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: £33,784 per annum
Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment for 12 months
Band: E / Higher Executive Officer
Closing date: Wednesday 1st July at midnight
We are the official archive for the UK government, and for England and Wales. From the Domesday book to cabinet ministers’ tweets, The National Archives catalogue, conserve and safe-guard our public records for everybody.
But, we are not just about the records. We are also about the people in them. The events they document, the stories they capture. As Interpretation Developer it is your job to tell these stories, to make meaningful connections between our audiences and our collection.
You will do this by developing and delivering high quality interpretation projects, working collaboratively with a variety of designers and specialists crafting visitor experiences across traditional and innovative formats.
Our goal is to change the way people think about Archives.
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.
Application Process
• Interview: Interviews will be held on-site in July 2026. Candidates invited to interview will be asked to prepare a presentation.
• Personal Statement: We ask all applicants to submit work history details and a personal statement of about 750 words, addressing the following 3 criteria:
- Experience of working within exhibitions or interpretation in a cultural, commercial or visitor attraction setting and an understanding of the changes occurring within these;
- Experience of working with a variety of audiences needs crafting engagement experiences that exceed their expectations;
- Experience of planning, coordinating and delivering high-profile initiatives for diverse audiences within the cultural heritage sector;
Selection for interview will be based on these essential requirements so please ensure that your application demonstrates in detail how you meet these requirements.
The full list of essential criteria will be assessed at interview stage.
Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please visit the Civil Service Careers website where you can find further information on the use of AI in the application guidance section.
Sponsorship:
We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.
Job Description
Role and Responsibilities
- To work with the Exhibition & Interpretation Manager developing and delivering innovative visitor experiences across our audience segments
- To be an audience champion and passionate storyteller; developing our public offer to be welcoming, entertaining, at times challenging and always engaging.
- To work creatively with our collection and expert teams (internal and external) to discover and unlock stories that extend our audience reach and deepen their engagement with us.
- To underpin these stories with sound Interpretative planning keeping a good grasp on the project controls (such as budget, deadlines, risk) reporting back as needed, always delivering work on time and on budget.
- To seek out and support collaborative opportunities with fellow cultural organisations, developing our projects in line with organisational ambition
- To be a project researcher, writer and editor; working with our expert teams to craft concise copy for interpretation schemes and other channels as required
- To be a flexible and willing team member supporting fellow teams across the Public Engagement Directorate (such as Education, Events and Venue Management) in a range of activities that requires working beyond standard office hours e.g. weekends and evening work
- Able to travel within the UK, deliver or attend meetings and events outside normal office hours
- To be collaborative, creative and enjoy multiple problem-solving and being part of multidisciplinary teams
- To think big, to be bold, to have the courage to take risks and try new things.
Working Conditions
- Normal office environment
- Display Screen Equipment user
Person Specification
Essential:
- Experience of working within exhibitions or interpretation in a cultural, commercial or visitor attraction setting and an understanding of the changes occurring within these;
- Experience of working with a variety of audiences needs crafting engagement experiences that exceed their expectations;
- Experience of planning, coordinating and delivering high-profile initiatives for diverse audiences within the cultural heritage sector;
- To be flexible and supportive, able to cope with change as the demands of the project develop;
- Excellent interpersonal skills building positive relationships comfortable working as a member of a multidisciplinary team and working independently;
- A confident writer, able to communicate complex ideas in simple terms for a variety of audiences;
- Understanding of digital content to blend on and off-site experiences;
- Have a passion for creating amazing experiences for visitors, to enjoy creative problem solving and crafting collection based experiences on and off site. Be able to think clearly and deliver a little of the unexpected!
Desirable:
- Knowledge of the archive sector
- Experience working with audience segmentation models
- Experience of creating visitor experiences beyond traditional exhibition formats
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 22 days per calendar year (rising to 25 after the first year, 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)
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 careers@nationalarchives.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 the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
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:
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: careers@nationalarchives.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)
