Volunteer Archivist

Founded in England in 1891, the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) is the oldest and largest drowning prevention charity.  Governed by Royal Charter and accredited to the Commonwealth, we have an impressive heritage which we are working to preserve and promote to our members and the wider world. 

We want to engage a voluntary Archivist, details of which are included below.

 Overview 

The RLSS archive, much of which has been professionally digitised in recent years, is located at Commonwealth Headquarters in Worcester U.K. The Archivist will join the existing volunteer, lay pan-Commonwealth Heritage Committee which is responsible for the preservation and promotion of the archive.

RLSS has 31 autonomous members throughout the Commonwealth all of which have a history and some of which have their own archive. 

The Heritage Committee is guided by its Terms of Reference, a consultant’s report funded under The National Archives (TNA) Scoping Grant programme and the RLSS Heritage Strategy and Heritage Position Statement.

Position Holder is Accountable to: 

 The Chair of the RLSS Heritage Committee.

 Position Holder is Accountable for:  

• Providing input into the development and implementation of the RLSS Heritage Strategy.  
• Advising the Heritage Committee on appropriate steps to preserve, protect, identify, catalogue, fund, supplement, promote and share the archive.

• Reviewing drafts of project proposals, archive management workflows and digitisation procedures. 

• Contributing to the Heritage Committee which communicates primarily by email but may however participate in meetings by teleconference. 

• A time commitment of approximately two to three hours per quarter is anticipated. 

NOTES:  

1.  The advice given by the volunteer is opinion only and he/she is not held liable for any misapplication of that advice.
2. It is envisaged that the appointment will be for an initial term of two years.
3. If necessary, a modest budget could be available for relevant CPD training.

Qualifications and Competencies Required:  

*             Professional Archivist Designation, qualifications and experience 

*          Understanding of Collection Management Systems

*             Experience with Charities and/or Not for Profit Organisations 

*             Experience in the areas outlined in the Accountabilities Section (above)