The MA runs five core professional development programmes, two of which have a formal end-point assessment: the Associateship of the Museums Association (AMA) and the Fellowship of the Museums Association (FMA).

Both programmes are self-directed professional development opportunities, supported by a development framework and clear timeline.

To support reflection, and to foster successful participation in the end-point assessment known as a professional review, there are specific milestones with associated paperwork submissions to keep everyone on track.

This paperwork is drafted by the AMA or FMA candidate and then reviewed by their mentor or the MA before being reviewed externally.

Tasks and activities

Once a professional development programme candidate is happy with their draft paperwork they send it to the MA team, who then allocate it to one of our external assessors.

The external assessor has four weeks to review the paperwork and send feedback to the MA and the candidate. To support this review there is a checklist of things to look out for and a template to collate feedback consistently.

Forward planning and anticipated hours

MA members can register for the AMA or the FMA at any point during the year, although we do have some points where a group all joins at the same time – for example, the Fast Track AMA cohort and our Inclusive AMA and FMA cohorts.

This means there is a steady stream of paperwork being submitted for review throughout the year, and some peaks and troughs rather than a predictable pipeline of work.

Our commitment to our candidates is that all paperwork is reviewed and feedback sent within four weeks of original submission.

We have multiple external assessors so that we can flex depending on their commitments, and as such as part of the application process we invite you to highlight the maximum number of hours you have available and would wish to allocate to this work.

Role requirements

We invite applications from active and engaged museum professionals working in or with museums, who have worked in the sector for more than five years and have a good understanding of the MA’s priorities and our professional development programmes.

We are specifically looking for the following knowledge, skills, values and experience:

Knowledge
  • Understanding of good project management practice
  • Understanding of key issues and priorities in the sector
  • Understanding of the MA’s professional development programmes
Skills
  • Experience of critical analysis and feedback
  • Experience of written feedback
  • Experience in the review of written content
Values

The following values are the foundation of our Competency Framework, on which all our professional development programmes are based:

  • Inclusive
  • Participatory
  • Ethical
  • Sustainable

Pay

This is a freelance role and is paid at £25.00 per hour.

At the end of each month the external paperwork assessor submits an invoice for their time reviewing the paperwork.

Application and selection process

Application

Please send us a CV and an 800-word personal statement outlining your motivation for applying for this role, and addressing the knowledge, skills, values and experience required to do the role effectively.

In addition, please detail how you would fit this additional work within your existing workload and what support you might need to be successful in the role.

Please send the above along with a completed equality and diversity monitoring form to alice@museumsassociation.org in advance of the closing date of 11.59pm on Sunday 5 July 2026.

Selection event

Following a shortlisting stage, successful applicants will be invited to an online selection interview and exercise during the week commencing 20 July 2026.

To support participation questions will be sent in advance.

Inclusive practice

We welcome applications from everyone, but specifically individuals from backgrounds that are under-represented. As part of this we invite you to complete an anonymous equality and diversity monitoring form.

We want to support your applications and as such we can work with you to complete your personal statement, or you can submit your application in a different format (for example an audio file or film).

Induction workshop

We want our external paperwork assessor to be best placed to perform. This includes an invitation to attend an online induction workshop where we will discuss the AMA and the feedback process, highlighting the paperwork, review criteria and templates for feedback.

More information

For more information, please email Tamsin Russell, workforce development lead, via tamsin@museumsassociation.org.