Looking for museum jobs or a career change?
Join Britain's national museum of arms and armour. We have roles based in three locations: Leeds, Portsmouth, and London. From museum work to supporting roles, every career contributes to preserving our national collection for tens of thousands of annual visitors. Explore our current job opportunities.
All applications must be submitted on our application forms and must be uploaded via our recruitment portal by the deadline stated for each vacancy.
We cannot accept CVs in place of a completed application form.
Download an application form (word, 72 KB)
More information about each vacancy is provided on our recruitment portal:
The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom’s national museum of arms and armour and one of the oldest and most important collections of its type in the world, housed at its headquarters and flagship museum in Leeds, its historic home at the Tower of London, and the Victorian Fort Nelson in Hampshire. The Royal Armouries Museum presents a stunning display of over 7000 artefacts dating back 3000 years and from all over the world.
We value inclusion and diversity and aim to reflect these principles in all we do, and while there is ongoing work needed in these areas, we want to ensure everyone feels valued, respected, and able to thrive at work. We aim to be an inclusive organisation that values the difference and benefits a diverse workforce brings and to develop and harness a wide range of talent.
We are working to ensure opportunities for employment and development are open to everyone, and we undertake blind recruitment processes so that all applications are treated fairly.
We will monitor how we’re doing on inclusion and diversity, including measuring social economic background (social mobility), so we can work towards reflecting the communities we serve.
We are also proud to be a Disability Confident employer and fully support any eligible applications to Access to Work (a government scheme providing support for people with a physical or mental health condition or disability).
With still much to do, we are looking to weave inclusion and diversity into the fabric of the Royal Armouries’ culture and create an environment where every individual feels safe, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to achieve their full potential.
Curious about curation? Got a thirst for technology? Learn about the diverse range of teams and people who work here.
Our teams include:
Live Interpretation
Events
Community Engagement
Education
Firearms and Artillery
National Firearms Centre
Edged Weapons and Armour
Collection Services
Intellectual Property
Tower Armouries
Finance
Development
Exhibitions and Displays (Interpretation)
Digital Engagement
Security
Cleaning
Facilities
Estates
HR
Health and Safety
IT
Connecting with and inspiring our audiences.
Bringing history to life and inspiring audiences.
The Live Interpretation team in Leeds delivers the daily programme of performances, combat demonstrations and presentations, bringing the past to life, inspiring and exciting our audiences.
Sharing experiences; making memories.
The Event team in Leeds and at Fort Nelson develops and delivers the annual programme of special events for family and adult audiences, which sometimes includes live costumed historic interpretation (see above).
Involving and inspiring communities.
The CE team in Leeds supports co-curated and community-led projects, and local community outreach, bringing diverse communities together.
Learning from the past, for the future.
The Education teams in Leeds and at Fort Nelson run programmes and develop resources for school and college visits, carrying the past into the future through young people.
Understanding the force.
Firearms and Artillery is responsible for object and subject knowledge in various aspects across all sites and externally, carrying out cataloguing, acquisitions, research, enquiries. The team also delivers content for exhibitions, events, digital/media/social media outputs and commercial activities and works closely with the National Firearms Centre.
Providing a national reference resource of firearms.
Home to the National Collection of Firearms - from historic and unique, to mass produced and contemporary - the collection is a physical demonstration of firearms development. The unique knowledge, skills and expertise of the team is used to help support technical enquiries, training, and operational support activities.
In a time before Marvel – up in arms.
Edged Weapons and Armour is responsible for object and subject knowledge in all aspects across all sites and externally to do with the European Edged Weapons, European Armour, and Asian & African arms & armour. This includes collections management and access, cataloguing, acquisitions, research, and enquiries, and delivering content for exhibitions, events, digital/media/social media outputs and commercial activities.
Bringing the past into the future / Guardians of the galleries.
Collection Services look after all aspects of the internationally important collections held by Royal Armouries, across the whole of the organisation. Encompassing archives, records and institutional records management, conservation and collections care, collections management, libraries, registration, and documentation along with display technicians.
Exciting audiences through compliant media platforms.
Ensuring compliance and exciting audiences through media platforms.
The IP team supports RA to manage media content (images, sound, video) and protect associated intellectual property rights to help the Royal Armouries maximise the value of these assets.
