Assistant Archivist / Sports Surveying Officer

University of Glasgow; Johnstone; On-site; GBP 33,000 - GBP 38,000; Full time

Job summary

A well-known educational institution in Scotland seeks an Archive Surveyor to lead a national program of archive surveying for sporting collections. Key responsibilities include conducting thematic surveys, advising various stakeholders, and facilitating engagement activities. Candidates must have strong cataloguing skills, excellent communication abilities, and a passion for sports heritage. This full-time role offers a competitive salary range of £33,951 - £37,694 per annum and is based in Johnstone, requiring occasional travel across Scotland.

Benefits

41 days of leave for full-time staff

Pension benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Health and well-being support including gym membership

Qualifications

• Significant experience cataloguing archive collections to professional standards.
• Proven experience with archival records of any format or age.
• Ability to manage time effectively and meet deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Conduct a national programme of surveying sporting collections across Scotland.
• Facilitate digitisation of archive records for engagement activities.
• Advocate for the value of sporting heritage through engagement in relevant networks.

Skills

Enthusiasm for archives

Effective written and verbal communication

Independent and team-working skills

Workload management

Interpersonal skills

IT skills including Excel and MS Office

Content writing for websites and social media

Attention to detail

Education

Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 8 or equivalent

Postgraduate qualification in Archives & Records Management

Tools

Excel

Microsoft Teams

MS Office tools

Job description

Job Purpose

The postholder will be responsible for planning, developing, and undertaking a national programme of archive surveying for Scotland’s sporting collections. This will include launching four thematic surveys, a scoping survey of national sporting bodies, as well as developing relevant content for National Sporting Heritage Day and a mid-project conference exploring sports archives, their care, and results of the project to-date.

The post holder will work closely with a dedicated Sporting Heritage Engagement Officer to support and deliver key project outreach and engagement workshops in a timely and efficient manner. The post holder will report to the Business Archives Surveying Officer.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. To carry out a national programme of surveying sporting collections across Scotland to ensure those most valuable to Scotland’s sporting heritage are preserved. This will include monitoring the sporting landscape to inform and establish thematic surveys.
2. To undertake mapping activities to promote the preservation and use of Scotland’s sporting heritage.
3. To advise sports clubs, bodies and record owners of sporting records on archives worthy of permanent retention, records management policies and the value of sporting archives.
4. To liaise with partners and stakeholders to ensure the effective and creative use of selected archive content as part of wider project engagement activities.
5. To facilitate digitisation of archive records to support engagement activities as required.
6. Facilitating the deposit of sporting archives to the appropriate repositories when required.
7. Maintaining effective regular communications with the National Register of Archives for Scotland regarding surveys, and the Sporting Heritage Scotland network.
8. Advocating for the value of sporting heritage and promoting the work of the Sporting Archives Surveyor through active engagement in relevant networks (including the wider sporting community), speaking at conferences, developing case studies and publishing articles.
9. The Surveyor is based at the Ballast Trust in Johnstone and will work a minimum of 2 days a week there to facilitate team-working, but the role will also require regular travel across Scotland to carry out records surveys.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge/Qualifications

Essential

• A1 Either: Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 8 (Scottish Vocational Qualification level 4, Higher National Diploma) or equivalent, and experience of personal development in a similar role
• Or: Ability to demonstrate the competencies required to undertake the duties associated with this level of post having acquired the necessary knowledge and skills through personal development and progression in a similar role(s)
• A2 Demonstrable knowledge and understanding of archives and records management, cataloguing principles, practices and professional standards.

Desirable

• B1 An Archives and Records Association approved postgraduate qualification in Archives & Records Management.
• B2 Knowledge and understanding of sporting heritage.
• B3 Current valid driving license.

Skills

Essential

• C1 Ability to convey enthusiasm and be an advocate for archives.
• C2 Highly effective written and verbal communication skills.
• C3 Ability to work effectively both independently as a motivated self-starter and as part of a wider team.
• C4 Effective workload management skills with good planning and prioritising skills; a flexible approach to changing priorities, working practices, and work environment; and the ability to work effectively across multiple activities simultaneously.
• C5 Excellent interpersonal skills, with a proven ability to build effective collaborative working relationships within and across teams or partner organisations to achieve goals.
• C6 Excellent office IT skills, including Excel, Teams and other MS Office tools.
• C7 Ability to write content for websites and social media.
• C8 Demonstrable close attention to detail.

Experience

Essential

• E1 Significant practical experience of cataloguing archive collections to professional standards.
• E2 Proven evidence of working with archival records (any format or age).
• E3 Track record of managing time effectively and meeting deadlines.
• E4 Experience of planning and progressing work activities within professional guidelines or organisational policy, applying initiative and independent judgement.
• E5 Effective communication with and influencing of stakeholders.
• E7 Experience of delivering presentations to peers and service users.

Desirable

• F1 Sharing knowledge and expertise through training/presentations/articles.

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 6, £33,951 - £37,694 per annum.

This post is full time and fixed term for up to 2 years from agreed start date.

Closing date: 23:45 25th February 2026

The University of Glasgow has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK. If you require a Skilled Worker visa to work in the UK, you will be required to meet the eligibility requirements of the visa route to be assigned a Certificate of Sponsorship.

Please note that this post may be eligible to be sponsored under the Skilled Worker visa route if tradeable points can be used under the Skilled Worker visa rules. For more information please visit: https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa.

As a valued member of our team, you can expect:

1. A warm welcoming and engaging organisational culture, where your talents are developed and nurtured, and success is celebrated and shared.
2. An excellent employment package with generous terms and conditions including 41 days of leave for full time staff, pension - pensions handbook https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/payandpensions/pensions/, benefits and discount packages.
3. A flexible approach to working.
4. A commitment to support your health and wellbeing, including a free 6-month UofG Sport membership for all new staff joining the University https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/staff/healthwellbeing/.

We believe that we can only reach our full potential through the talents of all. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of our values. Applications are particularly welcome from across our communities and in particular people from the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, and other protected characteristics who are under‑represented within the University. Read more on how the University promotes and embeds all aspects of equality and diversity within our community https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/.

We endorse the principles of Athena Swan https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/humanresources/equalitydiversity/athenaswan/ and hold bronze, silver and gold awards across the University.

We are investing in our organisation, and we will invest in you too. Please visit our website https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/jobs/ for more information.