As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is already a special place to work. We’re an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history. But it’s where we go next that makes things really interesting. In our strategic vision: Archives for Everyone, we set ourselves the challenge of becoming the 21st Century national archive - a different kind of cultural and heritage institution: Inclusive, Entrepreneurial, Disruptive. We won’t become this overnight. It will take time, focus, effort and daring. That’s where you come in. Because we can’t do this without you. Job Overview Salary: £52,000 - £57,000 per annum excellent benefits Contract type: Permanent Band: G / Grade 7 Closing date: Wednesday 18th September at midnight About us: Archives matter. Without records, we could not hold government to account, carry out pioneering research or learn from the past. Whether they are websites, the evidence heard by inquiries or the algorithms which support official decision-making, preserving our digital public records is vital. The National Archives is the archive of UK Government and the courts and one of the world’s leading digital archives. We preserve and provide access to the UK’s public records. Our strategy sets out our ambition to be an inclusive, entrepreneurial and disruptive archive. We have operated as a digital archive for over 20 years. Our technical platform includes innovative new services running alongside systems that are approaching retirement. We are seeking a talented individual to strengthen our team as our next generation of digital archiving services become operational. About the role: In this role, you will contribute to our work to ensure that today’s digital public records survive for the benefit of future generations of citizens, researchers, policy makers and historians. Working across the Digital Archiving Department, you will support the development and implementation of the department’s target operating model, which includes aligning services and shaping the future of our digital teams. Our team has grown significantly over the last three years as we’ve developed from a long-established Digital Preservation team to a department that now delivers services for Selection and Transfer of digital public records, Access to digital records for diverse audiences and Digital Preservation for future generations. This role will support a corresponding transformation in our operating environment, focusing on structure, processes, roles and culture as our services mature and new initiatives take shape. An element of the role will be to provide operational leadership, including helping us improve our risk and issue management, define and monitor service availability and performance standards, plan and implement business continuity and disaster recovery measures, as well as building our capability through recruitment and ensuring access to the right learning and development opportunities. About you: You are a confident leader with a desire to do what’s right to deliver meaningful change through aligning teams and working practices with evolving business needs. You are an enthusiastic and positive individual who builds effective, trust based working relationships and prioritises staff welfare. Your strong communication skills enable you to influence and negotiate to bring about and embed change. You have the ability to solve problems across disciplines or functions and are motivated to continuously improve our operations. You have a proven track record of delivering results and the confidence to collaborate with, lead and inspire an expert team. Join us here in beautiful Kew, just 10 minutes’ walk from the Overground and Underground stations, and you can expect an excellent range of benefits. These include a generous pension (worth up to 29% of your salary), hybrid working arrangements, discounts with local businesses (e.g. beauty salons and bars), entrance to selected national museums and galleries; and wellbeing resources (e.g. on-site therapists, on-site gym). We offer an on-site restaurant, shop and staff bar. This is a full time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department. A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time. How to apply: To submit your application please click the 'Apply' button on this page. You will be asked to provide details of your work experience and write a personal statement. In your personal statement please explain, using examples, how you meet the essential criteria in the person specification below. You may draw on knowledge, skills, abilities, experience gained from paid work, domestic responsibilities, education, leisure interests and voluntary activities. Please note selection for interview will largely be based on the information you provide in this section. SC-level Security Clearance or willingness to obtain SC clearance is mandatory for this role and requires that you have lived in the UK for the last 3 years. The length of required residency may depend on individual circumstances. Job Description Job Purpose Archives are the homes for our collective memories, past and future. The National Archives is the archive of UK government and one of the world’s leading digital archives. Our vision is to become an inclusive, entrepreneurial, and disruptive archive that harnesses emerging technology to reaffirm and transform our historic mission for the digital age. We are looking for an experienced operations manager with strong change management skills and experience of organisational design to join the leadership team in our Digital Archiving department. This role offers a unique opportunity to be part of our ambitious mission to deliver high quality, user-centred digital services that ensure the digital public record thrives and survives. Your work will be pivotal to our success. Our team is c50 people, plus contractors, partners and suppliers. Our team has grown significantly in recent years as our remit has expanded to include new services for digital transfer and access to digital records, alongside a long-established digital preservation function. This role will support a corresponding transformation in our operating environment, focusing on structure, processes, roles and culture as our services mature and new initiatives take shape. A key element of the role will be to provide operational leadership across multiple services, including helping us define and monitor service availability and performance standards; plan and implement business continuity and disaster recovery measures; understand risks and resolve issues; and improve cross-service coordination and visibility. You will support the Head of Department to build a positive, engaged working culture within the team and build our capability through recruitment and ensuring access to the right learning and development opportunities. There will be line management responsibility for team members from different disciplines and you will share your expertise to coach and support less experienced line managers. Working with other senior leaders across the directorate, you’ll contribute to shaping the future of our digital teams. You will ensure that we’ve got the right resources allocated to the right services at the right time to help us drive forward an ambitious programme of work. We’re looking for a self-driven individual with a positive outlook who would thrive in a busy and varied role. You will be a people person who really enjoys helping others see their potential and encouraging them to achieve the best they can. Role and Responsibilities Operations management Support the Head of