Reading (On-Site)
Temporary, Full time
£32,654 to £37,938 Per year
37.00
Maternity cover until 20th March 2026 – Full time, 37 hours, to be worked Monday to Friday, including occasional duty until 9.00pm on Thursday evening
Based at the Royal Berkshire Archives, 9 Coley Avenue, Reading. Berkshire, RG1 6AF
This is a great opportunity to get involved with the archives of the Royal County. We’re looking for a professional Archivist to cover maternity leave for one of our permanent staff. As an Archivist you will help with the full range of collections and engagement work, as well as taking a regular turn as Senior Duty person to help visitors and enquirers.
The Royal Berkshire Archives is run as a joint service by six councils: Bracknell Forest, Reading, Slough, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Wokingham. Our collections reflect these places as well as historical North Berkshire, which included towns like Abingdon, Wallingford and Wantage. Notable holdings include the archives of Broadmoor Hospital, the Thames Conservancy and Reading Prison.
We can offer you a warm welcome into a small but dedicated team. Staff share an enthusiasm for Berkshire’s history and helping others discover it. We are based in a modern building just outside Reading town centre and open to the public Tuesdays - Fridays.
We seek the best talent from the widest pool of people as diversity and inclusion is the key to our success. Reading Borough Council is a Disability Confident Employer and is committed to the recruitment and continued employment of people with disabilities.
About the role
As an Archivist you will spend around a third of their time on duty in our reading room, answering enquiries remotely and face-to-face, providing copies and undertaking research. You will also be given cataloguing and engagement projects, helping to make analogue and digital collections available and promote them to a global audience.
About you
You will be a qualified archivist with a demonstrable interest in community collections and enthusiastic to share them with people. Experience of cataloguing complex collections and/or writing content for public engagement would be helpful, though the post is suitable for newly-qualified professionals.
You’ll be part of a team that relies on each individual to play their part to the best of their ability. As well as the colleagues that you work closely with every day, you’ll also be part of Team Reading, playing your personal part in making Reading a successful and vibrant place.
Our vision is to ensure that Reading realises its potential as a great place to live, work and play, and that everyone shares the benefits of this success. Our values and behaviours guide how we will achieve this:
Work Together as one team - work collaboratively, with each other and with our partners, and demonstrate the Team Reading values in everything we do
Drive Efficiency - show initiative, be adaptable to change and put forward ideas to help improve delivery and efficiency. Take responsibility for our own learning and development and for reaching our potential
Be Ambitious - be demanding of our own performance – striving to be even better – and be prepared to engage with and challenge leaders in a constructive and positive way
Make a Difference to Reading - maintain the highest levels of customer service and be flexible and willing to provide the services needed at the time they are needed
Our offer
We offer a supportive environment to grow and develop your career with the opportunity to put your ideas across. Innovation and ambition is strongly encouraged, and you’ll get a great feel for that working in our friendly and collaborative environment.
A competitive salary alongside a range of benefits including:
- Generous holiday entitlement - 25 days holiday each year plus bank holidays - rising to 33 days after 10 years' service, with the option to buy additional leave
- A wide range of flexible working opportunities
- Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
- Life Assurance - three times your annual salary (for members of the LGPS)
- On-site day nursery (Kennet Day nursery) rated outstanding by Ofsted
- Season Ticket Loan - a loan to help with the cost of your rail or bus journey, to and from work
- Lease car salary sacrifice scheme allowing you to lease a brand new, greener car for three years. The monthly fee includes insurance, servicing and road tax
If you would like an informal discussion about the post please contact Ivone Turnbull, on 0118 937 5160 (email ivone.turnbull@reading.gov.uk), or Mark Stevens, on 0118 937 5162 (email mark.stevens@reading.gov.uk).
Closing Date: Sunday 11th May 2025
Interview Date: Wednesday 21st or Thursday 22nd May 2025
Interview format: two-person panel interview, based on job description, with a short test for literacy and numeracy. And, although it does not form part of the interview, we are very happy to offer you a tour of the Archives.
Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. We reserve the right to close this vacancy once a sufficient number of applications has been received. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you complete and return your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.