Brotherton-Ratcliffe Project Archivist

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This role is open to internal applicants working in the Library at the University of Leeds

Salary: Grade 6 (£30,487 - £36,024 pro rata per annum depending on experience)

We are open to discussing flexible working arrangements.

Do you have a passion for archive collections and making them accessible to allow all to benefit? Do you want to uncover stories about family and civic networks, influential collectors and how they have shaped research today? 

Industrialist and politician Lord Brotherton of Wakefield (1856-1930) is one of the University Library’s most significant benefactors. In the 1920s, assisted by his niece-in-law, writer and activist Dorothy Una Ratcliffe (or D.U.R. as she was known), he amassed a vast collection of rare books and manuscripts that he left to the University on his death, along with an endowment to ensure the collection continued to grow. The archive contains material relating to Lord Brotherton and D.U.R. as well as papers of members of their wider family including, amongst others, brothers Bertram and Victor Ratcliffe (Lord Brotherton’s nephews) who saw action in the First World War.

As Brotherton-Ratcliffe Project Archivist your main responsibility will be to ensure the collection is catalogued to exceptionally high standards. In addition, you will create index terms and authority records, to ensure discoverability of the collections online. You will create guides to the collections and promote them to the research community. You will assist with the physical management of the collection, particularly repackaging and recommendations for digitisation, and you will also ensure that copyright and any sensitive information is appropriately recorded. You will also support the Special Collections Curator in developing proposals for research and publication around Lord Brotherton’s life and work.

You will have experience of cataloguing large collections, archival and digital standards. A confident user of IT and collection management systems, you will have excellent communication and interpersonal skills, able to promote the collections and contribute positively to the Special Collections & Galleries team, including training colleagues.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact:

Rhiannon Lawrence-Francis, Special Collections Curator

Email: [email protected]

Location:  Leeds - Main Campus
Faculty/Service:  Professional Services
School/Institute:  Library
Category:  Administrative and Clerical Support
Grade:  Grade 6
Salary:  £30,487 to £36,024 per annum pro-rata
Working Time:  17.5 hours per week
Post Type:  Part Time
Contract Type:  Fixed Term (12 months to complete a specific task or time limited work)
Release Date:  Thursday 09 May 2024
Closing Date:  Thursday 23 May 2024
Reference:  CSLIB1421
Further details: