Heritage Project Researcher

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Salary: 
£16,000 (gross) subject to experience
Application Deadline: 
10 October 2018

Serendipity are looking to recruit a researcher to work on a new project supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund and Leicester City Council. The project Archiving the Past: Reflecting the Future, aims to celebrate and record the achievements and contributions of the African and African Caribbean community to the cultural heritage of the East Midlands, cumulating in an exhibition, oral history, physical archive, and film.

The position requires research across a vast array of areas, from research, digital inputting, setting up workshops to gather archive materials, one to one oral histories, curating exhibitions of materials.

A keen interest in the arts and cultural heritage, with particular reference to diversity in the arts, and the recognition of the history and heritage Britain’s African and African Caribbean communities is essential, alongside a good knowledge of archival research, cataloguing.

This position will require some evening and weekend work to meet the needs of the project.

Job description:

  • To build relationships with Leicester’s communities and local archives, to research and obtain materials to the project brief, taking into account content, budget and schedule.
  • To organise and catalogue materials collected and details associated information and their use (i.e. owner, copyright restrictions, third party licenses, cost implications, caption information etc.) and support the digitisation of the materials.
  • To keep clear and detailed records of any and all agreements made by you relating to materials collected, and compile accurate credits according to requirements, and wherever possible ensuring full courtesy to all contributors.
  • To ensure safe and secure storage of all materials collected or held and advise on value or safe storage of material passed to others for the purpose of the project, and ensure the safe and timely return of any hard copy material not selected for archiving in order to minimise the possibility of loss.
  • To clear reproduction rights for the use of all materials for the project and to make know any problems before project is committed to publication and exhibition, and advise on which material can be used for publicity, and what restrictions may apply.
  • To support the Serendipity team with administrative tasks associated with this project, and closely associated projects.
  • Establishing regional partnerships with organisations in Leicester, Nottingham, Northampton and Derby.

 

Skills and experience:

  • Experience in archival research, cataloguing and documenting materials.
  • Experience working with picture agencies, photographers, museums, art galleries, designers and members of the public.
  • Good understanding of image and material legal restrictions, licensing and permissions
  • Excellent administrative, communication and organisational skills
  • Able to work on your own initiative and in a team when required to do so
  • Proficient in Photoshop and Microsoft Office