Department in the day-to-day management of the department, ensuring the highest standards of integrity, accountability and compliance. Work with Service Owners within the department and more widely to develop and implement a structured approach with a focus on excellence in operational service delivery. Define and implement consistent standards for service performance, customer service, communication, responsiveness, service monitoring and reporting. Convene and run a regular operations forum to maintain good cross-service visibility of operational work and to identify and discuss issues with potential impact across teams and services. Work with the Head of Department to develop new policy where required. Liaise with key internal stakeholders (IT Operations, Estates, Finance, Procurement, HR, other digital teams) to maintain a high awareness of issues that that impact the team. Communicate effectively to help others understand our needs and to help our teams navigate internal processes. Act as the key point of contact with our IT operations department to ensure staff have the tools and systems needed to support effective performance in their roles, balancing team and individual needs with organisational policy, cost and consistency of approach. Work collaboratively to resolve blockers to progress. Act as the business owner for shared tools and resources. Scope, procure and manage shared resources, including collaboration tools, diagramming tools, version control tools. Ensure that these deliver good value for money. Business change and Organisational design Work with the Head of Department to define our operating model. Review and monitor the structure and resourcing of the department and recommend changes to maintain good alignment of organisational structure with the department’s evolving priorities. Look for opportunities to improve processes and ways of working. Lead the team through change. Champion new initiatives and promote more effective ways of working by leading and motivating others in the organisation. Make effective and influential decisions regarding change, including aligning vision and priorities across service owners and other senior staff. Persuade, influence and negotiate effectively at a senior level. Apply a creative and curious mind-set to deliver effective and innovative solutions. Facilitate thinking and discussion to enable collaboration (internal and external) and promote good working practices. People and resource Lead by example to build and maintain a positive, engaged and supportive team culture. Manage the department’s learning and development plan. Ensure staff are aware of opportunities for development and take these up appropriately. Manage the department’s conference and travel budgets, which are in high demand, allocating funds transparently in line with business need and creating opportunities for collaboration and staff development. Lead on recruitment within the department and occasionally across the directorate, managing the progress of recruitment campaigns, creating or revising job descriptions and adverts and guiding others through the recruitment process. Line-manage team members as required. Coach less experienced line managers to embed confident, supportive line management across the department. Risk and issue management Take ownership of plans for business continuity and disaster recovery, working with Service Owners to ensure that plans are put in place and appropriate practical measures developed and tested. Act as the Department’s point of contact for Health and Safety. Contribute to assessments and work with the team to implement required improvements to working practices and environments. Work across services to ensure high coordination and a consistent approach to systems security. Collaborate with technical colleagues and engage external expertise to provide assurance that security practices are appropriate and effective. Make recommendations for security improvements where necessary. Manage the departmental risk and issue register, working with the Head of Department, Service Owners and other key staff to ensure the register is managed as a working document to manage risk to delivery of the department’s services and business priorities. Take ownership of cross-departmental issues and steer these through to resolution. Working Conditions Normal office environment Display Screen Equipment user Person Specification Essential Experience of running a high-quality, professional and responsive service for a diverse user base with a commitment to supporting our teams to operate excellent digital archiving services for our users. Outstanding interpersonal skills and a positive outlook, with the ability to build effective, trust-based working relationships with colleagues, suppliers, partners and stakeholders. Highly reliable with excellent organisational and facilitation skills. Able to prioritise a complex workload and manage delivery of multiple competing tasks and requirements to agreed quality and timeframes. An experienced and approachable manager with proven ability in line management, coaching, mentoring and developing staff and with a strong commitment to staff wellbeing. Ability to successfully initiate, influence and manage change to develop and nurture high performing teams, with experience of project and change management. A demonstrable ability to learn and a commitment develop expertise in policy areas that will support the work of the archive. For example: Public sector recruitment, including developing and running an apprenticeship programme Good practice in information security and data handling Procurement exercises and contract management for digital or technology services Budget management, financial planning and reporting Desirable A good knowledge of the principles and practice of digital archiving, gained in a leadership role in a digital archive or information service Experience of developing business cases to advocate for change and secure funding The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service D&I Strategy. Benefits Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted rates at our on-site cafe and opportunities for training and development. Annual leave entitlement of 25 days per calendar year (rising to 26 days after 2 year’s service, and incrementally to 30 days after six years) and 10½ days public and privilege holidays per annum. Any move to The National Archives from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk ; (opens in new window) Selection process details Reasonable adjustments If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact The National Archives via careersnationalarchives.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs Complete the ‘Reasonable Adjustments’ section of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks. (opens in new window) Nationality requirements This job is broadly open to the following groups: UK nationals nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in new window) relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals Further information on nationality requirements (opens in new window) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. (opens in new window) The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. (opens in new window) Contact point for applicants Name: The National Archives Recruitment Team Email: careersnationalarchives.gov.uk Further information If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact The National Archives via email: careersnationalarchives.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints/ (opens in new window)