Conservation in Action Volunteer at The Tank Museum Volunteers in Bovington Camp

The Tank Museum brings the story of tanks and their crews to life, with the world's best collection of tanks in modern, awe-inspiring exhibitions.

The museum houses some 300 tanks, which represent moments in every major conflict since the First World War.

Our moving exhibitions tell the story of this British invention; from the mud of the Somme to the beaches of Normandy and the deserts of Iraq - featuring powerful stories from the soldiers that fought in them.

Over 200,000 people visit Dorset's largest indoor attraction each year, with the annual TANKFEST event drawing visitors from around the world.

The collections of this Accredited and Nationally Styled Museum (which include weapons, uniforms, memorabilia, documents, personal papers, images, and books - alongside the vehicles themselves) are Designated as being of outstanding national importance.

Additionally, The Tank Museum's Archive and Library is a recognised place of deposit for the National Archive.

Over the past decade, the museum has transformed itself into a leading 21st century military museum and first-class visitor attraction, capitalising on its online reach to develop a supporter base across the globe.

The Tank Museum was founded in 1923 as a teaching resource for the Tank Corps. They had made their home in Bovington during the First World War, and it was here that many of the first tank crews were trained.

Bovington remains home to The Royal Armoured Corps - and The Tank Museum is an independent registered charity which is the museum of both the Royal Armoured Corps and the Royal Tank Regiment.

Our Values

The values of The Tank Museum underpin the work of our team. Whilst there are a great variety of roles, specialisms, and professions across the organisation, we all share a common approach in our mission to tell the story of the tank and the people that serve in them.

We are PASSIONATE. We are authoritative and driven and we display this daily with our enthusiastic and rigorous approach to work.

We are AMBITIOUS. Driven by an aspiration to be the best, we strive to be better. We channel our creativity and competitiveness to make us innovative, forward thinking and flexible to challenges.

We CARE. We work hard because we believe in the cause of the organisation. We are welcoming and friendly to all our visitors. We are inclusive, fair and considerate of each other, showing great respect for our collections and for the stories we tell.

We display INTEGRITY. We are knowledgeable about our subject and professional in the way in which we conduct our business. We act responsibly and embrace responsibility. Our ethical grounding guides us to do the right thing by our audiences, our supporters, our collections and by each other .

About the Curatorial Team

The Tank Museum's Curatorial Services department encompass a wide range of expertise from Exhibition Designers to Workshop Technicians all working towards our common objective of telling the story of tanks and those who served in them. This volunteering role would sit within Vehicle Collections, who have the responsibility of caring for the museum's core collection of historic Armoured Fighting Vehicles.

Conservation in Action volunteers will play a vital role in the conservation and care of The Tank Museum's core historic vehicle collection. You will carry out preventative conservation work such as cleaning, on a wide range of vehicles both on display, and in the Vehicle Conservation Centre. This important work will not only keep them looking their best, but also to nip potential issues in the bud and ensure they can be maintained in good condition for the future.

A key part of the Conservation in Action ethos is that work is carried out in view of the public so there will be opportunities to share your knowledge and passion about the work you are doing with visitors.

This role will suit anyone who is passionate about museum collections and historic vehicles, has a particular interest in their care and who wishes to communicate that passion with the public, this role would also suit anyone with an interest in military history, especially in historic vehicles and armoured warfare.

Please note that this is not an engineering or technical role and will not involve restoring or running vehicles.

Key Accountabilities

Carry out dry, wet and internal cleaning of The Tank Museum's vehicle collection both on display and in the Vehicle Conservation Centre

Communicate with visitors about both the vehicles and the preventative conservation work being carried out

Produce condition reports on collection vehicles to inform future conservation work and collection reviews

Assist with environmental monitoring of gallery spaces and vehicle interiors to help protect the museum's vehicle collection

The duties and responsibilities in this job are not restrictive and the post holder may be required to on occasion undertake other duties. This will not substantially change the nature of the post.

No specific qualifications or experience is required, all training in the role will be provided.

• Personal aptitude & skills
• Happy and effective working as part of a team
• Organised and structured approach to carrying out tasks
• Attention to detail when carrying out tasks
• Careful and methodical approach to tasks
• . Good communicator happy to talk about their work with visitors
• Confident recording work carried out in a consistent man

This volunteering role will cover between 3 to 6 hours per week, and we would like to hold these volunteering sessions on Tuesdays & Thursdays if possible.

An informal interview will be scheduled after the closing date of 30th September 2026.