require adjustments during the recruitment process, please contact the recruitment team via [email protected]. For more information about adjustments, please visit: Information about adjustments available throughout the recruitment process
Closing date for applications: 10 AM 14 September 2026 – applications must be lodged electronically. Applications submitted via email will not be accepted.
