Design Jobs Board

About Us  

We are a world-class visitor attraction and leading science research centre. We use the Museum’s unique collections and our unrivalled expertise to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. We care for more than 80 million objects spanning billions of years and welcome more than five million visitors annually and 16 million visits to our website.

Today the Museum is more relevant and influential than ever. By attracting people from a range of backgrounds to work for us, we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things.

We employ 900 staff in a variety of roles, all united by our vision of a future where people and planet thrive. We need everyone to have the passion and drive to help us with our mission to create advocates for our planet and inspire millions to care about the natural world.

Diversity and inclusion matter to us.

Our vision is of a future where both people and the planet thrive. Diversity is one of our core values and we strive to build a workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging. All new staff who join us learn about the importance of diversity and inclusion to the Museum and how to contribute to creating an inclusive environment.

We know we have more to do, but we are committed to ensuring that everyone who works at the Museum feels they can thrive and feel valued and respected.

About the role 

This is an exciting time to join the NHM Design Studio as we have launched a new visual identity and this role will be crucial in providing best practice design applications in print, digital and spatial interfaces. Building on our brand strategy, which seeks to address the challenges of the planetary crisis the identity focuses the Museum’s attitude and in response, reinforcing the Museum as a driving force at the intersections of science, culture, creativity and art at local, national and international level. Graphic designers closely collaborate with other creatives to translate this vision using the new brand to develop appropriate expressions. You will be researching, sketching, and rolling out design ideas and execute them for the Museum’s broad range of purposes, users and audiences.

The design studio is situated on the fifth floor overlooking the towers of our historic building in South Kensington. We are a team of graphic designers, exhibition designers and architects responsible for the design vision for all public interfaces public of the Natural History Museum including our buildings, temporary and permanent exhibitions, brand identity, visual communication, and marketing campaigns.

As well as designing with the new brand you will provide project administration and programming, being responsible for day-to-day project delivery coordination.
About you

The successful candidate will have a meticulous attention to detail and up to date knowledge of current trends in design with excellent typographic skills, comfortable working in both digital and static media. You have an all-round knowledge of working with photography, illustration, and animation which allows you to be creative in solving design problems with the skill to use strategic thinking to tackle competing objectives in intelligent and beautiful ways.

As a critical thinker you have the ability to challenge briefs and get the most out of projects through diplomacy and your proven collaborative work ethic. You will be able to plan and deliver a diverse workload against competing deadlines.

Your work demonstrates awareness of best practice in working across digital, print and spacial graphic applications, with up to date knowledge of accessibility design principles.

You have in depth knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud software which enable you to develop ideas and present them in a clear and engaging way.

We are looking for candidates whose interest it is to work in museums and cultural organisations and are passionate about environmentally sustainable working practices. You’ll have relevant practical experience and a degree or equivalent, in graphic design or relevant subject.
Thriving at the Museum: the way we work
We are proud to work at the Museum and have identified the qualities we all need to embody to reach our shared ambition. This sits alongside the Museum’s values and forms the framework for the way we work.

Find out more here

What we offer 

• 27.5 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays (full time equivalent)

• Generous defined contribution Natural History Museum Pension Scheme (employer contribution 4 – 10%)

• Season ticket, bicycle and rental loan

• Life insurance

• Free admission to our exhibitions and many other paid exhibitions at museums, galleries and institutions across London and the UK.

• Staff discount at our Museum shops and cafes

• We offer a wide variety of training initiatives and opportunities to build skills. Investing in staff development is important to us, and we are ambitious about helping staff to grow and fulfil their potential.

• Affordable membership to the Civil Service Sports Council which offers a range of benefits including an extensive list of special offers and reduced entry fees at a selection of cinema chains, theme parks, theatres, retailers and supermarkets. It also provides entry to up to 300 English Heritage sites and other national treasures. For more details, visit https://www.cssc.co.uk

• Membership to our Sports and Social Association (for a small fee), which includes access to our in-house gym and clubs such as football, softball, table tennis and tennis and classes in Middle Eastern dance, yoga and Tai Chi

How to apply

If that sounds like you, please apply online on the Natural History Museum’s careers portal,  at https://careers.nhm.ac.uk/

Please enclose your website/downloadable portfolio and cv clearly labelled via a link in your application. Bear in mind to ensure to grant access to your files and do not use expiring WeTransfer links.

Closing date: 9am, Monday 15th April

Interviews expected w/c 22 April

Salary: £25,423.20 (£31,779 Full time Equivalent)

Please note that this role does not qualify for Museum sponsorship so the successful postholder will need to have a valid right to work in the UK at the point of offer.