Project Archivist Cheltenham, England
Job description
Mulberry Bush Project Archivist
Location: The Mulberry Bush Third Space, Gloucestershire, GL54 5DQ
Salary: £30,233 pa
Holiday: 25 days plus Bank Holidays
Job type: Fixed term contract for 18 months
Hours of work: 40 hrs per week (including paid lunch break)
Reports to: Senior Archivist
Benefits:
Employer contribution pension
High level of support and supervision
Staff Wellbeing Scheme
Discounted Better Leisure Membership
Background:
The Mulberry Bush is a therapeutic community, registered as a children’s home and a non-maintained residential special school. It was founded more than seventy years ago and, since then, we have established an outstanding reputation for transforming the lives of all those affected by childhood trauma. Our belief is that we offer something special and we hope that you will want to become an integral part of it.
It’s vital that the children placed in our care experience a diverse community with a range of role models and a rich cultural mix. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds and communities and we’d love you to join us as part of the Research and Archives team.
In December 2018 The Mulberry Bush took over the running of The Planned Environment Therapy Archives and Special Collections; over 500 collections, alongside the School’s own archive, focussing on the history of therapeutic communities and progressive education. We would love to make the most of our archive and learn from it to inform current practice within the School.
As the Mulberry Bush Project Archivist, you will use your excellent attention to detail to catalogue The Mulberry Bush Archive to international standards of archival description. You will be a valued member of the team based at the Planned Environment Therapy Archives and Special Collections at the charity’s Gloucestershire site.
Project:
The Mulberry Bush Archive(c.1945 - c.2019) is a partially catalogued, hybrid collection comprising over 400 boxes of physical material (paper, audio-visual, photographic). The project aims to complete the catalogue and improve the storage of children’s care files dating back to 1945, artwork, log books, incident books, marketing material, financial records, photographs, committee minutes and many other different record types. In addition to this there is a large collection of digital photographs. Working in collaboration with the children's key workers and teachers you will use your passion for the School’s history to engage them with the project.
Candidate:
Given the nature of the archival material, we are looking for someone who is comfortable cataloguing records relating to challenging subjects around child protection and safeguarding. A catalogued collection will allow us to retrieve childrens’ files quickly and confidently in-line with UK Data Protection legislation and is a vital element of this project.
Put simply, we are looking for an archivist who has the energy for physically demanding work, a willingness to understand therapeutic communityprinciples, works accurately within deadlines and is willing to occasionally work in a school setting. We are also looking for someone with the patience and understanding needed to work in a trauma-informed approach to archives. We take the viewpoint that the cataloguing experience required for the role is secondary to personal qualities, as training will be given at every stage of the project. At present we regret that we are unable to offer a fully accessible workspace owing to the building in which the collection is housed; the role requires the use of stairs and heavy lifting.
In return we offer a stunning rural workplace with peaceful outside grounds and a friendly, supportive workforce. Please take advantage of our pre-application open days by booking an appointment.
Application Process:
To be considered for the role all applicants are required to complete our standard application form. Application forms are available for download from our website: www.mulberrybush.org.uk/jobs/or from Lucy Lowe, HR Administrator, Tel: 01865 300202. Once completed, an application form should be emailed to Lucy (please note that CV’s cannot be accepted as an alternative). Lucy will also be able to answer any questions you may have as well as provide any further information required.
Deadline for applications: Sun 26th March 2023
Interview date: Mon 17th April 2023
Open days: Wed 8th and Thu 9th March 2023, by appointment only
The Mulberry Bush School is an equal opportunities employer and committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. Applicants must be able to provide evidence of having the right to live and work in the UK and be prepared to undertake a criminal background check by the DBS.
Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 18 months
Salary: £30,233.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- Company pension
- Cycle to work scheme
- Free parking
- Gym membership
- On-site parking
- Sick pay
- Wellness programme
Schedule:
- Monday to Friday
Work Location: One location
Application deadline: 26/03/2023
Expected start date: 01/06/2023
