Position:
Archives Learning Development Officer
21 hours per week
Responsible to:
Community Learning Manager
Responsible for:
Archives Residential Volunteer
Salary:
£26k per annum (pro rata) plus 6% employer pension
contribution after 6 months service
Length of contract:
Fixed term till January 2013
Toynbee Hall
Toynbee Hall is a charity where people come for excellent local services and where
they can share ideas and experience, gather information and knowledge that we use
together to take action to change lives and eradicate poverty. Our programmes
include free advice services, financial inclusion services, wellbeing services,
including work with older people and support to women in prostitution and community
learning services supporting young people and new migrants.
Toynbee Hall was established in 1884 as the world's first purpose built university
settlement. Throughout its history, Toynbee Hall as a place and an organisation has
been a centre for key social change and reform as well as delivering innovative
projects for the local community.
Job Description and purpose of the job
Toynbee Hall is a local landmark and a place of national and international
significance. Toynbee Hall (the building) is a grade 2 listed building.
However, Toynbee Hall's noteworthy heritage is not only its physical heritage, but
also its significance in modern social history as a centre for key social change and
reform.
Toynbee Hall has an extensive archive, which we solely own. It is based both at
Toynbee Hall and at the London Metropolitan Archives and contains a range of
organisational records, a photographic collection, ephemera, books, correspondence,
and political / campaigning materials.
The purpose of the Archives Development Officer role will be the following;
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To project manage the Revealing Social Reform project
Maintain and make accessible the Toynbee Hall archives, providing
opportunities for meaningful audience engagement, exhibition and learning
Provide positive and mutually beneficial volunteering experiences
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Identify further opportunities to emerge from the re-development of Toynbee
Hall’s archival materials
This project will focus on 4 themes of Toynbee Hall's history which continue to have
contemporary significance:
1. Tackling Poverty: 100 + years of history of leading reform and social change from
old age pensions through to tackling child poverty.
2. The history of (in)equality and immigration in Aldgate: from Jewish immigration in
the 19th Century to the Bangladeshi migration post World War 2.
3. Education and Learning: particularly adult education over 120 years
4. Volunteering: telling the stories and achievements of famous volunteers (e.g.
Clement Atlee, William Beveridge) as well as the hidden stories of less known
volunteers (e.g. Carrie Morrison, the first female solicitor).
Main Duties and Responsibilities
The Archives and Learning Development Officer will coordinate the project through 3
main activity stages.
Stage 1 – Focus on raising awareness of our heritage of social action to the general
public through a series of exhibitions. This work will be achieved with the support of a
team of volunteers, including the Toynbee Hall Archival Residential Volunteer,
Stage 2 - Develop educational / learning materials based on these exhibitions and
our archives in consultation with local educational partners.
Stage 3 – Engage primary school children (aged 9 - 11) with delivery of workshops
designed to inspire the participants to think critically and historically about their roles
as active citizens.
Project management
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To effectively project manage the Hidden Stories of Social Reform ensuring
that all performance targets and outputs are delivered on time and within the
project budget
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To provide regular reports and updates on the progress of the project.
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To ensure the effective monitoring and evaluation of the project in line with
Toynbee Hall practice
Communications and marketing
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To develop and implement a communications plan for the project, identifying
key stakeholder groups and targeting communication effectively and regularly
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To initiate and manage a range of partnership and relationships to effectively
support the delivery of the project
Archives
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To manage appraise and maintain the Toynbee Hall archive collection,
ensuring effective preservation
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Responding to enquiries from staff, volunteers and external researchers
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To develop and catalogue the collections and increase the accessibility and
availability of the collections
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Identify opportunities to develop the collections through accessions and oral
history
Learning
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To develop and implement a project learning plan to embed learning
opportunities across the project, ensuring the effective monitoring of learning
outcomes.
