Research Operations Assistant Jobs in Toronto, ON

At Manulife John Hancock, we believe in investing in the future - starting with you. Our Curatorial Assistant Internship is your launchpad to success, offering the support, structure, and exciting opportunities you need to thrive and make your mark.

Manulife's Corporate Art Collection includes approximately 2,000 artworks located across North America, with major hubs in Toronto, Boston, Waterloo, Montreal, and Halifax. This internship provides a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience working with a large corporate art collection while supporting collection management, research, programming, and educational initiatives. Working closely with Manulife's Curator, you will contribute to maintaining and developing the collection, researching artists and market trends, and helping communicate the value of art to colleagues, clients, and stakeholders.

This opportunity is ideal for students pursuing careers in curatorial practice, art history, museum studies, collections management, or cultural programming. You'll gain exposure to the operational, research, and strategic aspects of managing an institutional art collection while developing valuable professional skills in research, writing, project coordination, and collection stewardship.

Position Responsibilities:

• Assist with maintaining and updating the Corporate Art Collection database.

• Conduct research on artists, artworks, and emerging trends within the art world and prepare reports and recommendations.

• Write educational and interpretive content, including artwork labels, didactic panels, and collection materials for high-traffic and client-facing spaces.

• Support collection inventory management, including artwork documentation, tracking, and condition reporting.

• Assist with artwork installations, deinstallations, shipping logistics, storage coordination, and collection moves.

• Help support art collection programming and initiatives that promote engagement with employees, clients, and stakeholders.

• Collaborate with the Curator on research projects that inform acquisitions, deaccessioning decisions, and collection development strategies.

• Provide administrative and project support related to collection management and special initiatives.

Required Qualifications:

• Currently enrolled in or recently completed a Master's degree in Art History, Art Conservation, Criticism & Curatorial Practice, Museum Studies, or a related field.

• Strong interest in contemporary art, collections management, curatorial practice, and visual culture.

• Excellent research, analytical, and written communication skills.

• Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail.

• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities simultaneously.

• Excellent interpersonal skills, professionalism, diplomacy, and tact.

• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a team environment.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Previous experience handling artworks or working directly with collections.

• Experience in an art gallery, museum, corporate collection, archive, or cultural institution.

• Published written work, including articles, research papers, dissertations, exhibition texts, or other scholarly writing.

• Experience conducting art historical research and synthesizing findings into clear written reports.

• Familiarity with collections databases, cataloguing standards, or artwork inventory processes.

When you join our team:

• We'll empower you to learn and grow the career you want.

• We'll recognize and support you in a flexible environment where well-being and inclusion are more than just words.

• As part of our global team, we'll support you in shaping the future you want to see.

Application Instructions:

• Submit your resume, cover letter, academic transcript, and work term evaluation (if any) in one single PDF file.

• In your cover letter, please highlight any relevant experience with art collections, research, curatorial projects, museums, galleries, or cultural institutions.

Salary range is expected to be between:
$40,950.00 CAD - $56,550.00 CAD

The actual salary will vary depending on local market conditions, geography and relevant job-related factors such as knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience, and education/training. The annual salary will be pro-rated based on the length of the work term.

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