Gunnersbury Park Museum

Archive Volunteer Role Description

Role: Archive Volunteer

Status: Voluntary role, unpaid

Reporting to: Kathryn Rooke, Archivist

Hours: Flexible, Monday or Tuesday. Morning (09:00 – 13:00) or an afternoon shift (13:00 – 17:00), ideally once a week.

This volunteer role will be based within the Curatorial teamin Gunnersbury Park’s newly refurbished local history museum. Gunnersbury Park Museum is housed in a beautiful Regency mansion and serves the local boroughs of Ealing and Hounslow. The Curatorial teamis comprised ofthe Curator, Freelance Curatorial Researcherand Archivist, as well as a small group of volunteers. This team is responsible for safeguarding and maintaining Gunnersbury’s diverse local social history collections.Archive volunteers are essential to uncovering a previously overlooked resource amongst the museum's collections, so that it may be shared and utilised by our diverse range of visitors and researchers. Volunteers will have the privilege of working with unique historic documents, will be eager to learn, will become well versed in the history of our Park and local area and will be keen toshare that knowledge with others.

This role may involve some light manual labour (e.g moving objects during the documentation process). This is optional, so please make us aware in your application process if you would prefer not to, so that we can adjust your tasks accordingly. This role will also involve spending time in cold temperatures due to the environmental needs of specific collection objects.Please note that this role is voluntary and therefore unpaid, however Gunnersbury Park Museum is happy to be able to offer travel reimbursement up to a value of £8 upon proof of purchase, for each volunteer shift attended.

Responsibilities Include:

  • Repackaging collection items
  • Documentation and photography
  • Inputting data using Excel
  • Assisting the Archivist with the relocation of collection objects and artefacts
  • Identifying locations, landmarks and people in historic photographs
  • Supporting the Archivist to provide a basic level of object preservation
  • Researching object provenance
  • Transcription of historical content and object information

Person Specification

Essential Skills

  • An enthusiastic and personable manner with all people
  • Keen interest in social history and heritage
  • Detail orientated
  • Able to interact respectfully with delicate artefacts
  • Excellent verbal communication skills
  • Basic level of IT literacy (particularly word and excel)
  • Self-motivated and able to carry out tasks independently as well as part of a team
  • Comfortable learning new skills and information

Desirable

  • Enthusiasm for or knowledge of the history of Hounslow, Ealing and London
  • Understanding of basic object preservation
  • Interest or experience in a collections focused role inthe heritage sector

Terms and Conditions

  • Full training will be provided for all volunteers
  • This role is voluntary and unpaid. However, Gunnersbury CiC doesoffer travel reimbursement within London up to a limit of £8per day with proof of purchase
  • Applicants must be over the age of 18
  • Applicants must be able to commit to one shift a week and to give the Archivist as much notice as possible if they want to change or are unable to attend a shift

To apply please send a completed Application Form -which can be found on our website- or your CV and a short covering lettereither via email orvia post to Volunteer & Visitor Experience Officer, Small Mansion, Gunnersbury Park, Popes Lane, London, W3 8LQ.Please supply contact details of 2 referees. These may be contacted during the application process.

If your application is successful, the Volunteer & Visitor Experience Officer will contact you to arrange an informal interview. During this session, you will be shown around the site and asked a few simple questions to gauge your suitability for the role.

Gunnersbury Park and Museum welcomes all applications andoperates a fair and open recruitment policy, the aim of which is to ensure no job applicant, volunteer, intern, employee or worker is discriminated against either directly or indirectly on any grounds.