Vacancies

Collections Officer (Maternity cover)

Please Note: The application deadline for this job has now passed.

About the role

The Northamptonshire Archives Service exists to preserve, conserve and make accessible the archives relating to the county of Northamptonshire.

The Collections Officer is responsible for the processing of archives so that they can be understood and made accessible for research. The post holder works within a wider team including one other Collections Officer, four front-line staff, a Conservator, and their line manager, who together look after the archives and engage people with them.

The Service has a rich collection developed over the past 100 years, but many of the older catalogues and indexes are not to the standard one would expect today.

The Service is managed by West Northants Council but is provided on behalf of both West Northants and North Northants Councils and covers the area of the ancient county of Northamptonshire.

What will you be doing?

The post holder will be processing accessions of archives, entering these onto the software package, Adlib, and doing cataloguing of smaller collections. This will include some necessary appraisal of records received before a decision is made to retain them. He/she/they will be helping with the listing of the service's 20th century rate books as part of a small project funded by the local Family History Society. They will also take on other cataloguing and archive-related tasks including the supervision of volunteers, checking of volunteer tasks, and responding to enquiries from the public.

About you

You must be qualified in archive administration or have substantial experience of cataloguing work within an archive. Ideally you will have worked within a local government context and be familiar with local government records.

You are also expected to be familiar with cataloguing onto an archives database and working to create ISAD(G) compliant catalogues. You must be able to explain archive types and their importance to non-experts and support others in carrying out their family, local history and other types of research. You should enjoy working in a small team but be self-motivated and able to work on your own initiative. The role would suit someone recently qualified who would like to learn on the job and prove themselves in an environment where there is an interesting variety of archive collections.

Our benefits

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 28 days annual leave per year, 29 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
Cycle to Work scheme.
Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
Car Lease scheme
Payment of professional subscription / membership - If your job description requires that you are registered with or are a member of a professional body, WNC will pay for your professional subscription or membership fees.
Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
Ongoing training and development opportunities.
A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

About us

We’re a new council, following one of the largest shake-ups in local government reform in recent history. As a new authority, we’re embarking on an exciting journey to deliver exceptional services for our residents, customers and communities.

Our vision at West Northamptonshire Council is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

Hear more from our Chief Executive, Anna Earnshaw, about what it's like to work at West Northants Council https://youtu.be/lV0EfeUF4aU

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

When potential is unlocked, talent thrives.

Choose a career that offers you a true sense of achievement, fills you with pride and challenges you in a positive way, every day.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.