Job description and selection criteria
Job title Archives Assistant (Graduate Trainee)
Division Gardens, Libraries, and Museums (GLAM)
Department Bodleian Libraries
Location University Archives, Special Collections, Bodleian Libraries
Grade and salary Grade 3: £18,412 - £21,220 per annum
Hours Full time (36.5 hours per week)
Contract type Fixed-term for one year from September 2017.
Reporting to Keeper of the University Archives
Vacancy reference 128313 This post requires Disclosure Scotland and financial background checks.
Please do not apply if you have already taken, or are currently Additional taking a postgraduate archive qualification. information
You are required to submit a CV and supporting statement with your application, outlining how you meet each of the selection criteria for the role (see below for further details). Closing date 12.00 midday (BST) Thursday 20 April 2017
Introduction
The University
Welcome to the University of Oxford. We aim to lead the world in research and education for the benefit of society both in the UK and globally. Oxford’s researchers engage with academic, commercial and cultural partners across the world to stimulate high-quality research and enable innovation through a broad range of social, policy and economic impacts.
Radcliffe Camera in Radcliffe Square
We believe our strengths lie both in empowering individuals and teams to address fundamental questions of global significance, and in providing all of our staff with a welcoming and inclusive workplace that supports everyone to develop and do their best work. Recognising that diversity is a great strength, and vital for innovation and creativity, we aspire to build a truly diverse community which values and respects every individual’s unique contribution.
While we have long traditions of scholarship, we are also forward-looking, creative and cutting- edge. Oxford is one of Europe's most entrepreneurial universities. Income from external research contracts in 2014/15 exceeded £522.9m and ranked first in the UK for university spin-outs, with more than 130 spin-off companies created to date. We are also recognised as leaders in support for social enterprise.
Join us and you will find a unique, democratic and international community, a great range of staff benefits and access to a vibrant array of cultural activities in the beautiful city of Oxford.
For more information please visit www.ox.ac.uk/about/organisation
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Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM)
The Gardens, Libraries and Museums (GLAM) group includes the providers of the major academic services to the divisions, and also departments with responsibilities including, but extending beyond, the immediate teaching and research needs of the University. The collections embodied within these departments are an essential part of the University’s wider nature and mission. They are part of its heritage as the country’s oldest University and now form a resource of national and international importance for teaching, research and cultural life; they also make a major contribution to the University’s outreach and access missions.
For more information please visit: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/glam/
The Bodleian Libraries
The Bodleian Libraries at the University of Oxford is the largest university library system in the United Kingdom. It includes the principal University library – the Bodleian Library – which has been a legal deposit library for 400 years; as well as 30 libraries across Oxford including major research libraries and faculty, department and institute libraries.
Together, the Libraries hold more than 12 million printed items, over 80,000 e-journals and outstanding special collections including rare books and manuscripts, classical papyri, maps, music, art and printed ephemera. Members of the public can explore the collections via the Bodleian’s online image portal at digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk or by visiting the exhibition galleries in the Bodleian’s Weston Library.
For more information please visit: http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/
The University Archives
The function of the Archives is to select, preserve and make available for administrative or research purposes the documentary records of the University and its departments. Dating from 1214 to the present, these include charters, statutes and title deeds; records of the University's legislative and executive bodies (for example, Congregation, Convocation and Hebdomadal Council); financial and central administrative records; records of students; records of University delegacies and committees; records of the Chancellor's Court; and departmental and faculty records. The University Archives does not contain any college records, which remain the responsibility of the individual colleges, or personal papers of individual members of the University, which are collected by a different section within the Department of Special Collections in the Bodleian Library. Some large departments of the University, such as the Bodleian Library itself and the University Press, manage their own archives.
Although physically based in the old Bodleian Library since 1634, the Archives was a separate University department until 2010 when it became a unit within the Library’s Department of Special Collections. It now reports to the Keeper of Special Collections (Dr Chris Fletcher). Apart from the post of Archives Assistant now advertised, the Archives has a full-time equivalent staff of 2: the Keeper of the Archives (Simon Bailey) and the Assistant Keeper, currently split into two half time posts held by Alice Millea and Anna Petre. The one year post
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of Archives Assistant has for more than 20 years been held by a graduate gaining a year’s experience before taking a postgraduate course in archives administration. There is also a part time (40%) post of Conservator, based in the Bodleian Libraries Department of Conservation and Collection Care that is devoted to work on Archives material.
