Head of Digital Services

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Be part of our digital future

What will the future know of today? Archives, as the homes for our collective memories, are in the future business.

From the Domesday Book (Britain's first national dataset) and the records of Colossus (the first computer) to today's tweets from Downing Street. These are just some of the 11 million items held by The National Archives. We are the archive of the Government, archives sector lead and one of the world’s leading digital archives. We play a crucial role. Archives Inspire, our business strategy, sets the ambition to change how people think about archives. It identifies digital as our biggest strategic challenge as well as presenting us with huge opportunities to engage people with our collections in new ways. Your role is to shape, design, develop and deliver the digital services we provide, in particular our website and our search service Discovery.

About the role

As our Head of Digital Services, you’ll make sure we deliver world-class digital services that meet the ever-changing needs of our users whilst championing this commitment internally to ensure maximum buy-in and to drive digital archiving by instinct and design. You’ll inspire, motivate and lead a passionate digital service team to deliver against exacting GDS Service Standards, spearheading continual improvement at every turn. It’s a role designed to accelerate our progress, so embedding agile working practices and facilitating, influencing and effecting change are all part of what you’ll get excited about - selling our enhanced offer into users and senior stakeholders with equal enthusiasm. Your industry knowledge and connections with the broader digital market will enable us to adopt technical advances wherever possible.

About you

You’re a digital thought leader, with plenty of experience of leading multi-disciplinary, product-oriented, agile teams, who is used to exceeding the most sophisticated users’ expectations. No doubt you’ll have a strong academic background but, as important, is your demonstrable experience, coupled with your outstanding organisational, administrative, negotiation and communication skills - as you’ll be driving through significant change. Excellent at building relationships, you’re a born networker, who engages and influences at all levels. Ideally, you’ll have some public sector or archival context or setting experience, although it’s not essential. However, you will have to obtain SC level clearance and have been a UK resident for at least five years.

Join us here in beautiful Kew, just 10 minutes’ walk from the Overground and Underground stations, and you can expect an excellent range of benefits. They include a pension, flexible working and childcare vouchers, as well as discounts with local businesses (e.g. beauty salons and bars). We also offer wellbeing resources (e.g. on-site therapists) and have an on-site gym, restaurant, shop and staff bar.

Closing date: 5th July 2017 at midnight. First interviews 21st July.