Job Description

As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is already a special place to work. We're an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history. But it's where we go next that makes things really interesting .


In our strategic vision: Archives for Everyone, we set ourselves the challenge of becoming the 21st Century national archive - a different kind of cultural and heritage institution: Inclusive, Entrepreneurial, Disruptive. We won't become this overnight. It will take time, focus, effort and daring.


That's where you come in. Because we can't do this without you.

Job Overview

Salary: 40,000 per annum


Contract type: Fixed Term Appointment for 12 months


Band: E / Higher Executive Officer


Closing date: Monday 28th July 2025 at midnight




Join Our Team at The National Archives!




Are you passionate about data and making a difference in the public sector? The National Archives is looking for a talented data specialist to transform archival metadata bringing history to life.




About us:




Archives are the homes for our collective memories, past and future. The National Archives preserves and provides access to the UK government's most significant records, ensuring they remain accessible for future generations. As we undertake the relocation of the Parliamentary Archives, we are seeking a Data Migration Engineer to lead the technical execution of data migration and transformation processes.




The relocation of the Parliamentary Archives, its collections and some associated services is a multi-year project which when completed, will allow Parliament's unique and fascinating collections to be shared from a new location, opening them up to a much wider audience. The archives of Parliament are a rich and exciting resource for exploring local, national and international history from the fifteenth century to the present day and provide an unparalleled window into Parliament itself, including its architecture, administration and functions.




About the Role:




In this role, you will build and optimise data pipelines and develop scripts and tools to automate the processing and transformation of data relevant to the relocation. The source of this data will predominantly be .csv and .xml files and the target will range from SQL databases to new JSON serialisations of the data. You will work with colleagues from across the organisation providing technical consultancy and solutions and will work particularly closely with colleagues in the IT Database Administration Team.




Why Join Us?




Within the beautiful surroundings of Kew, a 10-minute walk from the Underground and Overground stations, The National Archives boasts a collegial working environment and an excellent Civil Service benefits package. This includes flexible working, an on-site gym, and an opportunity to join the Civil Service Alpha Pension Scheme. Putting you at the forefront of our organisation, we are committed to supporting professional development and training for all of our colleagues.




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.




SC clearance/willingness to obtain SC clearance will be required for this role. This requires candidates to have been resident in the UK for at least the past three years. Please do not apply if you have been resident in the UK for less than three years as your application will be rejected.




We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.




Selection Process:




Interview: Interviews will be held on-site in August 2025 and will include a technical test.


Personal Statement: We ask all applicants to submit CV details and a personal statement, not exceeding 1200 words.


Selection for interview will be based on the 'essential' requirements in the job description so please ensure that your statement demonstrates in detail how you meet these requirements. You may draw on knowledge, skills, abilities, experience gained from paid work, domestic responsibilities, education, leisure interests and voluntary activities.




Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please visit the Civil Service Careers website where you can find further information on the use of AI in the application guidance section.

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Role and Responsibilities

1. Data Modelling & Documentation

Investigate, understand and document data models used within Parliamentary records and TNA systems. Identify and document identifier schemes and relationships between different data sets. Assess data quality, consistency, and completeness, identifying variations and dependencies. Define and implement data validation and quality assurance methods to evaluate integrity before migration.

2. Data Migration & Transformation

Design and implement robust, repeatable data migration processes. Develop automated extraction, transformation, and loading (ETL) processes to move structured metadata and XML-based records to the new system. Validate migration success by ensuring completeness, consistency, and performance of transformed data. Optimise migration queries for efficiency and accuracy, ensuring all relevant data is migrated with integrity.

3. Collaboration & Technical Consultancy

Work closely with data engineers, archivists, technical staff and service teams to ensure the migration process meets technical, user and business requirements. Provide technical recommendations on data extraction, transformation, and modelling best practices. Ensure all solutions comply with security and data governance policies.

4. Testing & Post-Migration Validation

Conduct post-migration data integrity checks to ensure full dataset transfer. Create validation rules and queries to compare migrated and source data for discrepancies. Work with internal teams to troubleshoot and resolve migration issues
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Working Conditions

Normal office environment Display Screen Equipment user Hybrid working pattern, at least 60% of time spent on-site, possibly more when new to the role Possible exposure to distressing content
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Person Specification

Essential Skills & Experience:

Advanced SQL skills, with experience handling structured and unstructured data (including XML within SQL tables). Knowledge of graph databases and triple stores. Experience in data migration, including extract, transform, and load (ETL) processes. Strong scripting and automation skills to improve data extraction, validation, and transformation. Ability to design and optimize database queries for performance and accuracy. Strong problem-solving skills, with a structured approach to data auditing and issue resolution. Experience working with sensitive or restricted data under security-controlled environments.

Desirable Skills & Experience:

Familiarity with metadata standards such as Dublin Core. Experience working within digital archives or large-scale information repositories. Python, Shell scripting, or other automation tools such as Talend, Informatica or Pentaho for data transformation. Awareness of Agile methodologies and collaborative development practices.
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is


found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service


D&I Strategy .

Benefits

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. Annual leave entitlement of 22 days per calendar year (rising to 25 after the first year, and incrementally to 30 days after six years) and 10 days public and privilege holidays per annum.



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/ ( opens in new window)

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.


If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:


Contact The National Archives via careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs Complete the 'Reasonable Adjustments' section of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.


People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks (opens in new window)

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:


UK nationals nationals of the Republic of Ireland nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.




We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles . (opens in new window)



The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.


The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.



This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative . (opens in new window)



Contact point for applicants:


Name: The National Archives Recruitment Team Email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk

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: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-complaints/ (opens in new window)