The Collections Manager is responsible for managing all operational aspects of the Cairns Historical Society’s Collection and Research Centre to manage, protect, promote and grow the collection as well as improve accessibility of the Collection for researchers and members of the public. This is a multifaceted role which takes in administration, collection management, curation, display and story development as well as delivering training and partnering with regional stakeholders including other smaller societies and museums throughout the region. This is a hands on role managing a large collection in a tropical setting.

The Historical Society Cairns North Queensland Inc. (the Society) makes the history of Far North Queensland accessible for current and future generations to come. The Society is a not-for-profit organisation governed by an elected Board of Directors and managed by staff and volunteers.

The Cairns Historical Society, through the Cairns Research Centre, is the keeping place for the community’s regionally significant collection of over 100,000+ items, including archives, images and objects as well as digital content, from the Cairns district, and across far north Queensland. The collection area extends from Cardwell to Normanton and up to the Torres Strait. The Society aims to make its collection and stories discoverable and accessible to the community and visitors alike. It manages the collection using professional and best practice collection and conservation standards, and requires good time management and organisational skills.1. Manages the delivery of all Collection related and Museum display operations including the Research Centre, Research inquiries, Donation flow, Collection Management (Archives, Images and Objects), Public Lecture Series schedule/content, and collections and community training programs. This role is supported by the Archives Officer, Exhibitions Curator and Volunteer Coordinator.
Key Duties

1. Provide leadership, professional skills and advice to Executive Management, Team and volunteers as Manager of Collections.
2.



Work with Executive Officer to devise yearly Unit Workplans and align individual staff workflows with the Strategic Plan.
3. Maintain proactive and transparent relationship with the Executive Officer.
4. Supervise and support Archives Officer and Exhibitions Curator, including annual PDP reviews.
5. Manage all BOH workflows and operations including Research Centre, Collections, Edmonton Team and Publishing Team as well as management of displays in Museum.
6. Manage and deliver implementation of Collection Management System (CMS) and ongoing CMS management in consultation with Executive Officer.
7. Manage all Collection Management processes: Donations, Accessions, Deaccessions, cataloguing, conservation, storage, policies and procedures.
8. Review, write and keep up to date the Collection Management suite of documents.
9. Deliver training to staff and volunteers in CMS database, collection significance, conservation and care, and school group programs.
10. Provide monthly and annual reports to Executive Officer and additional reports upon request.
11. Contribute monthly to Social Media, Bi-monthly Newsletter and annual What’s On.
12. Provide support to volunteer Publishing Team and Lecture Series to deliver Research Centre programs in line with Strategic Plan.
13. Source, write and deliver grants for Collections, Archives, Displays and Exhibitions with staff assistance.
14. Ensure WHS compliance and supervision for Collection Store, Research Centre and Edmonton Team.
15. Manage Jotform/Smart Form for Research Centre fees and enquiries.
16. Provide high level support, advice and implement programs to advance regarding management of Research Centre income stream for collection sustainability.
17. Act in Higher level or cross management duties to support team when required.
18. Support development of new product with Executive Officer and team in line with Strategic Plan.
19. Represent Cairns Historical Society and Museum Collections at industry events.
20. Undertake any additional activities that may be requested by the Executive Officer when requested.

📌 Collections Manager (Cairns City)
🏢 Cairns Historical Society /Cairns Museum
📍 Cairns City