Bringing history to life.
The team is responsible for preserving, researching, cataloguing, interpreting, and displaying the national collection of arms and armour at HM Tower of London. It is the historic home of the Royal Armouries and arms and armour have been stored and displayed here for many hundreds of years. The team is also responsible for researching and disseminating information about the history of the Tower of London.
Ensuring financial viability.
Finance provides a range of services including accounting, reporting, legal and employee services, providing assurance that our resources are properly accounted for. The teamwork with robust policies and procedures and ensure all legal, regulatory, and statutory compliance is met across the organisation. It’s not just about numbers!
Inspiring gifts to support our work.
Royal Armouries relies on income from statutory funders, trusts and foundations, corporate sponsors and generous individuals to help us to care for and grow our collection and ensure that visitors can learn from and be inspired by it. Our team raises funds from all these sectors to support projects across all our sites, as well as managing a programme of engaging events, the Patrons circle and membership scheme.
Empowering audiences to interpret the collections and displays.
The team propose, conceive, develop, and install exhibitions and displays in collaboration with internal colleagues, other experts and our many communities, creating captivating displays. The team also lead on and develop the creation and implementation of museums’ Exhibitions and Display Strategy and Interpretation plans. Working across the museum sector, we manage and maintain the interpretive contents of the galleries, to provide both memorable and moving experiences.
Engaging audiences around the world.
The team provide expertise, support and training for digital activities and lead on the development and implementation of the museum’s Digital Strategy, whilst maintaining the RA’s website, collections online, and other online platforms, ensuring their legal compliance. They also collaborate with curators and other experts to create engaging digital experiences to engage, excite, and entertain audiences. The team also manage and maintain the audio-visual technology for the galleries, live events, online streaming, and deliver bespoke landscapes and visual effects to support the museum’s live demonstrations.
Keeping people and assets safe and secure.
The Security team, based in Leeds, are responsible for the security of the estate, the collection, and visitors. Security monitors our CCTV cameras, facilitating access to contractors, staff and visitors and ensure the safety and security of the wider estate.
Maintaining the wellbeing and safety of people and creating lasting impressions.
Based in Leeds, the team ensure that our galleries and public areas are clean, safe, and hygienic for our visitors. They are also responsible for ensuring that back of house areas are cleaned to the highest standards to ensure colleague work areas are clean and safe.
Ensuring every day runs smoothly and efficiently.
The Facilities team ensure that all building maintenance issues are responded to, from leaking toilets, to keeping on top of the weeds across the wider Leeds estate, helping colleagues with office moves and decorating. The team work closely alongside a range of external contractors to deliver more complex projects and ensure plant are maintained and operating to the required standard.
Delivering on investment and assets.
The Estates management team are responsible for delivering capital projects including gallery improvements, improvements to plant and fabric of the building, whilst ensuring that all legislative and compliance standards are adhered to.
Looking after our people.
The HR team, based in Leeds, provide HR services for RA’s three locations and support delivery of a People Strategy underpinning RA’s strategic priorities, along with day-to-day activities, supporting both colleagues and management. Key activities include advice and guidance across the entire HR spectrum such as recruitment, employee relations, payroll, and pensions, learning and development, performance management, wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, reward, and ensuring colleagues receive their inductions and appraisals. The team also ensure robust policies and processes that support individuals and the organisation, in line with best practice and legal compliance.
Protecting people against accident and injury.
The H&S team, based in Leeds, ensures that RA operates safely and compliantly across RA’s three locations. H&S provide advice and guidance across the entire H&S spectrum including advising on current and emerging legislation, supporting managers to ensure they deliver their activities safely and ensuring our colleagues all receive the relevant H&S training to enable them to undertake their roles safely.
Guarding the information superhighway.
The IT Operations team based in Leeds provides IT operational oversight, service management and guidance for IT systems and services across RA’s three locations. Working closely with vendors and external service providers and with a focus on cyber security, the IT Ops team are responsible for ensuring the confidentiality, availability and integrity of IT systems and data through policy, training, and controls. Supporting RA’s modern workplace approach, the team ensures that RA users have the right equipment, systems, applications, and support to do their jobs effectively whilst working in partnership with colleagues to assist with the introduction of new technologies.