Head of Preventive Conservation and Operations

Job summary

The National Archives' Collection Care Department has a strong and growing reputation for its outstanding expertise in caring of archival collections. Our collection is one of the largest and most important archival collections in the world, with more than 220 shelf kilometres of paper, parchment, photographs, textiles and other materials.

The long-term preservation of our collection provides unique challenges, as we are balancing the needs of the materials against demands for access and sustainability. We are looking for a highly motivated, very experienced, well respected, and creative expert to build on the success of recent years and to further develop The National Archives' preservation and operations agenda. You will leverage the existing expertise within the department, drive innovation and bring new perspectives to approaching the long-term preservation of our entire collection.

Working in tandem with our Heritage Science Conservation Research, Conservation for Imaging, Conservation and Treatment Development, and Engagement teams, as well as relevant departments across the organisation, you will constantly benchmark our preservation practice against national and international standards and best practice. You will use your deep understanding of value and risk assessment, material deterioration, and data modelling to inform our approach to managing our repositories and access to our collection. You will work closely with peers around the world to find ever new and innovative solutions to our complex preservation challenges and you will expand our professional network to the benefit of the team's professional development and that of our collection. Your commitment to operating sustainably will help us to meet our ambitious sustainability targets for our site, and you and your team will effectively support all of Collection Care’s operations.

A highly effective communicator, you will lead on The National Archives' approach to the long-term preservation of our physical collection, support our exhibition and public engagement agenda, provide leadership for the sector, and will push our publication output and presence at international conferences. Responsible for managing teams supporting the delivery of on-going preservation programmes and Collection Care operations, you will define priorities, manage risks, and will align our approach to preservation with The National Archives' strategic plan.

As Head of Preventive Conservation and Operations you will form part of Collection Care's Senior Management team, and you will assume strong leadership in the development and delivery of key strategic initiatives for the whole department in line with current and future objectives of The National Archives.

Job description

Full job description attached (see below).

Person specification

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 Kew in February 2026. Candidates invited for interview will be asked to prepare a presentation, and will attend a peer panel as part of the assessment process.

• Personal Statement: We ask all applicants to submit work history details and a personal statement, not exceeding 1200 words.

Selection for interview will be based on the ‘essential’ requirements in the job description so please ensure that your statement demonstrates in detail how you meet these requirements.

Essential criteria:

• Post-graduate preservation, collection management, conservation, or heritage science qualification. Expert knowledge and extensive experience of preservation in a recognized capacity.
• Strong intellectual capacity and technical skills to engage preservation experts and scientists within and outside your own specialist field alongside high analytical skills to effectively analyse and evaluate preservation strategies.
• Very strong problem-solving skills and creativity to address the most complex preservation problems and to develop innovative solutions whilst exploring new technological methods.
• Demonstrably strong ability to develop, manage and deliver high level preservation projects and to explore unchartered territory.
• Very strong networking, collaboration and negotiation skills, with the ability to build strong links with senior staff at The National Archives and with university departments and the public alike.
• Sound judgement, critical thinking and decisiveness as well as a deep understanding of risk and value assessment to drive The National Archives' long-term preservation approach.
• Extensive management skills and the ability to prioritise projects relating to their wider impact and to balance competing claims for resources.
• Excellent communication skills both written and oral and for different audiences and a track record of peer reviewed publications and presentations at international level.

Desirable criteria:

• Experience of teaching and mentoring.
• Experience of academic and/ or scientific research.
• Experience with the media

Sponsorship:

We may be able to offer sponsorship for this role. Please contact us with any questions using the contact details at the bottom of this page.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £52,130, The National Archives contributes £15,102 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.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.

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;

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

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 see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

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 careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
• Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page 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 undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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 a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a 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 a 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.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : The Talent Acquisition Team
• Email : careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk
• Telephone : 02039855979

Recruitment team

• Email : careers@nationalarchives.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: 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 http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

nationalarchives.gov.uk

Attachments

Head of Preventive Conservation and Operations Job Description Opens in new window (docx, 39kB)