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Archives Assistant (Document Retrieval and Customer Care)

The Archives and Heritage Service is managed by West Northamptonshire Council on behalf of West and North Northants Councils. It is based at Wootton Hall Park in Northampton. The service and its staff are responsible for looking after the archival history and heritage of the county of Northamptonshire and making it accessible to the public for education, learning and enjoyment.

The Archives Assistants are the frontline staff for the Archives Service. They are the first people that researchers meet if they visit the service to do family, local, house history or other studies. Therefore, good customer care and communication skills are vital for the role. The assistants also retrieve and return boxes and documents from/to the storage areas, and this does involve some heavy lifting. The Assistants deal with many of the email and other written enquiries. They therefore need to be skilled in communicating effectively with people of all ages and backgrounds in writing as well as in person. Other duties involve reboxing and repackaging documents and data inputting.

We provide an excellent service to our researchers and we are looking for someone who enjoys helping others and being part of a small but dedicated team.

The role is part-time, 31 hours per week, working Tuesday to Friday, with a requirement to work the first Saturday morning in each month.

The post holder is responsible for helping users when they visit the Archives Service in person, showing them the systems, and guiding them in how to access and use the indexes and catalogues. They are also responsible for going to retrieve any documents that researchers wish to consult and bringing them out to the public rooms. Therefore, regular lifting of sometimes heavy boxes is a core element of the role. The post holder also answers enquiries received via email, processes digital copying orders, and supports the work to make collections accessible through data inputting and listing or packaging of collections. The postholder will be one of a small team, able to communicate and work well as part of this team but also able to work on their own initiative.

As an estimate the post holder will spend approximately a third of their time carrying out customer service and/or reception duties; another third answering enquiries and related tasks; 25% of the time on documents production duties and the remainder doing data processing or archive packaging tasks. Document production entails locating the correct archive boxes and individual documents for researchers to use from the over 8 miles of shelves.

We are looking for a motivated individual who can join a small but close-knit team of people who are committed to customer service, archives and heritage. We need applications from those who are able to work on their own initiative and as well as part of a team, who are able to communicate well, are mobile and physically fit, and who meet the criteria in our person specification. Ideally you should have some experience of working in a customer service role, as well as having some knowledge and understanding of history or archives.

Therefore, in your application you should address the following:

• Customer service experience
• Communication skills, both written and verbal
• IT skills including Excel spreadsheets and interrogation of databases
• Team work experience
• Use of initiative
• Ability to manage lifting of sometimes heavy boxes over a period of time.
• Some knowledge of data protection and confidentiality
• Some interest in or knowledge of Northamptonshire’s history and heritage

Previous applicants to this role may apply if they feel that the lack of an advertised person specification led them to omit salient information.

We’re a new council, following one of the largest shake-ups in local government reform in recent history. As a new authority, we’re embarking on an exciting journey to deliver exceptional services for our residents, customers and communities.

Our vision at West Northamptonshire Council is ‘to make West Northants a great place to live, work, visit and thrive’. We truly stand by this and work hard every day to make this a reality. Our corporate values, THRIVE, stand for: Trust, High Performance, Respect, Innovate and Empower, they underpin everything we do and how we deliver services.

At West Northants Council, it’s about our people. People who thrive with ambition, bubble with new ideas, demand better ways of working, caring about every detail, and who never shy away from a challenge. Our culture is a gateway for new experiences. A place to forge new opportunities. To empower you in your career and unite you with like-minded people.

When potential is unlocked, talent thrives.

Choose a career that offers you a true sense of achievement, fills you with pride and challenges you in a positive way, every day.

West Northants Council, where careers thrive.

We offer a wide range of benefits to our employees, these include:

• Generous annual leave entitlement starting at 27 days annual leave per year, 28 days for senior managers (pro rata, depending on how many hours per week you work), plus bank holidays. An additional 5 days, linked to continuous service, and ability to purchase up to 6 weeks additional leave per year.
• Local Government Pension Scheme plus immediate life cover (3 times your annual salary from day one) and ill-health protection.
• Employee discounts with local and national retailers, days out, finance, health and beauty, travel and eating out plus lots more.
• Car Lease scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme - We have an employee support programme run by Health Assured, an independent, external organisation. Health Assured is available for you and your immediate family members, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and includes telephone counselling, legal advice, bereavement support and medical information.
• Ongoing training and development opportunities.
• A variety of flexible working options to support your work/life balance, including full or part time, term time, 9-day fortnight, etc. (subject to business needs).
• Our West Ways of Working – We want our workforce to thrive, and we equip our employees with the right technology to support hybrid and collaborative working, on or off site, depending on the role.
• Making a difference - If you want to use your skills and experience with an organisation that are genuinely invested in making a difference, are committed to improving people's lives, and whose success has a direct impact on the wellbeing of your family, friends and people in your local area, then West Northamptonshire Council is the place for you.

The council is in the process of implementing a new pay structure and terms and conditions which will be applicable to this role. The outcome could result in a future variation to the advertised salary, and this will be discussed at interview.