Training Placement Description

For employment with Dyfed Archaeological Trust

Please note applications for this traineeship are now closed

• Based in: Dyfed Archaeological Trust, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire
• Reporting to: Louise Austin, Training supervisor/line manager at Dyfed Archaeological Trust
• Training overseen by: Bursaries Co-ordinator based at the CBA in York
• Bursary: £16,450
• Hours: Subject to the host organisation’s policies on work time, but with adherence to IfA’s recommendations on employment packages, e.g. 7.5 hours per day/37.5 hours per week with work time outside of these hours being compensated with time off in lieu. Post holders will be expected to work evenings and weekends as necessary with some flexibility.

Download an Application Pack/Download cais Bacio

• DAT: Community Archaeology Training Placement DOC | 261 KB
• DAT: Lleoliad Hyfforddi Archaeoleg Gymunedol (Cymraeg) DOC | 1.48MB

Role: The role will require individuals to learn by directly working with line managers, training providers and mentors at the host organisations in order to acquire the skills needed to run and support effective community archaeology projects.

The skills being acquired/developed will be the kind of ‘soft’/intangible skills that are needed when working with the public/voluntary sector. These will include:

• Interpersonal skills, for example: social skills and coping with authority
• Organisational skills, such as: personal organisation, and the ability to order and prioritise
• Analytical skills, such as: the ability to exercise judgement, manage time or solve problems
• Personal skills, for example: insight, motivation, confidence, reliability and health awareness

These skills will be developed utilising archaeological information and practice as a learning and support mechanism. Postholders will be supported to learn how to enhance hard skills, such as excavation, archiving, processing, recording, publication - by using, presenting and interpreting archaeological information for public benefit and community/volunteer capacity building.

Postholders will undertake a number of tasks to develop knowledge of how to work with the voluntary sector. These will include (this is not an exhaustive list):

• Designing and running archaeological training sessions
• Designing interpretive and learning materials
• Initiating and supervising fieldwork involving volunteers
• Identifying and co-ordinating archaeological projects
• Setting up and co-ordinating networking opportunities
• Updating contact management systems
• Archiving and record management
• Identifying and contacting specific community groups for inclusion
• Evaluating the social outcomes of projects involving volunteers and community groups
• Contribution (where appropriate) to funding applications, either by the host organisation or by voluntary groups with which the host organisation interacts
• Publication for a variety of audiences
• Communication both oral and written (particularly in the context of explaining complex concepts).
• Postholders will also learn how to utilise new media to maximise access and share information.

Personal Qualities: CATP holders will

• Be highly motivated to learn and develop their skills and apply these skills in a community context and for the benefit of the communities in which they will be working
• Be able to work under supervision, instruction and within a team, but will also be able to use their own initiative to work on your own, where necessary and/or appropriate
• Be willing and keen to gather evidence and materials related to the role to assist in compiling a resource to inform future training of individuals in this field
• Contribute to dissemination of information on the project and their work through presentation at conferences or by publication in journals, magazines or newsletters
• Be highly motivated individuals required to facilitate and encourage people in the local community to explore and discover the historic environment
• Be willing to undertake an NVQ in archaeological practice using existing and/or new experience/evidence within the 12 months of the placement
• Contribute to development and management of ‘community resources’ of equipment and materials for public use and provide training, advice and resources for fieldwork, duration and dissemination
• Promote best practice among the community by helping them with their projects, and enable a greater number and variety of people to get involved
• Be willing and keen to design and deliver training opportunities for community groups
• Be willing and keen to work with diverse communities in the location of their placement and gather information related to working with them and recommendations for developing community working practices to better suit their needs
• Ability to speak Welsh is desirable.

A full job description and person specification is available in the Applicant Pack.

The post will be based at the host offices in the areas listed above. The post-holder will work in the office or community, local area as necessary. The post-holder will be required to travel within the area covered by the post to work with communities. This may on occasion entail working at weekends or evenings and days off in lieu will be used to compensate for this.

Candidates must be able to demonstrate that they are eligible to work in the UK.

Application is by application form and a covering letter, which should clearly show how you meet the essential and preferred criteria for the post as outlined in the person specification.

The closing date for receipt of completed application forms is Friday 20th January 2012. Interviews will be held on Thursday 9th February 2012.

Please mark your applications for the attention of Louise Austin, Head of Heritage Management and send them by post to Dyfed Archaeological Trust, The Shire Hall, Carmarthen Street, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, SA19 6AF or by email to l.austin@dyfedarchaeology.org.uk.
If applying by e-mail, please ensure that you request a read receipt.

About the Dyfed Archaeological Trust

Based in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, Dyfed Archaeological Trust is the marketing name of the Dyfed Archaeological Trust, an independent organisation dedicated to the effective protection, investigation, recording and promotion of the historic environment. Whilst retaining a strong regional commitment, Dyfed Archaeological Trust offers professional services over a wide area, both within Wales and beyond. Dyfed Archaeological Trust was established in 1975 as part of a comprehensive network of four archaeological organisations covering the whole of Wales. It is constituted as a Private Limited Company and as a Registered Charity. Its membership provides a source of wide-ranging academic and professional expertise in archaeology and related fields.

Dyfed Archaeological Trust is an Institute of Field Archaeologists Registered Archaeological Organisation.

Organised into three main operating divisions: Field Services, Heritage Management and Central Services, Dyfed Archaeological Trust has a highly motivated professional workforce with a wide range of in-house skills and experience. This is complemented by long-established contacts and partnerships with external specialists and specialist organisations enabling Dyfed Archaeological Trust to offer extensive consultancy and implementation services.

Field Services has investigated sites, complexes and landscapes of all periods from the prehistoric to the 20th century. It operates in a wide range of environments – upland, lowland, urban, wetland, coastal and intertidal. Field Services undertakes large and small excavation projects and it has extensive experience in the survey and recording of buried remains, earthworks, standing buildings and other structures, and it has also undertaken numerous desk-top assessments, historical research projects and historic landscape characterisation programmes. Field Services frequently manages larger scale projects in partnership or association with other organisations. It has the ability to respond quickly and effectively to a variety of development demands: large scale commercial developments, major and minor road schemes, single or multiple housing schemes, afforestation, agricultural improvements, pipe laying and service developments, land reclamation schemes, and urban and rural regeneration projects.

The Heritage Management section maintains the regional Historic Environment Record for south west Wales and, as a partner in the Extended National Database, provides an access point to a comprehensive index of sites and monuments throughout Wales. It also provides extensive information, research services and regional curatorial advice for a wide variety of users and has long established working relationships with national heritage agencies. This includes the provision of information and advice to the local planning authorities and other statutory authorities, agencies and private developers on the implications of development on the historic environment, and on the formulation of strategic policies and plans. Advice is also provided within broader schemes such as the Tir Gofal agri-environment scheme. Heritage Management have a growing outreach programme including the development of new and innovative methods of working with local communities to develop the potential of their historic environment.

More information about DAT can be found on our website