Senior Archives Assistant - BBC Written Archives Centre

Job description

BBC Archives Department forms part of the BBC Engineering Division within BBC Finance & Operations. It is comprised of approx 400 staff across London, Caversham and the English regions. BBC Archives’ role is to provide to the BBC a diverse range of media asset management services which support the programme making process and which ensure that our valuable content including; television programmes, radio programmes, online content, records and photographs (‘media assets’), are stored and made accessible for research, re-use and heritage purposes.

The BBC has accumulated one of the largest multi-media archives in the world and has created a programme catalogue providing a rich source of metadata upon which the BBC has relied for decades. The Written Archives Centre, which holds the BBC’s written archives from 1922-2000s, deals with queries and research for programmes and other areas and for academic researchers.

The Written Archives team are recruiting for 2 posts of which one will be for twelve months and the other one for six months. The roles are based in Caversham.

Role Responsibility

As Senior Archives Assistant you will be responsible for handling internal requests which will include working on enquiries for contracts, scripts and programme information; retrieving, issuing & shelving materials; accessioning new deposits and some routine preservation tasks. Working within a team, you will assess incoming requests and prioritise appropriately. Additionally, you will provide the full range of clerical, administrative and conservation support at the Written Archives Centre.

The Ideal Candidate

Ideally you will have relevant experience within archives and have informed knowledge of archive or library processes and a proven interest in broadcasting. Additionally, you will have excellent IT skills including Microsoft packages plus a good knowledge of electronic archive systems and cataloguing formats. With strong customer service skills, you will be able to work effectively under pressure; maintaining accuracy whilst meeting tight deadlines.

Package Description

Grade 3

1 x 12 month role

1 x 6 month role

Interviews anticipated to run 14 and/or 16 December

About the Company

We don’t focus simply on what we do – we also care how we do it. Our values and the way we behave are very important to us. Please make sure you’ve read about our values and behaviours in the document attached below. You’ll be asked questions relating to them as part of your application for this role.