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To work closely with schools partners to define appropriate learning aims and
outcomes for the participants of the archival workshops
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Liaise closely with school partners to ensure smooth coordination of
workshop delivery and successful roll-out of activities in school settings
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Work closely with the Community Learning team at Toynbee to produce
effective strategies for pupil engagement and workshop design
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Develop volunteer role profile and support with the recruitment and training of
successful applicants
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Provide suitable support and direction to volunteer teaching assistants
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Create imaginative, dynamic and sustainable learning materials derived from
archival content
Exhibition and visitor experience
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Curate, design and manage the project exhibition and deliver talks and tours
of Toynbee Hall to a diverse range of visitors
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Regular and effective liaison with other libraries, archives and partner
organisations to develop useful networks and opportunities for partnership
working
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To ensure that staff and volunteers are fully informed about the project and
able to provide the highest quality of visitor experience
People
To recruit, effectively manage and develop a team of archive and learning volunteers
Person Specification
Requirement
Education
Training
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/ 
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Experience
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Skills
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Personal
attributes
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Essential
Degree level or equivalent
Society of Archivists accredited
qualification, or training towards an
accredited
qualification,
in
information studies or archives
administration
Desirable
Working in archives, museums or
galleries, ideally with a social
history collection
Arranging, storing and preserving
archive collections for learning and
exhibitions use
Supervising volunteers or staff
Able to communicate effectively
with a diverse range of individuals
and audiences
Marketing skills
Exhibition and outreach skills
Learning – knowledge and
understanding of best practice in
heritage learning and evaluation of
learning outcomes
ICT skills, particularly databases
Project management Conservation
issues for archival collections
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CALM cataloguing
program
Digitisation projects
People-oriented team player
Proactive self-starter and strategic
thinker
Passionate about positive social
action and Toynbee Hall’s values
Passionate about investment in
volunteers and the local
communities
Learning and Development
Toynbee Hall provides all necessary induction and project training where necessary,
and encourages and, where possible, supports the upgrading of appropriate skills
and qualifications as well as other learning and development opportunities. All
employees will receive regular support and supervision to facilitate their learning and
development.
Volunteers
Volunteers are at the heart of Toynbee Hall’s work .The organisation is committed to
involving volunteers in its continuous development and to offering volunteers the best
of experiences. All Toynbee Hall staff members will be expected to support the
volunteering ethos and to work alongside the volunteer team to promote and facilitate
the involvement of volunteers wherever appropriate.
[PLEASE SEE BELOW RE SUPERVISION OF VOLUNTEERS AND THEN
ASSESS WHAT LEVEL OF VOLUNTEER SUPERVISION WILL BE INVOLVED IN
THIS ROLE, CONTACT MAGDALENA NIKOLOVA IF YOU NEED FURTHER
GUIDANCE WITH THIS SECTION].
Monitoring and Evaluation (assess whether this is relevant to the role)
Toynbee Hall takes an outcomes and theory-based approach to its self-evaluation
and monitoring. This means that the organisation is committed to gathering evidence
of its effectiveness, and to using this information to learn, improve and communicate.
All Toynbee Hall staff members will be expected to support this approach and to take
part where appropriate in monitoring and evaluation planning and practice.
Location and Working Hours
This post is office based at 28 Commercial Street, London E1. Working hours will be
21 hours per week over 3 days, plus 1 hour for lunch each day.
Volunteering in Toynbee Hall job descriptions
Suggested Points to include in JDs. These are dependent on what involvement
the staff member will have with volunteers (supervising/planning/promoting):
Supervision
To support and supervise individual volunteers in line with the organisations’
volunteer management processes. (This includes ensuring that all volunteers are
provided with volunteer role descriptions and role agreements, delivering regular
supervision sessions, logging volunteer hours and supporting the evaluation and
monitoring of volunteer experiences. This also includes working with the volunteering
team to recruit new volunteers when necessary.)
Developmental
To ensure that the development of existing or new projects includes appropriate
reference to the recruitment / use of volunteers – including appropriate time frames
and budgeting
Ethos
To fully understand and promote the ethos of meaningful and high quality volunteer
involvement at Toynbee Hall
Suggestions for Person Specification
 Experience of Volunteering
 Commitment to the benefits of volunteering
 Experience of Line Managing/ Supporting Volunteers or staff