Archive and Digitisation Assistant

The University of Sheffield is a remarkable place to work. Our people are at the heart of everything we do. Their diverse backgrounds, abilities and beliefs make Sheffield a world-class university.

We offer a fantastic range of benefits including a highly competitive annual leave entitlement (with the ability to purchase more), a generous pensions scheme, flexible working opportunities, a commitment to your development and wellbeing, a wide range of retail discounts, and much more. Find out more about our benefits (opens in a new window) and join us to become part of something special.

The primary objective of this post is to make more of our collections accessible to a wider audience. This one-year post in the Special Collections, Heritage, and Archives team supports a project to develop a Digital Scholarship Suite and related services. The project has been enabled by a generous legacy gift left by Eric Pattison, an Alumnus of the School of English at the University of Sheffield.

The Archive and Digitisation Assistant will assist both the Digitisation Officer and Project Archivist in their work to enable greater access to our unique and distinctive collections. The successful candidate should have, or demonstrate the ability to develop, a range of archive and technical skills. The role might suit someone who wishes to gain more practical experience prior to undertaking a postgraduate qualification in archives management.

• Supporting the Project Archivist and Digitisation Officer
• Creation of basic metadata, transferring information from legacy finding aids to import spreadsheets
• Carrying out digitisation of a variety of formats, including creating essential descriptive and technical metadata
• Basic preservation work such as re-housing material into archival grade enclosures
• Uploading digital content and metadata to online catalogues and digital asset management systems following established procedures
• Preparing, sorting, and packaging material for outsourced digitisation and checking material that has been returned
• Assisting with the sorting and listing of uncatalogued collections
• Supervising the work of volunteers and student placements
• Other duties, commensurate with the grade and remit of the post

Our diverse community of staff and students recognises the unique abilities, backgrounds, and beliefs of all. We foster a culture where everyone feels they belong and is respected. Even if your past experience doesn't match perfectly with this role's criteria, your contribution is valuable, and we encourage you to apply. Please ensure that you reference the application criteria in the application statement when you apply.

• Enthusiasm for working with archive and library collections – Essential – Application/interview
• Paid or voluntary experience of working in a library and/or archives environment and familiarity with a library/archives collections management system. – Essential – Application/interview
• Basic knowledge of the principles of archival arrangement and description – Essential – Application/interview/task
• Awareness of the functionality of Digital Asset Management systems and the use of digital collections in education and research – Essential – Application/Interview
• Proven ability to work accurately and methodically, showing attention to detail. – Essential – Application/interview
• Capable of working effectively both unsupervised and collaboratively, applying effective prioritisation skills to manage workflows and meet deadlines. – Essential – Application/interview
• Ability to handle fragile material with due care of its preservation and security. – Essential – Application/interview
• Excellent IT skills. – Essential –…