Most of the current work in the Archives is concerned with the administration and use of late 19th and 20th century material; the great majority of the holdings, probably more than 90%, are from this period and most of the enquiries received and the research undertaken relate to 19th and 20th century topics and individuals. All of the medieval records of the University have been published, chiefly by the Oxford Historical Society. The medieval, and some post- medieval, records are in Latin.
Location
The Archives office is situated on the top floor of the Tower of the Five Orders (now part of the old Bodleian Library) and is reached from the Library’s Upper Reading Room by a stone spiral staircase of approximately 65 steps. The older documents are stored there and on the floor below. A larger amount (approximately 75% of the total holdings of the Archives) is stored in the basement of the Weston Library (see below). Some other material is held in the Bodleian’s Book Storage Facility in Swindon. It will regularly be necessary for members of staff to visit and work in the Archives’ storage area in the Weston Library, often on their own. Occasional visits are also made to the University's central offices and to academic departments.
The Bodleian Libraries have within the past few years completed a major renovation of the building formerly known as the New Bodleian, which reopened to users as the Weston Library in September 2014. University Archives material formerly stored in the basement of the Examination Schools in the High Street was moved to the new Weston Library in 2015.
The Archives does not have its own reading room. Documents are transferred to the Rare Books and Manuscripts reading room in the Weston Library for the use of readers wishing to consult them and are the responsibility of reading room staff while they are there.
For more information about the University Archives please visit: http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/oua
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Archives team
Job description
Overview of the role
The role of the Archives Assistant is to support the work of the Keeper and Assistant Keepers and to participate fully in the provision of an efficient service to users of the Archives. He or she manages and prioritises a varied workload on a day to day basis without close supervision
Responsibilities/duties Answering written and telephone enquiries some of which require use and evaluation of complex sources. Overseeing and carrying out the various procedures involved in making Archives material available to researchers and administrative staff; this regularly includes transferring documents from storage locations to the Weston Library reading room when required and returning them after use. It is sometimes necessary to supervise users consulting documents in the Archives’ storage areas. Arranging and describing modern records according to archival principles. Boxing, numbering, and labelling documents. Identifying, planning and configuring storage accommodation required in connection with new accessions and major moves of archival material. Some reading room duties in the Weston Library (which may include occasional evenings until 7pm). These duties will include issuing items from the reserve, invigilation, and assisting readers with enquiries. Assisting with the general administration and housekeeping of the archives.
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Such other comparable duties as may be required by the Keeper or Head of Department.
Other duties
Participate in a regular Annual Review Undertake any necessary training identified Comply with health and safety regulations Comply with the policies and procedures set out in the Handbook for University Support Staff Any other duties that may be required from time to time commensurate with the grade of the job
The Bodleian Libraries reserve the right to make reasonable amendments to the job description in consultation with the post-holder at any time.
Weston Library
Selection criteria Candidates for the post will be judged on the basis of the following criteria and should try to ensure that their application shows how they meet these criteria. As stated above, the post is intended for someone wishing to gain experience before seeking a postgraduate archive qualification and thus a degree is required. It is not suitable for someone who has already taken a postgraduate archive qualification or who will have done so by the starting date.
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Essential A degree or the expectation of one in 2017. Previous experience of working within an archive or special collections service (this need not be extensive and could be in a voluntary capacity). Informed awareness of the work involved in archives administration and a genuine desire to develop skills in advance of taking a postgraduate qualification and pursuing a career in the field. Ability to cope with the physical demands of the job and its locations. Excellent interpersonal, communication and customer service skills. Excellent analytical and problem solving skills and a good eye for detail. Ability to work independently and to see complex tasks through to a conclusion without constant supervision. Ability to acquire quickly a knowledge of the history and administration of the University. Good IT skills.
