Freelance archivist required

SPAN: A Hands-On History Project is a participatory research project that involves members of the public in researching and writing history. It is a collaboration between Barton Hill Settlement, the Feminist Archive South, and the University of Bristol, and is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Single Parent Action Network (SPAN) was formed in the 1990s by a group of Bristol women who wanted make life better for single parents. SPAN’s activities included a national and international network, adult education, research, local service provision, community organising and political lobbying. This multi-faceted history is an important example of women’s, black, and working-class activism, and the evolution of the voluntary and community sector in the 1990s and 2000s.

As part of the project we wish to preserve the SPAN archive, a substantial collection of printed material, photographs, and organisational records. We are looking for a qualified archivist to sort and catalogue this archive, in preparation for its donation to the Feminist Archive South, which sits in the University of Bristol’s Special Collections.

The job will involve:

  • Cataloguing and preparing the archive for incorporation in the Feminist Archive South
  • Running 1-2 workshops with the project participants on the archive and the process of archiving
  • Liaising with the research team, the project management board, Special Collections, and the trustees of the Feminist Archive South on the archive’s terms of use
  • Providing updates to the Principal Investigator.

The successful candidate will have:

  • An archive qualification
  • Current knowledge of issues relating to sensitive records, including knowledge on data protection issues and GDPR
  • Excellent project management skills, and an ability to complete a survey of the archive in the available time
  • People skills, dealing with volunteers, the project team, Feminist Archive South Trustees, Special Collections archivists
  • Appropriate IT skills
  • Knowledge of University of Bristol Special Collections’ online archive cataloguing system (CALM)
  • An understanding of the issues around ethnicity, gender and class raised by this material

We are seeking somebody to carry out this work on a freelance basis. We have allowed for 35 days’ work, at a day rate of £200 per day.

Interested candidates should submit a 2 page proposal detailing their suitability for the role, and how they would go about this task.  The deadline for proposals is 5pm on Monday September 2, and they should be emailed to Nicole.Andrieu@bristol.ac.uk.  Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed on the afternoon of September 18th.

Informal enquiries in advance of a full application are very welcome. Please contact Josie McLellan on Josie.McLellan@bristol.ac.uk