Employment

We are currently hiring for two summer positions (funding dependent). Please see our job descriptions below:

Museum Assistant – Student

Hours of Work: 35 hours/week; 9:00am to 4:30pm – may include weekends
Hourly Wage: $19.40
Placement Term: May 4 – August 23, 2025 (funding dependent)
Application Deadline: April 16th, 2025

Position Overview
Located in Sidney, B.C., the Sidney Museum and Archives (SMA) is a community museum and archives that preserves objects and records of significance to the people of Sidney and the Saanich Peninsula more broadly. The Museum hosts an annual cycle of both travelling and internally-developed exhibitions in addition to offering special events, workshops, and other programming activities open to the public. The SMA is in the midst of a transition period with a new and motivated staff team and ongoing projects working towards the implementation of a new collections management database, updating records of museum and archives collections inventories, working to increase access to its collections, and revitalizing permanent historical displays. This creates an exciting opportunity for aspiring or emerging museum and archival professionals to gain experience in a museum and archives with a half-century old collection.

Tasks and Responsibilities
Reporting to the Executive Director, the Museum Assistant will be responsible primarily for appraising, accessioning, housing, and cataloguing objects into the museum’s collections. This collections management work will involve working with staff and a dedicated team of volunteers to review found-in-collection objects from the museum’s storage and to determine their relevance to the organization’s collection.

The Museum Assistant will additionally be expected to assist in the development of additional programming and written materials to accompany the museum’s recently completed Waterfront Signage Project. Moreover, the Museum Assistant will gain meaningful experience in photographing museum objects, contributing to the planning of the museum’s permanent gallery revitalization project, assisting with outreach activities, gift shop development and coordination, and curating pop-up displays.

Qualifications, Knowledge and Skills
The ideal candidate for this role will possess the following:

Currently enrolled in a post-secondary accredited program of study, preferably in the fields of Museum Studies, History, Anthropology, Archaeology, Art History, or a related field;
Familiarity with museum standards and best practices including collection management, exhibit design, and interpretive content development considered an asset;
Outstanding attention to detail and well-honed research skills;
Good public relations and written/verbal communication skills;
Demonstrable time-management skills, particularly when balancing one or more ongoing projects;
The ability to work independently as part of a team & with people of all ages, identities, and backgrounds;

Please note: Applicants identifying as a member of a group historically underrepresented in the GLAM sector are strongly encouraged to apply.

Eligibility Criteria

As this is a position funded by the Young Canada Works program, only applicants who meet the below eligibility criteria will be considered:

Are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, or have refugee status in Canada (non-Canadians holding temporary work visas or awaiting permanent resident status are not eligible);
Are legally entitled to work in Canada (have a valid social insurance number);
Are between 16 and 30 years of age inclusively at the start of employment; and
Are a currently enrolled high school, college, CEGEP, or university student.

Note: Priority will given to students who have not previously participated in the YCWHO employment program.

This position is considered a position of trust, and the successful candidate will be required to have a police information check as a condition of employment (Not required as part of the application process).

Please submit a cover letter and resume (in PDF format) to [email protected] by April 16th, 2025. We appreciate all applications, however, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

Archives Assistant – Student

Tasks and Responsibilities
Reporting to the Assistant Director and Archives Manager, the Archives Assistant will be primarily responsible for improving accessibility of the Sidney Museum and Archives’ photo collections and ensuring their long-term preservation. A significant portion of the successful candidate’s work will involve processing and digitizing high-priority photo collections in the Archives’ holdings and creating entries for them on the SMA’s database for online public access. The Archives Assistant will gain an in-depth understanding of the SMA’s archival photo collections and will have the opportunity to conduct research and create detailed descriptive materials to accompany collections of their interest.

In addition, the Archives Assistant will assist in the daily operations of the Archives including: assisting researchers, processing and describing new or backlog acquisitions, inventorying archival materials, and conducting preventive collections care.

Qualifications, Knowledge and Skills
The ideal candidate for this role will possess the following:

Currently enrolled in an accredited program of study, preferably in the fields of Library & Information Science, Museum Studies, Art History, Photography, History, or a related field;
Good public relations and written/verbal communication skills;
Outstanding attention to detail and well-honed organizational and problem-solving skills;
Demonstrable time-management skills, particularly when balancing one or more ongoing projects;
Familiarity with archival standards and best practices including collections management, Rules for Archival Description, digitization processes, and database management considered an asset;
The ability to work independently as part of a team & with people of all ages, identities, and backgrounds;

Please note: Applicants identifying as a member of a group historically underrepresented in the GLAM sector are strongly encouraged to apply.

Eligibility Criteria

As this is a position funded by the Young Canada Works program, only applicants who meet the below eligibility criteria will be considered:
Are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, or have refugee status in Canada (non-Canadians holding temporary work visas or awaiting permanent resident status are not eligible);
Are legally entitled to work in Canada (have a valid social insurance number);
Are between 16 and 30 years of age inclusively at the start of employment; and
Are a currently enrolled high school, college, CEGEP, or university student.

Note: Priority will given to students who have not previously participated in the YCWHO employment program.

Please submit a cover letter and resume (in PDF format) to [email protected] by April 16th, 2025. We appreciate all applications, however, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.