Conservation Assistant

Introduction

The Archives and Special Collections has holdings of around 7 million manuscript items and 50,000 books in purpose-built accommodation in the Hartley Library at the University of Southampton. It is an Accredited Archive Service. The archival holdings are especially strong in political and military material for the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the archives of Anglo-Jewry represent one of the largest collections of such material in the UK. Other growing collection areas are those for maritime archaeology and the Basque child refugee archive.  

The role 

Would you like to play a key role in supporting care of our archives and special collections as part of our Special Collections team, providing practical support for a wide range of collections care activities?

If you are a creative, practical individual with a passion for history and heritage, who would like to join a small but busy Archives and Special Collections team, we would like to hear from you.

You will have worked within a museum, archive or other collections care context and it is desirable for you to have a qualification in a relevant practical discipline (e.g. fine art, arts and crafts, design craft). You will be able to demonstrate excellent manual dexterity and precision, strong communication skills both written and verbal, and a good eye for detail. You will need to be proactive with a flexible approach and have the ability to work with changing priorities during periods of pressured workload. You will thrive within a small, friendly team, and be open and enthusiastic about developing new skills.

The role is varied, but at its heart will be the care of rare and unique archival and printed material, which can involve collections housekeeping, construction of bespoke enclosures for archives and rare books, data gathering for environmental monitoring. You will also make a pivotal contribution to delivery of the department's exhibition and outreach programme. You will work under the guidance and supervision of the Archive's qualified conservator, who will provide specialist training to develop your skills in this area.

The hours of work for this 14-hours permanent part-time role will be by agreement with the successful candidate.

The University of Southampton is a signatory of the Technician Commitment and a partner affiliate of the National Technician Development Centre (NTDC).   We are committed to supporting our technical staff and offer a wide range of opportunities including networking, mentoring, training, professional registration and career development. We really value all our technical staff and recognise the broad range of skills they have in support of education, research and enterprise activities. By joining Southampton you will be part of a bigger technical community, offering support and guidance.

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