The London Canal Museum is a registered charity and an Accredited
Museum run and staffed mainly by volunteers, to professional standards.
We are always looking out for new people with a variety of skills.
People with specific skills to offer are espcially welcome. The range of tasks
in running a museum is very varied.
You can download a role description here. If you are interested in volunteering at the museum, please contact the Volunteering Manager at volunteering@canalmuseum.org.uk!
Why be a museum volunteer?
Watch our video about volunteering
Volunteering at London Canal
Museum from London Canal Museum
on Vimeo.
You can also
watch
this on YouTube
Museum volunteers are motivated by a wide range of factors. Here are
some of the common ones but it is not an exclusive list!
- Keeping active in retirement
- Gaining experience
- Meeting new people
- A love of our canal and industrial heritage and the desire to share
it with others
- Putting something back into the community
- Enjoy being part of a team
- Learning new skills
- Building confidence
- Experience and greater confidence in working with children as
individuals and in groups
- Experience and greater confidence in working with other
adults
- Organisational skills
- Presentation & guidance skills
- New perspectives on the museum & its work
Expenses
We will re-imburse travel expenses and all reasonable out-of-pocket
expenses and up to £3.50 per day for lunch food when a full day is worked.
These are reimbursed by bank transfer, usually once a month, or more often if there
are larger sums involved.
More information
Currently we are looking for volunteers to undertake the following
roles - click on the role title to find out more
Front-of-House Volunteers (0945-1700
Tuesdays to Sundays, one or two days per fortnight)
Education team Volunteers
Towpath and Tunnel Trip Guides
Some Specific Vacancies
In this section we list vacancies for volunteer positions which we are
currently seeking to fill. Please remember that all positions are unpaid - do
not apply if you are looking for a salary.
Costumed Interpeter - Victorian/Edwardian Ice Cream Making
We are looking for an
additional person to assist and deputise for Mrs Agnes Marshall - Ice Cream Queen who demonstrates to
visitors how to make ice cream using the Victorian method in a replica of Mrs Marshall's patent ice cream churn.
The right volunteer will be given full training and gain fascinating experiences. There will be the option to
do demonstrations in costume. This is open to male or female volunteers. If demonstrations are performed by a
man in Victorian costume we will invent a suitably authentic role. There are no fixed times but we offer these
demonstrations to groups who tend to visit more midweek than at weekends. For brief details about the real Mrs
Marshall see our Mrs Marshall Web Page..
Oral History Team Leader
The museum already has a significant collection of oral history recordings and we would like to recruit a new OH team leader
to help us collect more. The role involves recruiting from amongst our existing volunteers and externally, leading the team,
who will carry out research to identify suitable interviewees, conduct interviews, and prepare transcripts. Disclosure and Barring
checks will be needed where interviews are carried out in interviewees' own homes. an interest in oral history is essential, and experience
is desirable, but we will consider sponsoring formal training for an inexperienced but enthusiastic volunteer. Some basic technical skills
are needed for the operation of digital recorders and backing up recordings to a computer network.
Collections Manager
More details on this will be added shortly but we are looking for a volunteer to carry out an important role as
Collections Manager, looking after the physical artifact collection to the highest standards. This role will demand at least half a day a week
and a long-term commitment
Back to top
Back to top
Trustee recruitment
We are looking for two or three new trustees and would welcome particular skills, including but not limited to the following.
Applicants with knowledge or experience in one or more these areas are particularly welcome:
- Visitor Attraction Management
- Marketing & communication, PR & promotion, including digital
- General management experience in a commercial organisation
- Education (in schools or museums)
- Museum collection & curation, exhibition management
- Grant & funding applications, fundraising
The most important thing is to have a skillset appropriate to the management of a self-supporting visitor
attraction that depends on income earned. The museum is a charity but must be managed as a business as we receive no subsidy.
An interest in canals/waterways and/or London industrial history is very welcome but by no means essential.
What are we looking for:
- A self-starter, hands-on in your specific area of expertise, and able to turn your hand to other tasks
- Enthusiasm to contribute and work as part of the team, and as a valuable member of the Council of Management
- Commitment of sufficient time dedicated to the role
- You must have a managerial outlook
See trustee role description (PDF format file)for more details, and how to apply.
Other things
Our volunteers and trustees are very busy and we can always do with an
extra helping hand in the following areas:
- Help at summer outdoor events
- Help with temporary exhibitions, including research
- We sometimes have short-term projects available for people with
initiative and the ability to carry them through without extensive
supervision.
- Conservation and librarianship
- Management skills. If you are an experienced manager with time
available and a track record of making things happen, please talk to us on an
individual basis.contact the museum
Chair
