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Archivist

Employer
Essex County Council
Location
England, Essex, Chelmsford
Salary
Up to £34017 per annum
Closing date
17 May 2021

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Job role
Officer
Contract Type
Full time

Archivist

Permanent, Full Time

Up to £34,017.00 per annum

Location: Chelmsford

Closing Date: 9th May 2021

The role is majority based on-site at Essex Record Office, Wharf Road, Chelmsford, with occasional requirements for surveying or records collection elsewhere and some limited capacity for working at home.

Essex is a diverse county with some of the highest levels of deprivation in the country through to highly affluent communities, which gives us a wide variance in life expectancy and quality. Culture, Heritage and Green Spaces (CHGS), which includes the Essex Record Office, delivers exceptional customer experiences, demonstrating the benefit of Essex's strategic location, with the objective of developing a financially sustainable operation.

Established in 1938, the Essex Record Office cares for documents, maps, images and sound and video recordings that together tell the stories of over 1,000 years of Essex history. Our holdings, which include parish registers, diaries, letters, court records, wartime records, manorial records and school records, take up nearly 8 miles of shelving, making us one of the largest county archives in England. We are also home to the Essex Sound and Video Archive which includes over 30,000 recordings.

We are seeking an experienced and flexible professional to participate in the full range of activities of the Essex Record Office, and in particular to lead on the development and implementation of digital preservation systems and practices into the future. Responsibilities also include accessioning, cataloguing, answering enquiries, supervising volunteers, and giving talks and presentations. Team working skills both within a small team of archivists and within the larger Record Office and County Council structures are vital.

Accountabilities

· Assist readers both in the searchroom and in response to email and telephone enquiries in an informed, professional and courteous manner

· Undertake accessioning procedures, including negotiating the deposit of records with their owners

· Catalogue and index collections of archives, including description of large and complex fonds

· Box, package and add to location system new accessions within repositories

· Analyse and advise on the development of digital preservation systems and procedures for the Essex Record Office

· Supervise, within policies defined by senior staff, implementation of digital preservation systems and procedures

· Undertake outreach activities including preparation of displays, talks on-site and away from the Record Office, and on occasion assistance with preparation of social media content

· Contribute to volunteering programmes including supervision and work allocation

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

As well as enthusiasm and a customer-focussed approach, you will need:

· Education to degree level

· Diploma/MA in Archive Administration

· Registered Membership of the Archives and Records Association, or strong evidence of working towards equivalent standards through continuing professional development

· Relevant experience of working in the archive profession, with knowledge and understanding of the principles and practice of archive administration

· Close understanding of written historic archive collections found in a local authority record office including local and/or family history

· Proven specialism and experience in the preservation of born-digital records and the management of records in archive digital preservation systems

· Excellent interpersonal and customer care skills to provide standards of service to readers and supervision of volunteers

· Excellent IT skills with experience in the use of computers for cataloguing and other record office purposes, with working knowledge of MS Office suite of programmes including Word and Excel

· Ability to work methodically and accurately often without supervision

· Team working skills both within a small team of archivists and within the larger Record Office and County Council structures

As part of employment with Essex County Council should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please visit: https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is proud to offer an excellent benefits package to all its employees. For more information please use the following link: https://www.workingforessex.com/working-here/pay-reward/

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

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