Heritage Officer (Archives)
- Vacancy Ref No.
- RES00726
- Area
- Mile End and Globe Town
- Building
- Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives
- Directorate
- Resources
- Division
- Customer Access
- Section
- Idea Store
- Team
- Local History
- Grade / Salary
- SO1 - £31,434 - £32,577
- Contract Type
- Permanent
- Working Arrangement
- Full time
- Vacancy Hours
- Salary Pro-Rata
- Closing date for applications
- 8 December 2019
Role Purpose
The Heritage
Officer (Archives) is a core member of the team of professional staff at Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives (THLHLA). Managed as part of Tower Hamlets Council's Idea Store service, which integrates modern library services with lifelong learning, THLHLA is dedicated to collecting, preserving and making publicly
accessible extensive heritage collections relating to the London
Borough of Tower Hamlets and its communities, residents, trades and
industries, charitable organisations and businesses.
The service is a joint local
studies library and archive and also has a small
collection of paintings and museum objects. Located at 277 Bancroft Road, Mile
End, E1 4DQ, we welcome several thousand people per year to undertake their own
research in our Reading Room about any aspect of the borough's history, or
attend a related event, exhibition or film screening.
Key Responsibilities
This is a professional, specialist role whose main purpose is to support the Archives Manager in managing and developing THLHLA's archive collections. These are extensive and wide ranging in format and age, including (for example): records of the borough's predecessor local authorities dating as far back as 1593, title deeds and Building Control files, records of local charities, societies, individuals, businesses and activist groups, oral history collections and born-digital archives from a variety of sources.
The post has responsibility for selection and transfer of records identified for permanent preservation created by Tower Hamlets Council, as well as acquiring new deposits from the wider community and cataloguing existing archive holdings in line with backlog prioritisation.
The postholder will also regularly staff the Enquiry Desk in the Reading Room, providing excellent customer service to all visitors using the collections for research into the borough's history, and will supervise volunteers and placements.
The Heritage Officer (Archives) post is also the team lead on compliance with FOI and GDPR, and represents THLHLA within the council's Information Governance context.
Requirements
NB This is not an entry level post - it is a specialist role unlikely to be suitable for someone who has never worked in an archive service before.
The postholder must have strong experience of cataloguing archive collections in line with the appropriate international standards using CALM or a similar specialist archive collections management database.
You will be well versed in the principles of archival theory and experienced in applying them in practice. You will ideally hold, or be working towards, a postgraduate qualification in Archives & Records Management, but substantial practical experience is accepted in lieu of this, providing your application provides evidence of the requisite knowledge and abilities you have gained, eg by working in a similar role or carrying out similar tasks as a volunteer.
NB The specific professional tasks of an archivist in which the role must be experienced are itemised in the Person Specification. All applications should include specific examples from your own experience which demonstrate how you meet each of the critiera listed (this is how each application will be assessed).
You will enjoy and thrive working as part of a team while also having a disciplined approach to independent work which can be long and/or monotonous.
You will have excellent IT and interpersonal skills, meticulous attention to detail and a keen interest in the histories of London's East End.
The post will be offered as a permanent contract, subject to approval of references and an enhanced DBS check which is satisfactory to the employer.
Additional Information
The postholder will work two Saturdays per month, taking either the preceding Friday or the following Monday as TOIL. Time and a third is payable for hours worked on a Saturday.
You will also occasionally work the late shift on a Thursday (12pm-8pm).
Please note applications must be made through the council's recruitment system i-grasp by individual applicants (not agencies) and CVs are not accepted. Feel free to contact Heritage Manager
tamsin.bookey@towerhamlets.gov.uk with any queries about the role.
The closing date for applications is Sunday 8 December at 23:59 and interviews will be held on Wednesday 8 January.
This is a permanent post contracted to work 35 hours a week, normally 9am to 5pm. The appointee will be automatically opted-into the Local Government Pension Scheme but can opt out if they wish.
More information relating to the position
