Pilgrim Trust Intern

Location:

Edinburgh

Salary: £29,454 - £30,668 per annum plus generous benefits

Final date to receive applications:
Monday, August 24, 2026

This paid internship is funded by the Pilgrim Trust. It offers an exciting and invaluable opportunity to develop your evaluation and practical conservation skills along with gaining experience of working in a gallery environment. This role may suit someone who has recently completed, or is in the final year of, a degree or postgraduate qualification in object conservation.

You will be curious, meticulous and keen to develop your practical skills. You will gain valuable experience of working with a significant and varied collection, while making a direct contribution to its future care, interpretation and display.

Your main focus will be to condition assess, treat and repackage an important group of around 70 works held on long-term loan. The collection consists of naturalia, artworks, and ethnographic objects assembled by the Surrealist artist Roland Penrose (1900–1984). The collection exemplifies Surrealist collecting practices and has long complemented the National Galleries Scotland’s renowned Surrealist holdings. This project will help support safe, long-term care, future interpretation, and display of the collection for our audiences.

Based on site in the Conservation Department, you will be a member of our enthusiastic and dedicated team. Working under the supervision of a consultant accredited Artefact Conservator who will be on site one day a week, you will have the opportunity to work across a varied range of materials and conservation challenges. Additionally, you will work alongside the Lead Sculpture Conservator and Paper Conservator (Archive).

You will assess the condition of objects, identify material properties, create treatment priorities, undertake practical treatments, and design and make packaging for safe storage.

You will use a range of conservation skills and techniques, including microscopy, multispectral imaging and other laboratory-based methods, while working closely with colleagues across the Conservation team and the wider organization. You’ll also have the opportunity to develop your experience of conservation documentation, collections research, treatment planning and the practical care of objects in a gallery environment.

The closing date for completed applications is 12 noon on Monday, 24 August 2026.

Interviews will likely be held on or around 07 September 2026. If you are invited to attend an interview, you will be asked to submit a portfolio of up to 4 relevant projects (either digitally or in hard copy).

At the National Galleries of Scotland we’re committed to embedding Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) in the way we work. We want everyone to feel a sense of belonging and freedom to be themselves at work or at play with us. Take a look at our Equality, Inclusion and Diversity priorities and commitments for more information.