Volunteer With Us
Consider volunteering here at the Pen Museum to help share our enthusiasm for pens and our city’s history. Volunteers are essential to maintaining the museum’s operations and they are given the unique opportunity to engage with visitors from all over the world while gaining valuable work experience!
Interested in being part of this Museum and contributing to our cause? Find a role that takes your fancy below!
Front of House Volunteer
Our Front of house team take pride in creating an exceptional first impression for all Museum visitors. Serving as the Museum’s front-of-house, they warmly welcome guests, process admissions, and provide an overview of the museum’s offerings. Additionally, Visitor Guides offer insights on the selection of nibs, inks, and pens available for purchase in the Museum shop.
Heritage Demonstrator (Nib Maker)
Our Pen Nib Makers demonstrate the operation of museum fly presses, allowing visitors to create their own souvenir nib. Throughout the demonstration, the nib makers educate visitors on nib design, the technical process, and the lives of women nib makers.
Engagement Volunteer
Our Engagement Leads and Volunteer Calligraphers engage visitors in various writing activities at the museum, enriching the visitor experience and promoting involvement with our calligraphy shop and classes. They demonstrate different calligraphy styles, oversee the Typewriter Challenge, and provide Graphology readings.
You will have the opportunity to shadow experienced volunteers, learning how to interact with and captivate visitors. There is also potential to develop your own activities and pursue creative projects within the museum. Familiarising yourself with the items in the museum shop and Philip Poole Room will enable you to guide and assist visitors.
Collection Care & Conservation
Our Conservation volunteer will help the Museum Manager in managing and preserving our collection. This can range from cataloguing new collections and helping the Museum Manager ensure our collection is correctly looked after.
In addition, We are undergoing a project where we will be re-cataloguing our collection, in this project you will be handling and sorting through our collection pieces, logging them onto our collection system.
Marketing & Social Media
Working with the Museum Manager and our Operations and Marketing volunteer you will help develop our online and social media presence as well as promoting the Pen Museum and our brand. You will help us create content for our Facebook, Instagram and tiktok accounts.
We are also seeking for a volunteer to specifically work on our Tiktok account.
Tour Guide
Lead groups of visitors (10-12 people) around the Pen Museum, sharing our collection, stories of the Birmingham Pen Trade and the history of the Argent Centre where the Pen Museum resides today.
To apply for any of these roles please send an email to volunteering@penmuseum.org.uk
Include the following details
Your contact details, interests in specific role(s) at the museum, and reason for applying. Feel free to email with any questions.
When your application is received, we will reach out to arrange an informal meeting with the operations manager to further discuss the process and provide a tour of the museum.
Our volunteering opportunities are open to anyone aged sixteen or over.
We really look forward the hearing from you.