About the job

Job summary

This role is an exciting opportunity to support The National Archives’ relationship with its academic and research audiences, through the delivery of high-profile events, conferences and engagement or communications initiatives. The postholder will work across our academic audiences, ensuring that The National Archives’ research is strategic, visible, and aligned with our key corporate objectives and strategies.

We have made a substantial investment in our Research, Grants and Academic Engagement department, which is charged with conducting, enabling and promoting world-class research. We lead and inspire pioneering research through fostering community, collaborative engagement and inclusive practice, often working in partnership with academic and heritage organisations.

In this role, you will join an agile team that leads, coordinates and enables the organisation’s research and academic engagement. Working collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation, you will strengthen The National Archives’ relationship with its research audience, which includes individual academics, postgraduates, other research organisations and research funders. You will also support The National Archives’ own thriving research culture, through the design and delivery of training, seminars and other programmes.

Your experience of organising events and initiatives, your ability to engage audiences and communicate, and your interpersonal skills will make a real difference to what we can achieve through our academic engagement. You will be adept at working in partnership, and have excellent skills in relationship management and in maintaining networks. You will have excellent administrative skills and an eye for detail. You will have a record of delivering events and the ability to engage successfully with a wide variety of people and stakeholder bodies.

Job description

Full job description attached (see below).

Person specification

About us

The National Archives (TNA) is the official archive of the UK government and for England and Wales, making available to the public a vast collection of historical records dating back over 1,000 years. TNA is an Independent Research Organisation (IRO), a status awarded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in recognition of the significance and quality of the research we develop and deliver. Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research into all aspects of our collections, practice and activities is at the heart of what we do. We work with a range of national and international university, cultural sector, heritage and industry partners on projects engaging collections-based humanities research, digital humanities and social sciences, applied computer science, archival and information science, and heritage science and conservation. We are committed to investing in research and researchers, offering innovative doctoral training, developing new partnerships, and seeking new ways to engage research-active audiences. Our new Vision for Research will be published in the autumn of 2024.

Within the beautiful surroundings of Kew, a 10-minute walk from Underground and Overground stations, TNA boasts a collegial working environment and the excellent Civil Service benefits package. This includes flexible working, an on-site gym, wellbeing resources and an opportunity to join the Civil Service Alpha Pension Scheme. Putting people at the forefront of our organisation, we are committed to enabling professional development and training for all our colleagues. You would be joining a friendly and passionate team who welcome new and creative approaches and are dedicated to influencing the future of archives and research.

This is a full-time, fixed-term post (maternity cover). However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job shares will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of The National Archives. A combination of onsite and home working is available; applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.

How to apply

If you are an internal applicant: please do not use the link on this page. Please apply via your employee Workday account.

If you are an external applicant: to submit your application please click the 'Apply at advertiser's site' button on this page.

You will be asked to provide details of your work experience and write a personal statement. In your personal statement please explain, using examples, how you meet the essential criteria below. You may draw on knowledge, skills, abilities, experience gained from paid work, domestic responsibilities, education, leisure interests and voluntary activities. Please note selection for interview will largely be based on the information you provide in this section.

Essential criteria:

• Experience of planning and delivering events for a range of audiences, including logistical support, event facilitation and front of house duties, both on and offsite.
• Excellent co-ordination, liaison and interpersonal skills, able to interact well and build effective relationships and networks both internally and in partnership with external organisations and stakeholders.
• Excellent communication skills, with experience of websites, social media and/or developing copy for external communications and digital media.
• Excellent administrative skills, including keen attention to detail, confidence with platforms and tools for the delivery of online events, and experience of routine financial processing.
• Ability to manage a demanding workload and prioritise tasks effectively to achieve maximum impact.
• Ability to work independently, whilst having a strong team work ethic of skills and ideas sharing. Sound judgement in choosing when to operate on one’s own authority and when to consult colleagues.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £31,178, The National Archives contributes £8,418 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Reasonable adjustments:

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact The National Archives via careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
• Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.