Transfer Adviser

As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is already a special place to work. We're an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history. But it's where we go next that makes things really interesting.

In our strategic vision:
Archives for Everyone,
we set ourselves the challenge of becoming the 21st Century national archive - a different kind of cultural and heritage institution: Inclusive, Entrepreneurial, Disruptive. We won't become this overnight. It will take time, focus, effort and daring.

That's where you come in. Because we can't do this without you.

Job Overview
Salary: £29,258 per annum

Contract type: permanent

Band: D / EO

Closing date: Thursday 1st January 2026 at midnight

The Transfer Team sits within the Public Access and Government Services Directorate, and focuses on providing advice, guidance, and services to public record bodies to help fulfil the statutory obligations under the Public Records Act 1958 and the subsequent Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. Under the two acts, public record bodies are required to transfer public records to The National Archives after twenty years, unless specific exemptions are applied and approved.

Transfer Advisers are responsible for the operational end-to-end process of transferring records from public record bodies and/or their third party suppliers to The National Archives. This role is central to the delivery of expert advice and guidance covering record transfer and related standards; whilst ensuring that departments understand and implement required procedures for transfer and that the records they send are suitably catalogued and prepared for transfer.

We are looking for individuals who are highly committed to delivering a professional service within the public sector and who are looking for a fast pace, high intensity work environment. This work requires exceptional attention to detail, resilience and a high degree of interpersonal skills in working with departmental contacts. This ensures that the integrity of records are maintained and managed during the transfer process and that statutory transfer responsibilities are met in accordance with the Public Record Act 1958 and the twenty year rule.

This is a full time post. However, requests for part-time working, flexible working and job share will be considered, taking into account at all times the operational needs of the Department. A combination of onsite and home working is available and applicants should be able to regularly travel to our Kew site for a minimum of 60% of their work time.

Application Process

• Interview: Interviews will be held on-site and are likely to take place in the last week of January 2026
• Personal Statement: We ask all applicants to submit work history details and a personal statement, not exceeding 1200 words

Selection for interview will be based on the 'essential' requirements in the job description below so please ensure that your statement demonstrates in detail how you meet these requirements.

In The Event Of a High Volume Of Applications We Will Conduct An Initial Sift Based On The Following Essential Criteria

• Exceptional attention to detail

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.  Please visit the Civil Service Careers website where you can find further information on the use of AI in the application guidance section.

SC clearance/willingness to obtain SC clearance will be required for this role. This requires candidates to have been resident in the UK for at least the past three years. Please do not apply if you have been resident in the UK for less than three years as your application will be rejected

Sponsorship
We are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Job Description
Role and Responsibilities

Transfer

• Review all transfer paperwork to ensure it conforms to The National Archives guidance.
• Ensure that the correct access conditions are in place and are accurately reflected in the cataloguing and preparation of the records, highlighting and escalating any concerns and providing advice where necessary.
• Ensure every transfer is accurately captured on the various tracking tools and completed within the designated timeframes.
• Complete a targeted physical inspection of specific record sets at The National Archives.
• On occasion attend offsite visits to public record bodies and/or their third party suppliers.
• Convert document formats and load catalogue data into a live database, which feeds into The National Archives' online catalogue, Discovery.

Advice And Guidance

• Provide expert advice and guidance to government departments and their suppliers on the end-to-end transfer process.
• Monitor departmental cataloguing and preparation capability and contribute to training where necessary.

Relationships

• Work individually and in a team to share responsibility for transfers and in managing specific transfer projects.
• Work collaboratively with other Transfer Advisers.
• Proactively communicate with the Transfer Manager about progress and lessons learnt, anticipate problems, surface issues and develop solutions.
• Share business intelligence and data insight within the Transfer Team and other parts of the department.

Working Conditions

• Normal office environment
• Display Screen Equipment user
• Moving items up to 10kg in weight
• May come into contact with distressing material

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

• Ability to work as part of a team, sharing responsibility for the successful completion of work to strict deadlines.
• Ability to work in a fast pace, high intensity environment, whilst juggling competing priorities.
• Ability to see tasks through to completion and maintain motivation whilst completing detailed and repetitive work.
• Ability to work effectively and diligently as an individual, providing advice and guidance based on experience and sound judgment.
• Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to convey complex topics and information in a clear and concise manner and influence.
• Exceptional attention to detail.
• Good IT literacy, in particular Microsoft Office (Excel).

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge of The National Archives' published cataloguing and preparation standards for paper records.
• Ability to provide training to small groups.
• Willingness to undergo developed vetting.

Other Requirements

• Must be prepared to travel to other Government departments as required.
• Occasional overnight stays will be required.

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is

found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service

D&I Strategy.

Benefits
Generous benefits package, including pension, sports and social club facilities, onsite gym, discounted rates at our on-site cafe and opportunities for training and development. Annual leave entitlement of 22 days per calendar year (rising to 25 after the first year, and incrementally to 30 days after six years) and 10½ days public and privilege holidays per annum.

Any move to The National Archives from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at  (opens in new window)

Reasonable adjustments
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact The National Archives via as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs
• Complete the 'Reasonable Adjustments' section of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks (opens in new window)

Nationality Requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in new window)

Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code  (opens in new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles. (opens in new window)

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative. (opens in new window)

Contact Point For Applicants

• Name: The National Archives Recruitment Team
• Email:

Further information
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact The National Archives via email: If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at (opens in new window)