JOB DESCRIPTION
ARCHIVES ASSISTANT – Public Services
REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS
The Archives Assistant reports directly to the Cathedral Archivist.
PURPOSE
To assist in the full range of duties at Canterbury Cathedral Archives with particular emphasis
on the delivery of public services, and office administration.
PRINCIPAL TASKS
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Welcome and register users of the reading room.
Assist in the supervision of the reading room.
Maintain statistics on usage of the collections.
Assist with the maintenance of office filing systems.
Oversee office financial procedures, including the issuing of invoices and the processing of
income.
Assist with the answering of enquiries received in person or by phone, post or email.
Contribute towards educational and outreach work through hosting group visits.
Assist with the supervision of volunteers.
Assist with the care of the archive collections to the highest possible standards.
Assist with the production of copies of documents, for customer use
Assist with the preparation of exhibitions.
Assist with the retrieval of documents from the storage areas for use by the public and staff.
Assist with Health and Safety matters as appropriate.
Ensure that professionalism and confidentiality is maintained at all times.
Carry out any other reasonable task as required.
HOURS
Approximately 35 hours per week Monday to Friday 09.00hrs to 17.00hrs. The position holder
should be flexible in their approach to hours worked as these will be dictated by operational
needs.
Part time and job share posts will be considered.
SALARY AND BENEFITS
Grade
Salary
Pension
Life Assurance
Holiday
7
£16,000 per annum
The Dean and Chapter contribute 7½% of salary into a Stakeholder
Pension Scheme until the age of 70 years.
Staff in the pension scheme are insured against death in service 3 x
annual salary.
Based upon a 5 day week working, the annual entitlement is 25 days plus
8 public holidays and 2 Dean and Chapter Days.
Entitlement will be pro rata depending upon number of hours worked.
Archives Assistant – Public Services
October 2012
PRE EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS
None
Updated October 2012
This job description is provided to assist the post holder to know their principal duties. It may
be amended from time to time in consultation with you, by, or on behalf of, the Head of the
Department, without change to the level of responsibility appropriate to the grading of the post.
Archives Assistant – Public Services
October 2012
PERSONAL SPECIFICATION
The personal specification below indicates the qualifications, experience, knowledge and skills
required to undertake the role effectively.
Essential
Desirable
Academic qualifications:
Educated to ‘O’/GCSE level or equivalent.
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Experience:
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Experience of working with heritage collections.
Excellent IT skills, including Excel and Access
databases.
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Experience of using alpha-numeric indexes.
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Knowledge:
Good standard of written English.
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Understanding of the security and preservation needs of
unique archival materials.
Understanding of and sympathy with the aims and
purposes of the Cathedral, its mission and ministry.
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Personal attributes:
Ability to lift and manoeuvre heavy boxes of varying
sizes.
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Good organisational skills.
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Ability to work alone and as part of a small team
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Enthusiastic and self-motivating.
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Articulate with excellent communication and
interpersonal skills.
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Numerate and methodical.
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Ability to multi task and pay attention to detail.
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Able to work to strict deadlines, work flexibly and
extended hours when necessary.
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Archives Assistant – Public Services
October 2012