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
Specific vacancies
Specific specialised vacancies are described on the "Specialist roles" page.
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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
