About the job

Job summary

The National Archives is looking for an enthusiastic and experienced project manager or grant manager to manage the delivery of the Archives Revealed funding programme. 

Archives Revealed is the only dedicated national funding scheme for the cataloguing and unlocking of archival collections. The programme awards grants to archive services and those with archive collections throughout the United Kingdom, to scope and catalogue their collections for the purposes of making them accessible to the public for research and enjoyment. Since 2006, Archives Revealed has been delivered by a partnership of funders which includes the Pilgrim Trust, the Wolfson Foundation, and The National Archives. In 2024, the programme welcomed The National Lottery Heritage Fund as a new core partner, and the programme will award over £5 million of funding to archives over the next three years (2024-27).

The Programme Manager will have operational responsibility for the delivery of Archives Revealed’s funding, leading on the programme’s governance, operations, finances, reporting and delivery, and supporting grantees to deliver impactful projects. You will also be responsible for communications and stakeholder management, working closely with Archives Revealed’s funders, Steering Group, Expert Panel, networks and partners throughout the United Kingdom, including those in the other nations of the UK. You will have experience of project management and grant programme delivery, excellent financial literacy, and be a strong communicator who is able to liaise with a number of different stakeholders.

We have made a substantial investment in our Research, Grants and Academic Engagement department, which is charged with delivering impactful grant-making to support The National Archives’ leadership of the archives sector. It is an exciting moment to join the team, with a number of new roles being advertised this summer, and with the National Lottery Heritage Fund’s investment enabling us to deliver over five times more funding to the sector in 2024-27 than was possible in 2020-23. 

As the Programme Manager leading the delivery of Archives Revealed within the department, you will be a key team member as we widen our relationship with the archive sector and continue to support engagement with significant collections across the United Kingdom.

Job description

Full job description attached (see below).

Person specification

About Us

The National Archives 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. We are also the sector leadership body for archives in England.

Within the beautiful surroundings of Kew, a 10-minute walk from the Underground and Overground stations, The National Archives boasts a collegial working environment and an excellent Civil Service benefits package. This includes flexible working, an on-site gym, and an opportunity to join the Civil Service Alpha Pension Scheme. Putting you at the forefront of our organisation, we are committed to supporting professional development and training for all of our colleagues.

The role is a fixed-term contract until 31 March 2027, based at The National Archives’ building in Kew, London. 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 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:

• Experience of managing projects, with multiple priorities and complex delivery requirements, with a strong knowledge of project delivery methodologies and frameworks.
• Demonstrable expertise in grant programme development, including experience in developing grant-making process and policy, and a knowledge of grant-making best practice.
• Experience of grant management and/or reporting to external funding partners, as applicable to large budgets of over a million pounds, with strong financial literacy and skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to communicate complex, technical, or financial information to varied audiences.
• Experience in stakeholder management, with the ability to build and develop excellent working relationships with a wide range of people, including stewarding major funder relationships.
• Strong time management, with ability to prioritise tasks and manage conflicting demands within a complex, multi-stakeholder environment.
• Ability to work independently, while having a strong team work ethic in sharing skills and ideas. Sound judgement in choosing when to operate on own authority and when to refer matters to line manager, head of department or director.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £36,515, The National Archives contributes £9,859 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.