About the job

Job summary

Domesday Book. Shakespeare’s will. Tweets from Downing Street. War time records. These are just some of the 11 million items held by The National Archives. With a collection like this – the largest in the world – it’s no surprise that we handle between 5-10% of all Freedom of Information (FOI) requests received by the Government. As a MoD Access Service Advisor, you’ll work with military personnel records, carrying out research and responding to requests for open information held in this collection. Join us and you’ll work in an organisation that offers great support and exceptional benefits.

About the role

Working in a team of case handlers, supported by Access Managers, you will join our MOD Access team, managing FOI requests related to military personnel records, where you will develop a deep understanding of this unique collection, in order to respond to requests for access to open information. You will assist in coordinating, monitoring and tracking the requests and customer correspondence to ensure they are being processed appropriately and will assist case officers and Access Managers in ensuring all request data is managed properly.

Job description

Full job description attached (see below).

Person specification

About you

This role requires you to have good decision making and communication skills, as well as the ability to organise a potentially heavy, sensitive and demanding workload, working to tight deadlines. Some cases may be complex and/or of a highly personal and sensitive nature, which will require careful handling and escalation. You will therefore need to be flexible, organised and motivated in your approach to meet the demands of this role.

Join us here in beautiful Kew, just 10 minutes’ walk from the Overground and Underground stations, and you can expect an excellent range of benefits. They include a pension and flexible working, as well as discounts with local businesses (e.g. beauty salons and bars). We also offer wellbeing resources (e.g. on-site therapists) and have an on-site gym, cafe, shop and staff bar.

A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.

SC-level Security Clearance or willingness to obtain SC clearance is mandatory for this role and requires that you have lived in the UK for the last 3 years. The length of required residency may depend on individual circumstances.

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 given 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:

• Demonstrate the ability to carry out research into records, analyse contents and summarise findings clearly and concisely
• Demonstrate ability to make decisions, using sound judgement, escalating issues as required
• Excellent team working skills and flexibility in approach to work
• Demonstrate high standard of communication, both written and verbal, with an excellent attention to detail
• Experience of working to tight deadlines and ability to work well under pressure
• Demonstrable experience of ICT skills including working with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel etc.)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,000, The National Archives contributes £7,290 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. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). 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.