Desirable Knowledge of Latin
Pre-employment screening Please note that the appointment of the successful candidate will be subject to standard pre- employment screening, as applicable to the post. This will include right-to-work, proof of identity, references, New Starter Health Questionnaire and New Starter Health Declaration. All applicants must read the candidate notes on the University’s pre-employment screening procedures, found at: www.ox.ac.uk/about/jobs/preemploymentscreening/. Furthermore, additional pre-employment screening is required for this post, as such; the successful candidate will be required to undergo a Disclosure Scotland and financial background check.
Working at the University of Oxford For further information about working at Oxford, please see: www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/jobs/supportandtechnical/
How to apply Before submitting an application, you may find it helpful to read the ‘Tips on applying for a job at the University of Oxford’ document at www.ox.ac.uk/about/jobs/supportandtechnical/.
If you consider that you meet the selection criteria, click on the Apply Now button on the ‘Job Details’ page and follow the on-screen instructions to register as a user. You will then be required to complete a number of screens with your application details, relating to your skills and experience. When prompted, please provide details of two referees and indicate whether we can contact them at this stage.
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You will also be required to complete and upload a supporting evidence form which explains how you meet the selection criteria for the post.
Please upload all documents as PDF files with your name and the document type in the filename. Please note using a long file name may prevent you from uploading your documents.
Supporting Evidence Form
The supporting evidence form should explain your relevant experience which may have been gained in employment, education, or you may have taken time away from these activities in order to raise a family, care for a dependant, or travel for example. Your application will be judged solely on the basis of how you demonstrate that that you meet the selection criteria outlined above and we are happy to consider evidence of transferable skills or experience which you may have gained outside the context of paid employment or education.
Please note that if you do not upload a completed supporting evidence form, we will be unable to consider your application for this role.
The inclusion of the supporting evidence form is a mandatory step in the online application process. Please note that CVs (on their own) will not be considered as part of the selection process and will not therefore be accepted as a substitute for a supporting evidence form.
All applications must be received by 12:00 midday (GMT) on the closing date stated in the online advertisement.
References
Please give the details of two people who have agreed to provide a reference for you. If you have previously been employed, your referees should be people who have managed you for a considerable period, and at least one of them should be your formal line manager in your most recent job. Otherwise they may be people who have supervised you in a recent college, school, or voluntary experience. It is helpful if you can tell us briefly how each referee knows you (e.g. ‘line manager’, ‘college tutor’). Your referees should not be related to you.
Your referees will be asked to comment on your suitability for the post and to provide details of the dates of your employment; your attendance during the last 12 months; and of any disciplinary processes which are still considered ‘live’. We will assume that we may approach them at any stage unless you tell us otherwise. If you wish us to ask for your permission before approaching a particular referee, or to contact them only under certain circumstances (for example, if you are called to interview) you must state this explicitly alongside the details of the relevant referee(s).
Equality of Opportunity
Entry into employment with the University and progression within employment will be determined only by personal merit and the application of criteria which are related to the duties of each particular post and the relevant salary structure. In all cases, ability to perform the job will be the primary consideration. No applicant or member of staff shall be discriminated against because of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.
Priority Applications
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From time to time the University has applications from current employees who are at risk of redundancy. Should an application form be received from one of these people, they will be given preferential treatment and will be considered prior to other applicants.
Information for priority candidates
A priority candidate is a University employee who is seeking redeployment owing to the fact that he or she has been advised that they are at risk of redundancy, or on grounds of ill- health/disability. Priority candidates are issued with a redeployment letter by their employing departments.
If you are a priority candidate, please ensure that you: - attach your redeployment letter to your application (or e-mail it to the contact address on the advert if the application form used for the vacancy does not allow attachments) - explain in your supporting statement how you meet the selection criteria for the post.
Should you experience any difficulties using the online application system, please email [email protected]
Further help and support is available from http://www.ox.ac.uk/about_the_university/jobs/support/
To return to the online application at any stage, please click on the following link www.recruit.ox.ac.uk
Please note that you will be notified of the progress of your application by automatic e-mails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk mail regularly to ensure that you receive all e-mails.
Relocation At the moment, the Bodleian Libraries is not offering relocation expenses to this post
Photographs: Copyright John Cairns and Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
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