Staffordshire Archives and Heritage are looking for a community engagement specialist to take a key role in our audience development and engagement projects. 

This is an exciting time for the Archives and Heritage Service which has recently opened the Staffordshire History Centre in Stafford, an £8.7m project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Staffordshire County Council and other funders. This new venue is the home of the service and showcases our collections through our exhibition space as well as providing a dedicated research room, events, and learning sessions. 

This role will be based at the History Centre as well as working on outreach projects across the county. Flexible working is available in this role and some evening and weekend working will be required.

This role is fixed term for 12 months.

Main Responsibilities
As a key member of the history centre team you'll:

be the lead for targeted audience development projects in our history centre activity plan including working with diverse and new audiencessupport the smooth running of stakeholder groups including a virtual access forum and a critical friends groupreview, develop and run adult learning courses and related eventscontribute to sector support through the development of the Staffordshire History NetworkYou will also work as part of the engagement team to create and deliver an inclusive and welcoming experience for our visitors to the history centre and history access points. 

The Ideal Candidate
You will have:

a relevant degree or equivalent demonstrable experienceexperience of working or volunteering in an archive or museum and a passion for history and heritageexperience of working with community groups and consulting with audiencesexcellent communication skills and the ability to work confidently with a range of diverse audiencesMost importantly we are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic individual who can work effectively with diverse audiences to deliver the activity plan targeted projects. 

“We’re happy to talk flexible working” 

Interviews will be held week starting 7 April 2025. 

Don’t feel you meet all the requirements? We value transferable skills, experiences, and qualifications so consider applying anyway or for an informal chat about the role please contact Sarah English Engagement and Access Manager Sarah.English@staffordshire.gov.uk or Helen Johnson  Community Engagement & Partnerships Officer Helen.Johnson@staffordshire.gov.uk 

Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role.

About Staffordshire County Council
We are no ordinary county council:

Our Values:

The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.

Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:

We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.

We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too. 

Our benefits:

We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance. 

In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire

Our recruitment process:

As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities

As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post. 

As you’ll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.