Access Service Manager

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

London, London (region), TW9 4DU

About the job

Job summary

The overall purpose of the role is to manage the developing public service provision to provide and facilitate access to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Personnel record collection.

The full public service provision will take time to establish and in the interim the Access Service team has been set up to manage all access requests The National Archives (TNA) receives. Accordingly there will need to be flexibility to the approach in getting the work done and supporting your team/organisation to resolve the access requests received. 

The Manager of this service will be responsible both for ensuring we run an efficient and professional customer service, but also recommending and informing the main project team how the public service provision could be developed to ensure we are capable of meeting demand and facilitating the right level of access to these records. This will require understanding of the wider project and the potential opportunities for improving access – commercial digitisation.

This role will therefore need to develop knowledge of this collection, the type (FOI/DP) and volume of requests we receive and the needs of the customers/stakeholders – including commercial partners. Consequently an important part of this role will be to keep those involved with the MOD Personnel Project informed of the demands for this service and our performance in meeting these demands. As necessary you will be required to escalate issues around access and compliance to the Head of Information Rights.

This role will also involve line managing Access Case Officers and Access Service Advisors who are responsible for responding to requests for access, some of which may be of highly personal and of sensitive nature (medical information). You will provide leadership, direction, oversight and support to this team, providing advice and guidance on how to manage these requests and workloads.

As Manager, you will take responsibility for addressing any complaints (FOI internal reviews); liaising as necessary with the Complaints Manager & Head of Information Rights. This is required to ensure not just compliance, but to maintain a level of good customer service; safeguarding TNA’s reputation.

Job description

Full job description attached (see below).

Person specification

Managing a team working to tight deadlines, the role requires you to have good decision making and communication skills, as well as the ability motivate a new developing team, handling potentially heavy, sensitive and complex workloads.

We are looking for an individual who is an experienced Manager, capable of leading a team, providing an environment that fosters staff well-being with good prioritisation skills and confidence in your own judgement to meet the demands of this role.

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.

How to apply:

If you are an internal applicant: please do not use the link on this page. Please apply via your employee Workday account.

If you are an external applicant: to submit your application please click the ‘Apply at advertiser’s site’ button on this page.

You will be asked to provide details of your work experience and write a personal statement. In your personal statement please explain, using examples, how you meet the essential criteria given below. You may draw on knowledge, skills, abilities, experience gained from paid work, domestic responsibilities, education, leisure interests and voluntary activities. Please note selection for interview will largely be based on the information you provide in this section.

SC-level Security Clearance or willingness to obtain SC clearance is mandatory for this role and requires that you have lived in the UK for the last 3 years. The length of required residency may depend on individual circumstances.

Essential criteria:

• Experience of mentoring, motivating or managing staff who work under pressure to meet tight deadlines
• Ability to prioritise and balance managing own workload, deadlines, alongside providing support to a wider team 
• Excellent standard of communication, both written and verbal; evidence of highly developed drafting skills and ability to write persuasively, for different audiences
• Experience of negotiation; ability to influence decisions at a senior level, both internally and externally
• Confidence to use judgment and legal knowledge to make difficult decisions and defend them
• Demonstrable knowledge of information rights legislation, both law and practice especially knowledge of the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection
• Demonstrable experience of ICT skills including working with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel etc.)
• Degree in history or related subject, or significant relevant experience, demonstrating the ability to carry out research into records, analyse contents and summarise findings clearly and concisely

Desirable criteria:

• Qualification in information rights legislation
• Experience of managing staff in an operational or casework environment
• Experience of assessing information in accordance with Freedom of Information/Data Protection exemptions

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £38,322, The National Archives contributes £11,101 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;

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 Recruitment Team
• Email : [email protected]
• Telephone : 02039855979

Recruitment team

• Email : [email protected]

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: [email protected] 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-recruitment/complaints/

nationalarchives.gov.uk

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