Training Placement Description

For employment with the Council for British Archaeology, seconded to RCAHMW

Please note applications to this traineeship are now closed

• Reporting to: Louise Barker, Training supervisor/line manager at the Royal Commission- Training overseen by: Bursaries Co-ordinator based at the CBA in York
• Salary: Equivalent to PIfA grade recommendations - £16,450 for the 12-month placement (pension benefits in accordance with policies of the host organisation) – this is a salaried placement and subject to PAYE rules on tax and National Insurance
• Hours: 37 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.
• Location: Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, Crown Building, Plas Crug, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 1NJ

Download an Application Pack/Download cais Bacio

• RCAHMW: Community Archaeology Training Placement DOC | 268 KB
• RCAHMW: Lleoliad Hyfforddi Archaeoleg Gymunedol DOC | 1.39 KB

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

The post will be based at the offices 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 10th February 2012.

Completed forms should be returned to Sue Billingsley, Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales, Crown Building, Plas Crug, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 1NJ. Please check the postage required on your application as incorrect postage may lead to your application being delayed and missing the closing date. If you require an acknowledgement of receipt of your application, please enclose a stamped, addressed envelope. Alternatively, you can email your application to sue.billingsley@rcahmw.gov.uk

About RCAHMW

Based in Aberystwyth, The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales was established in 1908 by a Royal Warrant and is a Welsh Government Sponsored Body in the portfolio of the Minister for Heritage. It is directed under its Royal Warrant ‘to provide for the survey and recording of ancient and historical monuments and constructions from the earliest times (including the ancient and historical monuments in, on or under the sea bed within the United Kingdom territorial sea adjacent to Wales) by compiling, maintaining and curating the National Monuments Record of Wales as the basic national record of the archaeological and historical environment’.

The Royal Commission’s core functions are to investigate, understand, interpret and disseminate authoritative information about the historic environment and to care for and maintain its own and others records. The resulting archive, the National Monuments Record of Wales (NMRW) hold over 1.5 million photographic images (the largest photographic archive in Wales), 70,000 drawings and over 50,000 currnt and historic maps, as well as over 3 million pages of text. This archive is a ‘place of deposit’ under the Public Record Act 1958 and is open to the public. Coflein our online information service provides access to the collections, catalogues and a national index of sites. The Royal Commission is recognised in the UK and internationally as the official body of investigation and record for the historic environment of Wales, and it provides a link to other related bodies in the UK and beyond.

The Royal Commisson is organised into six teams – Recording & Investigation, Reconnaissance, Public Engagement, Archive & Library, Data Services and Strategy& Resources.

For more information about us please see our website