Job Title: Curatorial and Archives Intern
Hours of Work: 35 hours/week; 9:00am to 4:30pm; may include weekends
Hourly Wage: $20.40/hr
Placement Date: October 4, 2026 - March 28, 2027; 25 week term position
Application Deadline: September 8th, 2026
Position Overview
Located in Sidney, B.C. the Sidney Museum and Archives (SMA) is a local historical museum and archives that preserves objects and records of significance to the people of Sidney and the Saanich Peninsula. The Museum hosts an annual cycle of both travelling and internally-developed exhibitions in addition to offering special events, workshops, and other programming activities open to the public. The SMA is in the midst of a transition period with a highly motivated staff team and ongoing projects including (but not limited to) improving the Museum’s collections management database, updating records of museum and archives collection inventories, and revitalising permanent historical displays. This creates an exciting opportunity for emerging museum and archives professionals to gain experience with a half-century old collection.
Tasks and Responsibilities
Reporting to the Executive Director, the Curatorial and Archives Intern will be expected to complete a number of diverse projects both in the Museum as well as the Archives, in addition to contributing to the regular daily tasks of the SMA’s operations.
In the Museum, the Curatorial and Archives Intern will have opportunities to develop their skills related to exhibition design, curation of displays, collections management, and public programs. Curatorial projects will include the proposing, planning, and implementation of ongoing permanent gallery revitalization work, planning a series of monthly and seasonal pop-up displays near the Museum's front entrance, developing online content, tour materials, and programming to accompany SMA’s recently redeveloped waterfront interpretive signs, and contributing to the development and installation of feature exhibitions such as the Museum's annual LEGO® Brick Exhibition.
In addition to this curatorial work, the Curatorial and Archives Intern will engage in extensive collections management work in the course of inventorying, processing, photographing, cataloguing, and condition reporting collections objects. In addition, the Intern will conduct assessments of both the Museum’s Collections Rooms and Storage lockers, implementing strategies to improve accessibility, maximize storage capacity, and leave room for growth. Finally, there will be additional opportunities for the Curatorial and Archives Intern to contribute to education and public programming work, including developing curriculum-focused Education Kits and school programs, and proposing, developing, and implementing guided gallery walking tours.
In the Archives Department, the Curatorial and Archives Intern will undertake a number of projects related to increasing accessibility to the collections. The Intern will be instrumental in continuing the research and description of series in the Gibson Studio fonds which consists of over 16,000 photo negatives, in addition to the continued digitization of its contents. Another major project will involve continuing the transcription and beginning the description of SMA’s oral history collections which have been recently digitized. Significant experience will also be gained in appraisal, processing, describing, housing, and developing finding aids for new acquisitions to the collection. The Curatorial and Archives Intern will additionally have the opportunity to digitize, research, arrange, and describe other collections of interest to them in SMA’s holdings. In addition to these projects, the Curatorial and Archives Intern will have a number of other projects available to pursue in addition to being expected to assist the Archives Manager in operational tasks of the Archives, including providing support for research requests.
Qualifications, Knowledge & Skills
The ideal candidate for the Curatorial and Archival Intern role with the SMA will possess the following qualifications, knowledge, and skills:
- Must be a graduate from an accredited program of study, preferably in the fields of Museum Studies, History, Library and Information Studies, Anthropology, Archaeology, Art History, or Cultural Resource Management. Graduates of other programs of study will be considered depending on the candidate’s relevant professional and lived experience;
- A thorough attention to detail and well-honed organisational skills;
- Strong written and verbal communicative skills;
- Experience conducting and compiling historical research;
- Existing familiarity with museum and archives standards and best practices including collections management, Rules for Archival Description, exhibit design, and interpretive content development considered an asset;
- The ability to work both independently and as a member of a team, as well as having the ability to work with individuals of diverse ages, identities, and backgrounds;
- Experience with the Google suite, collections management software, and efficient and accurate spreadsheet data entry.
Please note: Applicants are encouraged to self-identify as members of the Government of Canada’s job equity groups or as a member of a group otherwise traditionally underrepresented in the GLAM sector; priority will be given to such candidates in the selection process. SMA is committed to minimizing barriers to working in the heritage sector and making accommodations as needed to ensure the rich diversity of the sector.
Eligibility Criteria
As this is a position funded by the Young Canada Works at Building Careers in Heritage (YCWBCH) program, only applicants who meet the below eligibility criteria will be considered:
- are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, or have refugee status in Canada (non-Canadians holding temporary work visas or awaiting permanent resident status are not eligible);
- are legally entitled to work in Canada (have a valid social insurance number);
- are between 16 and 30 years of age inclusively at the start of employment; and
- are a college or university graduate (certificate, bachelor's, master's or doctorate).
Note: Priority will be given to graduates that have not previously participated in YCW internship programs and that are unemployed or underemployed.
This position is considered a position of trust, and the successful candidate will be required to have a police information check as a condition of employment (Not required as part of the application process).
Please submit a cover letter and resume to [email protected] by the application closing date, September 8th, 2026. We appreciate all applications, however, only short-listed candidates will be contacted.
2423 Beacon Avenue L-3, Sidney, BC V8L 1X5
https://sidneymuseum.ca
[email protected]
(250) 655-6355
Pay: $20.40 per hour
Education:
- Bachelor's Degree (required)
Work Location: In person
