19 February 2017

Kew, Richmond, London, TW9 4DU

£65,000 plus market supplement


What will the future know of today? Archives, as the homes for our collective memories, are in the future business. 

The National Archives is the archive of government, archives sector lead and one of the world’s leading digital archives. We play a crucial role. Archives Inspire, our business strategy, identifies digital as our biggest strategic challenge. Our digital strategy sets out the ambition to move from being a first-generation to a second generation digital archive. Your role is to shape, design, develop and deliver this disruptive digital archive. 

You will take a leading role in implementing our Digital Strategy. As a senior leader in the organisation you will also foster a wider cultural change, so we become a digital archive ‘by instinct and design’. 

Role and responsibilities 

  • Lead, grow and develop the digital archiving teams at The National Archives, as part of our Senior Leadership team. 
  • Create and deliver the “disruptive digital archive” growing our capability to actively preserve all types of digital record. 
  • Position The National Archives at the forefront of digital preservation initiatives around the world, leading the way in the development of new archival practice. 
  • Accelerate our progress, embedding agile working practices and facilitating a wider digital culture change across The National Archives. 
  • Deliver continuous improvements to our capability, developing and delivering the changes necessary to provide an effective digital archive. 
  • Lead the development of strategies and approaches for actively managing a range of digital preservation risks in line with our Digital Strategy. 
  • Represent our digital archive to senior stakeholders and user groups, compiling and presenting information from diverse audience, user and service sources to project a compelling vision of the disruptive digital archive. 
  • Engage with technical experts, developer communities and industry to define, develop and deliver the best platform to realise the objectives of the Digital Strategy and Archives Inspire. 

Person specification 

Essential: 
  • Deep interest, understanding and excitement for the challenges of digital archiving. 
  • Credible leader, able to inspire and motivate others, in your team and beyond. 
  • Strong academic background with a degree level qualification or equivalent experience in a computer science and/or archival science related discipline. 
  • Excellent organisational skills, able to prioritise objectives, team workloads and resource allocation. 
  • Strong administrative skills, able to take the accountability, management and reporting responsibilities of leading in the public sector, in your stride. 
  • Proven credibility at a senior level with demonstrable experience of relationship development. 
  • Excellent oral and written communication skills, with the presence and confidence to represent The National Archives nationally and internationally. 
  • Excellent stakeholder engagement and networking skills, able to interact and build relationships and networks with a range of audiences, internally and externally. 
  • Strong negotiation and interpersonal skills, with the confidence and ability to manage with firmness, sensitivity and diplomacy. 
Desirable: 
  • Experience as a digital leader ideally in a government or public sector context. 
  • Experience of digital preservation or digital archiving technologies and methods. 
  • Track record of applying archival science or record keeping theory concepts in practice. 
  • The successful candidate will be required to obtain SC level clearance and will need to have resided in the UK for the past 5 years or more.

Click for more information and to apply

  • Reference number - 1528230
  • Grade - 6
  • Contract type - Permanent
  • Business area - Digital: Digital Preservation
  • Type of role - Digital
  • Working pattern - Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time, Job share
  • Hours - 36
  • Number of posts - 1