Archivist Essex Record Office

Job Description

Please note that this is a fixed term contract position for a duration of 12 monthsEssex 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, Tourism and Green Spaces (CHTGS), which includes the Essex Record Office, delivers exceptional customer experiences, demonstrating the benefit of Essexs 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.The Archivist will deliver professional archive services at Essex Record Office in Chelmsford as part of The National Archives Archives Unlocked funded project "The Model New Town: the records of Harlow Development Corporation". The appointee will catalogue and appraise the Harlow Development Corporation collection to professional standards, liaising with partner organisations in Harlow as well as Essex Record Offices volunteers to achieve a lasting outcome for local and national research. The collection includes a wealth of records from the establishment of Harlow as a New Town in 1947 including photographs, agenda files, staff magazines, brochures, contracts, pamphlets, audio recordings, personal records and maps. The catalogue will be mounted on the Essex Record Offices Essex Archives Online database. Educated to degree level with a diploma/MA in Archive Administration, the appointee will be an integral part of Essex Record Offices team of Archivists, and will be encouraged to develop their skills in a supportive professional environment in a state-of-the-art, modern archive building opened at the Millennium. This role is suitable for newly qualified archivists.Role responsibilities* Responsible for appraising, accessioning, cataloguing and indexing to professional standards the records of Harlow Development Corporation at Essex Record Office * Liaising with and reporting to the Steering Committee of the project including partner organisations in Harlow * Responsible for volunteer work programmes for The Model New Town project * Responsible for professional liaison with Essex Record Offices conservator regarding records identified during the project as in need of conservation * Responsible for professional liaison with the team of archivists and the Essex Record Offices Customer Service Team to ensure sharing of outcomes * Actively participating in individual and shared target and objective setting as defined annually within the performance management frameworkKnowlledge, Skills and Experience* Educated to degree level with a diploma/MA in Archive Administration * Evidence of continuing professional development and awareness of standards for personal development as presented by the Archives and Records Association (UK) * Knowledge and understanding of the principles and practice of archive administration and the description and appraisal of official records * Understanding of 20th century administrative record keeping and/or the development of New Towns * Experience in the use of specific computer archive cataloguing software (such as Essex Archives Online/Seax, Axiell Calm or Adlib) and knowledge of Microsoft Office suite of programmes. * Evidence of working methodically and accurately, with good attention to detail * Proven track record of working as part of a team and managing own workload * Awareness of Data Protection legislation and its application to archives BenefitsEssex County Council is proud to offer an excellent benefits package to all its employees. More information can be found on the Working for Essex website.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.We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity is key to our success.