Curators for Flagship Museum in Riyadh, KSA

About the job

Job Title

Curators for Flagship Museum in Riyadh, KSA

Department: Collections and Exhibitions

Section: Content

Unit: Collections

Project Overview:

showcasing global cultures through extraordinary artefacts, cutting-edge technology, innovative interpretation, and inclusive public engagement. The project is a key element in the Kingdom's Vision 2030 agenda and represents a high-profile cultural initiative with broad impact. This is a unique opportunity to be part of a project with global reach.

Job Purpose

Each curator will be responsible for the conceptual development and intellectual coherence of one of the museum’s core thematic areas. Rather than following traditional geographic or civilizational classifications, the museum will be structured through a set of major cross-cultural themes that illuminate how human societies create meaning, relate to one another, and understand the world. These themes form the curatorial framework that will guide the institution’s exploration of world cultures and human history.

Within this structure, five curators will each assume scholarly leadership over one of the museum’s core thematic pairings. The five curatorial positions based on these themes are:

Beauty and Human Image – exploring how human beings seek and express harmony, status, and emotion through form, movement, and sound (Beauty); and how they depict themselves and others, from symbols of power to mirrors of identity (Human Image).

Faith and Community – examining the ways human beings bond, foster belonging, cooperation, and collective identity (Community); and the expressions of belief, spirituality, and the relationship with the transcendent (Faith).

Knowledge and Transformation – investigating how human beings pursue, create, and share knowledge — from ancestral traditions to modern science — (Knowledge); and how, by transforming natural resources and materials, they have shaped tools, objects, and their own evolution (Transformation).

Movement and Communication – tracing how human beings have moved, migrated, and exchanged ideas across lands and seas (Movement); and how they have created, concealed, shared, and preserved meaning through words, symbols, and media (Communication).

Nature and Time – understanding how human beings adapt to, revere, and transform the natural world (Nature); and how they perceive, measure, and give meaning to the flow of existence and its cycles (Time).

these five positions, a sixth curator will lead the distinct thematic area Saudi Arabia and the World, which highlights the global historical relevance of the Arabian Peninsula through its encounters, contributions, and exchanges across civilizations. This role requires a professional able to combine a deep interest in the material culture, history, and archaeological heritage of the Arabian Peninsula with a global curiosity for tracing, identifying, and interpreting the region’s connections and influences across the world and throughout history.

Each of these six curators will articulate narratives that connect artworks, objects, and diverse forms of evidence — across materials, periods, styles, and cultural contexts — to illuminate how societies shape meaning and experience. Curators will also collaborate closely within the museum’s curatorial team to ensure that their thematic area contributes fully to the institution’s broader vision: presenting the diversity of human creativity and cultural expression as a shared heritage of humankind.

Roles and Responsibilities

Strategy and Planning

• Develop and refine the conceptual and curatorial framework for both thematic areas, ensuring coherence with the museum’s global narrative.

Budget Management

• Manage the budget corresponding to the assigned work streams linked to his/her scope of work.

Policies, Processes, and Procedures

• Ensure full alignment with the institution’s internal policies, procedures, and processes.

Functional Accountabilities

• Identify, research, and manage objects and collections related to the assigned themes whether from the museum’s holdings or external loans.
• Manage timelines on exhibition and display development, linked to conservation constraints and loans.
• Contribute to defining interpretation and exhibition strategies that enable both themes to dialogue and reveal their presence across cultures.
• Contribute to research initiatives, publications, and public programs that deepen the understanding and engagement with these themes within the museum’s mission.

Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate with scholars, institutions, and communities worldwide to incorporate diverse intercultural perspectives.

People Management

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary external teams.
• Inspire the team and promote an inclusive environment that values diverse perspectives and creative contributions.

Job Qualifications and Requirements

Knowledge and Experience

• A minimum of 5 years of curatorial experience.
• Accredited experience in the curation of exhibitions, especially in the role of lead curator.
• Proven ability to curate cross-cultural or interdisciplinary exhibitions.
• Demonstrated contribution to scholarly publications, articles, or exhibition catalogues (either individually or collectively)
• Strong understanding of museum practices, including curatorial, educational, and exhibition design principles.

Education and Certifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Art History, Cultural Anthropology, Religious Studies, Ethnology, Archeology, museum studies or related field is required. Master’s degree in the previously mentioned fields is preferred.
• Relevant certifications are highly desirable.

Personal capabilities and qualifications

• Capacity for creative thinking, with a keen eye for innovative expressions in the context of museum exhibitions.
• Demonstrated capacity for strategic planning and project management, with experience handling budgets and resources responsibly.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with a talent for building relationships within the institution’s team and across diverse stakeholder groups and managing negotiations and conflict resolutions.
• Strategic thinking and innovative problem-solving capabilities.
• Strong analytical and decision-making skills, with the ability to interpret complex information.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, enabling effective storytelling to inspire audiences.
• Strong commitment to the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of the curatorial process.
• Intuitive understanding of cultural sensitivity and respectful engagement with different communities.
• High level of adaptability and resilience, ability to navigate the complexities of museum operations.
• Capability to analyze and synthesize feedback for ongoing improvement and innovation.
• Passion for lifelong learning.