Academic Engagement Officer

This role is an exciting opportunity to support The National Archives’ relationship with its academic and research audiences, through the delivery of high-profile events, conferences and engagement or communications initiatives. The postholder will work across our academic audiences, ensuring that The National Archives’ research is strategic, visible, and aligned with our key corporate objectives and strategies.

We have made a substantial investment in our Research, Grants and Academic Engagement department, which is charged with conducting, enabling and promoting world-class research. We lead and inspire pioneering research through fostering community, collaborative engagement and inclusive practice, often working in partnership with academic and heritage organisations.

In this role, you will join an agile team that leads, coordinates and enables the organisation’s research and academic engagement. Working collaboratively with colleagues across the organisation, you will strengthen The National Archives’ relationship with its research audience, which includes individual academics, postgraduates, other research organisations and research funders. You will also support The National Archives’ own thriving research culture, through the design and delivery of training, seminars and other programmes.

Your experience of organising events and initiatives, your ability to engage audiences and communicate, and your interpersonal skills will make a real difference to what we can achieve through our academic engagement. You will be adept at working in partnership, and have excellent skills in relationship management and in maintaining networks. You will have excellent administrative skills and an eye for detail. You will have a record of delivering events and the ability to engage successfully with a wide variety of people and stakeholder bodies.

About us:

The National Archives (TNA) is the official archive of the UK government and for England and Wales, making available to the public a vast collection of historical records dating back over 1,000 years. TNA is an Independent Research Organisation (IRO), a status awarded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in recognition of the significance and quality of the research we develop and deliver. Multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research into all aspects of our collections, practice and activities is at the heart of what we do. We work with a range of national and international university, cultural sector, heritage and industry partners on projects engaging collections-based humanities research, digital humanities and social sciences, applied computer science, archival and information science, and heritage science and conservation. We are committed to investing in research and researchers, offering innovative doctoral training, developing new partnerships, and seeking new ways to engage research-active audiences. Our new Vision for Research will be published in the autumn of 2024.

Within the beautiful surroundings of Kew, a 10-minute walk from Underground and Overground stations, TNA boasts a collegial working environment and the excellent Civil Service benefits package. This includes flexible working, an on-site gym, wellbeing resources and an opportunity to join the Civil Service Alpha Pension Scheme. Putting people at the forefront of our organisation, we are committed to enabling professional development and training for all our colleagues. You would be joining a friendly and passionate team who welcome new and creative approaches and are dedicated to influencing the future of archives and research.

This is a full-time, fixed-term post (maternity cover). However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job shares will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of The National Archives. A combination of onsite and home working is available; applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.

How to apply:

If you are an internal applicant: please do not use the link on this page. Please apply via your employee Workday account.

If you are an external applicant: to submit your application please use the link at the bottom of this advert.

You will be asked to provide details of your work experience and write a personal statement. In your personal statement please explain, using examples, how you meet the essential criteria below. You may draw on knowledge, skills, abilities, experience gained from paid work, domestic responsibilities, education, leisure interests and voluntary activities. Please note selection for interview will largely be based on the information you provide in this section.

Essential criteria:

- Experience of planning and delivering events for a range of audiences, including logistical support, event facilitation and front of house duties, both on and offsite.
- Excellent co-ordination, liaison and interpersonal skills, able to interact well and build effective relationships and networks both internally and in partnership with external organisations and stakeholders.
- Excellent communication skills, with experience of websites, social media and/or developing copy for external communications and digital media.
- Excellent administrative skills, including keen attention to detail, confidence with platforms and tools for the delivery of online events, and experience of routine financial processing.
- Ability to manage a demanding workload and prioritise tasks effectively to achieve maximum impact.
- Ability to work independently, whilst having a strong team work ethic of skills and ideas sharing. Sound judgement in choosing when to operate on one’s own authority and when to consult colleagues.

Museum Website: https://nationalarchives.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/Careers/job/Kew/Academic-Engagement-Officer_JR200215