Posted on behalf of Chris Foord, Group Manager for Heritage at the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
Borough Archivist (Ref: GTH00013)
Location: Valence House Museum, Becontree Avenue, Dagenham
Contract type: Permanent - Full Time (35 hours per week)
Salary: £32,307- £34,935 (PO2)
Deadline: 6 March 2017
Interview date: TBC
About the role
LB of Barking and Dagenham is looking to recruit a Borough Archivist to manage the development of our recently accredited Archives and Local Studies Centre at Valence House. The Centre is home to a wide range of collections that reflect the history and continuing development of the community of Barking and Dagenham. We’re looking for a strong advocate to join our Heritage Management Team who’ll ensure that our collections remain relevant, engaging and accessible for the future. We also need to reach the widest possible audience through our events and workshops programme. In 2016, the Archives and Local Studies Centre became one of the first Borough Archives to be accredited under the scheme operated by the UK Archive Service Accreditation Committee. This role is all about developing a strong visitor offer that preserves and reflects the Archives and Local Studies Centre’s distinct and important collections.
About you
We're looking for a highly motivated and adaptable team member with experience of managing collections that meet British and international standards for archival storage in order to ensure the retention of our newly acquired Accredited Archive status. You’ll need to be able to provide guidance on the statutory requirements for the management of records and rare book collections as well as have an ability to encourage donations from a wide range of sources, including Council departments and individuals. You’ll need to demonstrate experience of managing archive collections as well as experience of delivering the day-to-day operations of a public reading room. You’ll need to have a post-graduate degree or professional qualification in archives administration, or equivalent for this role. Working within Heritage Services you’ll support colleagues at Valence House to deliver a range of events that engage local audiences.
You will need to be:
· Experienced in managing a front-line service with a busy customer-facing reading room
· Able to provide a stimulating environment for individual, family and lifelong learners who’re engaged in formal education, personal and/or work-based research or part of an outreach project
· Able to deliver exceptional customer service daily
· Able to be a strong advocate for the use of Archives within local policy initiatives
· Able to lead and motivate a team of staff and volunteers
· Able to develop strategies, policies and actions plans for the delivery of the service
· Able to contribute to the planning, organisation, interpretation and presentation of exhibitions and Museum displays and events.
· Working knowledge of archive collections management software
· Able to work flexibly including working in the evenings and at weekends
Special requirements
Minimum criteria
· Post-graduate degree or professional qualification in archives administration, or equivalent
Desirable criteria
· Knowledge of the history of Barking and Dagenham
Contract type and salary
Permanent, full-time (35 hours a week)
£32,307 to £34,935 per annum, includes inner-London weighting allowance.
About us
The site at Valence House welcomes in the region of 40,000 visitors a year and comprises of the Archives and Local Studies Centre, Valence House Museum, Visitor Centre, Oasis Café and gardens. The archive collection comprises of minute books, departmental records and plans of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, and its predecessor authorities dating back to 1558. We also hold deposited papers, including correspondence, diaries and printed ephemera, as well as oral histories, photographs and films, relating to local organisations, businesses, schools, charities, non-conformist churches, families and individuals with connections to Barking and Dagenham.
The local studies collection is made up of printed books, periodicals, newspapers and maps primarily concerning the history of Barking and Dagenham, as well as Essex and London. Highlights from the archive and local studies collections include the letters of Sir Richard Fanshawe, a manuscript on Victorian Barking written by William Frogley, the records of Samuel Williams and Sons Ltd, log books on air-raids compiled by ARP Wardens and Culpepper’s Complete Herbal Book.
Barking and Dagenham Archives and Local Studies Centre collects, preserves and provides access to informational resources on the place and people of Barking and Dagenham, and is situated in the Visitor’s Centre at Valence House. These unique and fascinating resources are made available for all to discover in our reading room, which is situated in the Visitor’s Centre at Valence House. We also have offer free use of Ancestry Library Edition and Find My Past Community Edition.
As the only surviving manor house in Dagenham, Valence House, a timber-framed building dating in part back to Medieval times, provides with the newly built visitor centre, a wonderful setting for finding out about the past. Since receiving grant funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, in 2010, Valence House has received many awards and accolades, including Visit England’s ‘Best Told Story’, a Sandford award for our heritage education programme, as well as being included in ‘50 free things to do in London – east and south’ by the Guardian.
Barking and Dagenham is an exciting place to work and as London’s main growth opportunity, Heritage Services has a significant part to play in the future development of the Borough and we wish Valence House to be at the heart of this. We provide a space for the community to gather, learn, engage and participate, as well as a place for people to expand their horizons.
Visit out website here: www.valencehousecollections.co.uk
The Borough’s core values are to:
Deliver our best every day - and do what we promise
Respond in prompt, positive way to our community's needs
Inspire others with our attitudes and actions
Value people for who they are and what they can do
Engage with others to improve our resilience and flexibility
LBBD particularly welcomes applicants who live in the Borough of Barking and Dagenham.
How to apply
For more information and to apply see the council website: https://ig24.i-grasp.com/fe/tpl_LB_barking_dagenham01.asp?s=4A515F4E5A565B1A&jobid=115649,0254878758&key=73540230&c=343447985834&pagestamp=seccearbepopbjbdul
If you require further information about the role please do not hesitate to contact:
Chris Foord
Group Manager
Email: [log in to unmask]
The deadline for applications is: 6 March 2017
Contact the list owner for assistance at [log in to unmask]
For information about joining, leaving and suspending mail (eg during a holiday) see the list website at
https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=archives-nra
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