Information Access and Compliance Assessor

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. 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.

This post enables The National Archives to remain compliant with information rights legislation – the Freedom of Information Act and Data Protection Act – by undertaking work on Reclosure and Takedown at The National Archives. Reclosure occurs when information in open records may be subsequently closed by The National Archives. Takedown applies to material on The National Archives’ website and those of our commercial partners, as well as to webpages preserved in the UK Government Web Archive. The circumstances in which Reclosure or Takedown are required are outlined in our Takedown and Reclosure Policy.

An important part of this role involves managing Reclosure and Takedown requests relating to digital records and information, including those transferred to The National Archives by Public Inquiries and other short-term bodies such as Independent Inquiries. This role will report to the Reclosure Panel and the Takedown Panel, who oversee Takedown decisions. These are internal Panels composed of staff with expertise in Freedom of Information (FOI) and Data Protection, along with records and catalogue specialists from across The National Archives.

Reclosure and Takedown cases need careful handling, with balanced and considered recommendations submitted to the Panels, to ensure that appropriate action is taken in a timely manner. An important part of this role is to keep those involved with Reclosure and Takedown regularly informed of progress; you will need to judge when to escalate concerns to senior management, to ensure not just compliance, but to maintain a level of good customer service, while safeguarding TNA’s reputation.

This role is based within the FOI Centre, to ensure that there is a consistency of approach towards Reclosure, Takedown, and compliance. Using your knowledge of information rights legislation, you will undertake research, review information flagged for Reclosure or Takedown, and support access decisions for these records. You will also be expected to carry out research into closed records in response to FOI requests, assess whether exemptions apply to those records, and correspond with requesters. As a result, you will develop expert knowledge regarding the application of the FOI Act and related information rights legislation. Working to tight deadlines, the role requires strong decision making and communication skills, as well as the ability to organise a heavy workload.

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.

Role and Responsibilities

• Enable The National Archives to remain compliant with information rights legislation through outlining the scope of Reclosure or Takedown work involved with records identified as high risk, and reporting on progress and recommendations when necessary to the Reclosure or Takedown Panels.
• Leading on projects to manage Reclosure or Takedown, which includes the objectives, targets and desired outcomes.
• Sampling and reviewing records and information within these projects, making recommendations for the access status of these records.
• Working closely with the FOI Centre and the Reclosure and Takedown Panels to ensure that there is a consistency of approach towards reclosure and compliance.
• Working collaboratively across the organisation to provide advice and assistance on Reclosure, Takedown, and compliance risks.
• Working to tight statutory deadlines, carry out research into, and produce reports on, closed records held by The National Archives in response to Freedom of Information requests and Subject Access requests under the Data Protection Act.

Person Specification

Essential criteria:

• Demonstrable ability to carry out research into records, assimilate lots of information, analyse textual content, and summarise findings clearly and concisely.
• High standard of communication, both written and verbal.
• Confident and able to negotiate at a senior level across government departments.
• Strong team-working skills, coupled with the ability to work on own initiative.
• Demonstrate ability to make decisions, using sound judgement, escalating issues as required.
• Commitment to providing a professional service to the public and/or to other government departments.
• Ability to work to deadlines, work well under pressure, and work flexibly in approach to prioritise/balance demanding workloads and targets.

Desirable criteria:

• Knowledge of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Data Protection Act 2018 and related legislation.
• High level of IT literacy, including strong knowledge of Microsoft Outlook, Excel, Word, and SharePoint.
• Use of case management/tracking systems.
• Project management experience.

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.

Security

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to UK nationals, nationals of the Republic of Ireland, nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK, and 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).

Contact point for applicants:

Name: The National Archives Recruitment Team
Email: careers@nationalarchives.gov.uk