Project Conservator - Working for Essex

About the role

Project Conservator

Fixed Term, Part Time

Up to £32,728 per annum FTE- pay award pending

Location: Chelmsford

Closing Date: 2nd April 2023

Please note this role is being offered on a 10 month fixed-term contract or secondment basis.

The working hours for this position will be 14.8 hours per week. The pro rata salary will therefore be up to £13,091.20 per annum. Working patterns can be discussed at interview stage.

Established in 1938, the Essex Record Office cares for documents, maps, images and sound and video recordings that together tell the stories of over 1,000 years of Essex history. Our holdings, which include parish registers, diaries, letters, court records, wartime records, manorial records and school records, take up nearly 8 miles of shelving, making us one of the largest county archives in England. We are also home to the Essex Sound and Video Archive which includes over 30,000 recordings.

The Project Conservator at Essex Record Office in Chelmsford will carry out project conservation and repairs in the conservation studio at Essex Record Office as a fixed-term post for ten months for 14.8 hours per week. The Project Conservator will deliver professional conservation services at Essex Record Office as part of The Wellcome Trust funded project “The New Jerusalems: post-war New Town archives in Britain and Ireland”. The appointee will conserve and repair the master plans of Basildon Development Corporation. The project requires the plans to be cleaned, flattened, repaired and re-housed to achieve a lasting outcome for local and national research. The conservation studio at Essex Record Office is spacious, well-equipped and provides facilities and equipment required to treat large plans.

Accountabilities

· Accountable for hands-on conservation repair of documents within project collections, including risk assessments, using relevant technologies and equipment in accordance with standards including COSHH

· Manage required purchases of material and/or equipment for the project collection in conjunction with the Senior Conservator

· Manage appropriate documentation, producing accurate condition assessments and treatment reports, and/or photographic reports and timesheets

· Liaise with Harwell Document Restoration Services and the Archive & Collections Lead should critical or at-risk records within the project collection be identified

· Attend and contribute to the preparation of ERO exhibitions which promote the project collection or related outcomes.

Skills, knowledge and experience

· A professional qualification in Conservation recognised by Icon or by the Archives and Records Association (ARA), or equivalent remedial conservation experience

· Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in archival conservation

· Experience working on paper-based documents preferably within the archive sector

· Interpersonal skills, including being flexible, enthusiastic and adaptable in attitude

· Skills in IT including MS Office suite of programmes and electronic databases

· Ability to build strong working relationships, both internal and external, which are collaborative in nature and engender delivery

· Evidence of delivering excellent customer service

To read more about us please visit: Climate, Environment and Customer Services

Why Essex? Essex County Council has a location to be proud of. Our 1,300 square miles stretch from Constable Country to the Thames Estuary, from the dynamic M11 corridor to the traditional seaside resorts of Clacton and Walton. England’s oldest town, Colchester, and two of its newest – Basildon and Harlow – are right here. Along with the City of Chelmsford, the county town, they form our major population centres. It means real choice and makes Essex the ideal place for your career. Read more about us here.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.

We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

What you should do next

If you are interested in finding out more about this role, we would love to hear from you. Please apply via the Working for Essex website.

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community here .

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk , or for an informal discussion contact Diane Taylor, Senior Conservator, on 03330 132132.

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