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Formatting and components

The person specification is the document which sets out the criteria you will use to appoint the best candidate. It is really important to use clear, precise language so that candidates know the specifics of what you are looking for. This also enables the recruitment panel to select candidates objectively, consistently and transparently.

A good person specification details the skills, experience, abilities and expertise you are looking for to enable someone to carry out the job effectively. The criteria are typically set out in table format and grouped into categories. Many organisations also state whether each criterion is ‘essential’ or ‘desirable’. This gives you an opportunity to reflect on the qualities that a candidate must be able to demonstrate and those which are simply ‘nice to have’. Setting the bar too high may result in a struggle to recruit. Setting the bar too low may result in recruiting someone who may experience difficulties in achieving some or all of the key duties of the post and difficulties in staff retention.

In each case, it is good practice to reflect on how a candidate would demonstrate the stated requirement and how the recruitment panel would assess whether a candidate can demonstrate it. Some organisations do this by stating this on the person specification whether they will be assessing this by the following means:

  • Application form
  • A test or exercise
  • A presentation
  • The interview itself
  • Documentation such as a qualification certificate or proof that you have completed a specific training course

Individual organisations will once again have a ‘house style’ for structuring person specifications but you would typically expect to see the following categories. Please note that the examples given below are included as examples of the types of criteria you might expect to find. These are NOT prescriptive lists.

Knowledge, qualifications and experience

Head to the ‘Qualifications’ tab of ‘Putting a job description together‘ for specific guidance on archivist qualifications.

Specialist knowledge and qualifications

For a professional archivist this might include criteria such as:

  • An Archives and Records Association (ARA) accredited postgraduate qualification in archive administration or Level 7 Archivist and Records Manager apprenticeship
  • Evidence of successful completion of project management training
  • Comprehensive understanding of UK data protection legislation and how it applies to archives

A digital archivist post might specify:

Specialist knowledge in the management of digital archives (born digital and digitised)

 

Experience

For a professional archivist this might include criteria such as:

  • Substantial experience of cataloguing complex archival collections to relevant professional standards such as the International Standard Archival Description (General) (ISAD(G))
  • Experience of helping researchers in an archival reading room
  • Experience of undertaking research and enquiry work
  • Experience of working as an archivist in a museum/charity/business/ heritage setting [delete or adjust as applicable]
  • Demonstrable experience of delivering an engaging programme of events and activities based on the archive collections
  • Experience of taking responsibility for digital preservation in a day-to-day collections management context
  • Experience at senior (team leader) level of planning and delivering a work programme to improve the storage, packaging and location control for a substantial body of archival material
  • Experience of interpreting and cataloguing technical or architectural drawings
  • Experience of using collections management software to create ISAD(G) compliant archival catalogue descriptions
  • Experience of working on externally funded projects
  • Confident and experienced in interpreting and applying information legislation (principally data protection, freedom of information and copyright) in an archival environment
  • Experience of digitising archival materials and creating and managing associated metadata

A digital archivist post might specify:

  • Demonstrable experience of drafting, testing and implementing workflows for the management of digital archives
  • Experience of procuring and customising a digital preservation software package
  • Experience of making digital archives available to researchers
  • Experience of digitising archival materials and creating and managing associated metadata
  • Experience of customising proprietary digital preservation tools and implementing their use in an archive service environment
  • Experience of creating or enhancing metadata associated with digital archives

Skills, abilities and commitment

Skills and abilities

These can be harder for candidates to demonstrate and more difficult for the recruitment panel to assess so it is worth being particularly careful about how you word the skills you are looking for.

In some instances, you might wish to be quite open in describing a broad skill set such as ‘communication skills’. In other circumstances, you might want to home in on something more specific such as ‘ability to communicate complex concepts to non-specialist audiences’.

The types of skillsets associated with archivist roles include the following:

  • Ability to use archives to support a learning programme for school age children
  • Proven track record in planning and managing limited resources to deliver an events programme based on archive collections
  • Proven track record in successfully applying for external funding
  • A credible and persuasive communicator, able to make a business case and garner support for a digital preservation infrastructure
  • A good team player, able to work as part of wider team with other professionals, volunteers and stakeholders
  • Skilled negotiator able to build and maintain successful relationships with external stakeholders
  • Is aware of and confident in carrying out digital preservation tasks
  • Ability to read, understand and speak [insert language]
  • Ability to travel effectively to multiple work bases within the [insert details of geographical remit]
  • A creative thinker, able to develop solutions to obstacles and challenges
  • Ability to read, understand and transcribe medieval Latin
  • Proficient user of standard business software including Microsoft Office applications such as Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint
  • Ability to give professional and confident presentations to a wide range of audiences

Many archivist posts typically involve working with collections; moving records from one place to another or retrieving records from strongroom shelves.  You may find it worthwhile to talk to your HR advisor about how to express this in the person specification.  Under the Equalities Act, employers are required to make reasonable adjustments to enable people with disabilities to work comfortably and efficiently.  This might mean relocating records to a more accessible location, or making arrangements for a colleague to retrieve documents for someone who is unable to do so.

If you and your HR advisor believe that no reasonable adjustments can be made, you should think carefully about how to word any such person specification requirement.  Using phrases which describe ‘the ability to carry out a particular task’ are more inclusive than stating the need to carry out a task in a particular way.

Interest and commitment

If you are recruiting to a role within a specialist organisation, you may wish to assess candidates’ empathy for your broader aims and objectives. A person specification might reflect this in certain ways, such as:

  • A commitment to sustainable environmental practices
  • Lived experience of the LGBTQ+ community
  • An interest in the service’s collection development priority targets, e.g., archives of local cultural organisations
  • A desire to increase engagement with heritage collections