Safeguard 450 years of local history and help every community tell its story.

As our Borough Archivist, you will lead the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s Archives & Local Studies service, preserving 450 years of rich history while connecting our diverse communities to their shared heritage. It is a chance to protect a unique local collection and ensure everyone across the borough sees their lived experience reflected in our shared archives.

Working Style

You’ll be based in the Borough for 5 days a week, playing a key role in serving the local community and leading our Archives & Local Studies service. Whether you’re working behind the scenes on collections care or on the frontline supporting visitors in the search room, you’ll be part of a dedicated team making a real difference to residents’ connection with their history.

What you’ll be doing

In this maternity cover role for up to 12 months starting December 2026, you will lead and manage our Archives & Local Studies service. As the primary full-time professional on the team, you will oversee day-to-day collections care, from the acquisition and cataloguing of physical and digital materials to long-term preservation and conservation in line with national legislation and sector standards. You will also direct searchroom operations, handle complex research enquiries and ensure statutory compliance for Information Governance and Freedom of Information requests.

Over the course of the year, you will balance core archival management with key service initiatives. You will collaborate with the Bi-Borough Archives Manager to deliver the second year of our National Lottery Heritage Fund project, lead a major archive catalogue migration from CALM to a modern system and steer the service towards Archives Accreditation in partnership with the wider team.Working alongside the North Kensington Social Justice Archivist, you will also foster community partnerships, deliver creative outreach and support initiatives that empower residents to document their lived experiences.

For further details, please review the Job Description and Person Specification

What you’ll bring

You will hold a Master’s degree or Postgraduate Diploma in Archives or Collections Management, or bring substantial equivalent experience managing a public-facing archive service. You have a thorough knowledge of recognised archival cataloguing standards such as ISAD(G), alongside practical experience managing both physical and digital collections.

You’re an exceptional communicator skilled at connecting with diverse audiences, community partners and internal teams. You bring strong line management capabilities, financial acumen for budget oversight and grant applications and a clear understanding of relevant information rights legislation.

Most importantly, as the sole full-time member of the team, you’re someone who is calm, organised and proactive, with the ability to balance practical collections maintenance with outward-facing community engagement and project delivery.

Why join us

At RBKC, we’re all in – investing in our people, our communities and our future.

This role offers a fantastic opportunity to guide a historic local authority collection and shape how the borough’s story is recorded today. You will join a friendly, collaborative team whose creative engagement work has earned national recognition – including our 'Windrush Generation: Unsung Heroes' exhibition and 'Let’s Make History' LGBTQ+ project, both celebrated as highlights by The National Archives in their review of a ‘Year in Archives’.

We provide a supportive environment where you can develop your leadership experience across digital transformation, accreditation and heritage projects. You will also benefit from ongoing opportunities for professional networking, sector involvement and continuous learning.

About us

Kensington and Chelsea is home to diverse communities, thriving businesses and unique local places. Everything we do is focused on supporting our residents, strengthening our approach and creating a fairer borough.

As a competent and caring Council, we take pride in our work every day, ensuring our services are delivered with care and competence. We listen to our residents, act with integrity and work together to build a borough that is greener, safer and fairer for all.

In this role, the 'we're all in' mindset means getting stuck into every aspect of the service. As the full-time anchor of a small team, you will manage everything from hands-on searchroom duties and collections care to software migrations and community outreach. Balancing these competing demands requires resilience and adaptability, but your efforts will play a defining part in ensuring local history is protected and made accessible to everyone.

Interview Details & Role Requirements

This is a fixed term contract ending in December 2027

This role requires an Enhanced DBS check with adults and childrens barred list

Interviews will be held in person on week commencing 16th November 2026

Ready to join us?

We’re all in – are you? If you share our values and have the skills to contribute, we’d love to hear from you.

Please apply online explaining how you meet the requirements set out in the person specification and job description.

We reserve the right to extend or close this vacancy early without warning, subject to the volume of suitable applicants.

We are committed to promoting equality and respecting diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

We are a Disability Confident Employer – committed to ensuring that our recruitment and selection process is inclusive and accessible.