Archive Consultant

Disability Arts Online (DAO) is looking for an Archive Consultant to support its landmark heritage project, ‘Cripping Culture: a Journey into Disability Arts Heritage’.

There is a maximum budget of £5,400, inclusive of VAT, to deliver all aspects of the project set out in the brief.

This is a freelance commission for a digital archives specialist to support the planning, development and implementation of an archive and accession policy and strategy to guide the work, adhering to best practice in digital archiving.

Cripping Culture: A Journey into Disability Arts Heritage is delivered by DAO with key industry partners and funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with the aim of sharing the story of the Disability Arts movement and preserving our shared heritage for future generations.

Overview

Application deadline: 12 noon Monday 2 March 2026

Contract Conditions: Self-employed Contract

Remuneration: £5,400 (total budget)

Region: UK

Work location: Remote

Deliverables

• Carry out a condition survey of all physical and digital heritage assets held by DAO.
• Develop and deliver an archive and accessions policy.
• Collaborate with the project team and digital agency Surface Impression to identify an approach to taxonomy and cataloguing.
• Support the creation of the website and the archive specification document.
• Address and consider the implications of the restrictions imposed by the required Creative Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
• Create an outline plan for future accessioning from DAO’s magazine and organisational records.

Required skills, experience and approach

• Experience working as an archive consultant on a heritage project
• Knowledge and experience with digital archive techniques
• Excellent communicator
• An understanding of the issues disabled people face
• Alignment with our organisational values of Connection, Empathy, Curiosity, Responsiveness, and Social Justice.

How To Apply

Before applying for the role, please review the Archive Consultant Brief PDF or watch the captioned video below.

If you require the brief format that is not already provided, please let us know by emailing heritage@disabilityarts.online.

To apply for this position, email heritage@disabilityarts.online and include the following:

• CV/Professional profile
• Letter / audio / video expression of interest (Max 2 pages of A4 or 5 minutes video / audio). This should outline how your skills and experience meet the brief and describe your proposed approach to the work.
• A quote for the work that sets out:

• Your proposed hourly/daily rate for the work (including VAT if applicable)

• The number of hours/days you expect the project to require overall
• A breakdown showing how your time is allocated across the deliverables

The quote may be submitted in any format (e.g. Word document, PDF, or spreadsheet). The quote should relate only to your fee for the work and should not include additional costs such as subscriptions, software, or other expenses.

Contracting

This work will be delivered under a contract for services. The rate provided in your application will be incorporated into the contract as a fixed rate.

Your working hours are flexible and organised by you; however, you are responsible for completing the project within the hours quoted.

You must be based in the UK.

Most of the work will be undertaken remotely, though occasional in-person meetings may be required.

You must be available to start from April 2026.

All deliverables should be completed by March 2027, although earlier completion may be possible.