Job Description

Company Overview

The Holocaust Centre North is dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of the Holocaust through engaging exhibitions, educational programs, and a vibrant archive. We are committed to promoting understanding, remembrance, and human rights through our work.

Summary

Are you curious, thoughtful, and motivated by work that carries both historical significance and contemporary responsibility? Are you interested in pursuing a career in the heritage sector or developing skills in archives within an organisation shaped by care and ethics? If so, we have an exciting opportunity to join our team.

At Holocaust Centre North, our Archive is a living resource rooted in trust, relationships, and a sense of deep responsibility to the people and communities whose histories we care for. We are seeking a diligent, proactive and organised individual who is keen to develop their skills while contributing meaningfully to our work, and who is comfortable working both independently and as part of an interdisciplinary team.

The role will work closely with the Archivist and act as a key link between the Archive, the wider Holocaust Centre North team, and external users. You will facilitate clear, sensitive, and open communication between staff, volunteers, researchers, artists, and collection donors, and be key to providing access to a compelling and growing collection. You will support the preservation, cataloguing and digitisation of documentary evidence of the Holocaust.

This position is ideal for someone seeking practical experience before applying to a postgraduate course in archives, or for those exploring other pathways into the heritage and cultural sector, and who are motivated by work that combines historical rigour with care for people and their stories -- and how we carry them into the future.

The Holocaust Centre North Archive

At Holocaust Centre North, our work begins with archive collections. Through the care of personal papers containing items such as fragile objects, photographs, correspondence, travel documents and recorded testimonies, we tell the global history of the Holocaust through the local lives of Jewish survivors and refugees who rebuilt their lives in the North of England. These materials hold evidence not only of persecution and loss, but also of survival, resilience, and the complex work of beginning again.

Our permanent exhibition in Huddersfield is anchored in these collections and places individual stories within their wider historical context and offers visitors a concise, accurate, and carefully framed account of the Holocaust and its aftermath. It remains the only space in the North of England dedicated to doing so. Our archive took formal shape with the appointment of our first Archivist in 2021, building on years of trust established with families who placed their histories in our care. Systematic cataloguing began in 2022 and continues today. While significant progress has been made, much of the collection remains uncatalogued, making supported access a vital part of our collections practice.

We understand our archive as a living one. It continues to grow through ongoing donations and through active use by students and researchers at the University of Huddersfield, teachers and children, artists and writers participating in our Memorial Gestures residency programme, family members and descendants, social workers, policymakers, and the wider public. From the everyday to the extraordinary, each item is preserved with sensitivity, and made available for education, research, creative practice, and advocacy.

In March 2024 we published our first online catalogue, marking a major step in widening access to the collections. This expanded further in November 2025 with the launch of our collections browser, a free online resource that enables audiences to explore digitised items from the archive. Supporting and developing this resource is a shared organisational priority. Working closely with the Archivist and across the wider team, this role plays a key part in facilitating access to the collections, responding to enquiries, and enabling the Archivist to focus on cataloguing and long-term collections development.

and Person Specification

The Archive Officer will support the day-to-day management, preservation, and accessibility of Holocaust Centre North's archive collections. The role is central to ensuring that the collections are cared for to professional standards, are accessible to researchers and the public, and meet legal and ethical requirements.

The post holder will contribute to making the archive active and visible, supporting its use across learning activities, workshops, events, and public programmes. They will play a key role in supervising users working with the collections as well as sharing material with users. They will be responsible for environmental monitoring and light housekeeping of the collections and permanent exhibition.

Key Responsibilities

The Archive Officer will be responsible for the following areas:

Collections Management

Undertake physical preservation activities, including repackaging and identifying conservation priorities. Develop and maintain collections documentation, such as location guides and box lists. Support the cataloguing of collections to ISAD(G) standards, including data input into MODES. Manage routine backups of digital records within the archive. Undertake routine housekeeping and environmental monitoring of the collection spaces (archive, exhibition, reprographics suite), including pest checks and light cleaning. Ensure compliance with legislation (such as GDPR and copyright) by supporting the recording of access restrictions and rights in the collection. Input evaluation data about the collections, including recording feedback, enquiries, and usage statistics. Support digitisation activity at busy periods, including preparation of material, basic quality checks, and the creation and enhancement of metadata, including the use and development of controlled vocabularies.
Learning and Engagement

Support PR and marketing activity to promote the archive, for example by providing images with credits for press and by documenting press pieces about the collections. Create regular social media posts to highlight collection items or document the archive's development. Support colleagues to identify ways of embedding the collection in the schools Learning Programme and in enhancements to the exhibition.
Access and Research

Facilitate access to the collections for use by researchers, artists, and community partners. Create finding aids, such as subject guides, to increase collections accessibility. Share archive material remotely with users.
Volunteers and Placements

Monitor the progress of volunteers completing remote tasks, such as transcribing. Supervise University of Huddersfield undergraduate student placements and volunteers who are working with collections on-site. Check the quality and accuracy of work created by volunteers and placements.
General Duties

Carry out Front of House duties for one day a week and when needed to support the team, e.g., covering lunch breaks. Undertake any other duties consistent with the post that may be required.

Person Specification

Essential Skills and Experience

Excellent organisational and time management skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and prioritise effectively. Able to manage routine and repetitive tasks with high level of accuracy A collaborative and adaptable working style with a proactive, problem-solving attitude. Self-motivated and able to work independently as well as work closely as part of a small team Demonstrable experience working/volunteering in an archive, museum, or library setting, specifically with archive collections. Knowledge of archive principles and standards and best practice for collections care and preservation. Experience in environmental monitoring and basic physical preservation techniques (e.g., repackaging). Familiarity with relevant legislation, including GDPR and copyright, as it applies to archive collections. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with experience responding to researchers, colleagues, and external partners. Experience in creating content for social media and supporting marketing/PR activities. Experience in supervising or monitoring the work of volunteers or junior staff.
Desirable

Experience with collections management software (e.g., MODES) and data input/management. Experience working with digital records and digital preservation. Experience of working with an education and/or an exhibition setting. Experience of working with artists or creative practitioners. Experience of Front of House duties or customer services environment Experience of working with sensitive material Reading skills in languages represented in the collections (e.g. German, Czech, French, or other European languages) An interest in working with Holocaust-related collections and with a living survivor and descendant community, including an awareness of the contemporary relevance of the Holocaust, such as ongoing antisemitism, social division, and the responsibilities of memory today.

How to apply

To apply please visit our website (holocaustcentrenorth.org.uk), download and read carefully the and Person Specifications and apply by sending to support.hcn@hud.ac.uk the following:

Your CV A Cover Letter (max 3 pages of A4) showing how you meet the Essential and (where relevant) Desirable Criteria detailed in the Person Specifications. The Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form (which can be downloaded from our website)

Please send these as pdf attachments to support.hcn@hud.ac.uk,

specifying that you are applying for the Archive Officer Role. The deadline to submit your application is Tuesday 20th of January. Successful candidates will be invited for an interview shortly after.

Job Type: Part-time

Pay: 24,500.00 per year

Expected hours: 30 per week

Benefits:

Additional leave Canteen Flexitime
Work Location: In person