Operational Manager

Overview

As Operational Manager with the Buckinghamshire Archives Service, you would have a key role in helping to prepare the service to relocate from Aylesbury to High Wycombe and oversee the service’s public engagement. The Service has records that cover over 800 years of Buckinghamshire’s history, which are made available to the public in its Searchroom (Aylesbury) and online via the Virtual Searchroom.

This is a secondment/fixed term contract opportunity for 12 months.

About us

The Archives Service is a small, innovative team, committed to delivering an excellent service for Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes’ residents. We have an SLA with Milton Keynes City Council and the National Paralympic Heritage Trust to manage their archives. The Service’s work is built on a foundation of excellent standards for customer care and collections management. It works in partnership with other organisations to reach out and meaningfully engage with the county's diverse communities. The Service actively promotes its collections, so they are an authentic source for celebrating and researching Buckinghamshire's rich history and heritage. Buckinghamshire Archives focuses on the four E's: engage, excite, educate and empower.

The Archive Service will relocate from Aylesbury to High Wycombe during the Spring of 2027, so this will be an exciting time to join the Service and help us prepare for the move.

About the role

This would be a great opportunity to gain experience to further your career. The role requires the post holder to manage a team to deliver the day to day running of the Archives Service. It will have a leading role, with the support of professional staff, in planning for the relocation of the Archive Service from Aylesbury to High Wycombe, and ensuring it is ready to reopen once relocated. This post is also the lead for the services’ customer service, community engagement, and health and safety.

About you

You will have the ability to successfully manage conflicting priorities, such as day-to-day service management and relocation work, to achieve a successful outcome.

The successful candidate will have good communication and interpersonal skills, so they can communicate the benefits of the relocation to a range of audiences. In addition, the post holder will have proven experience of managing a team, setting goals and monitoring performance, taking action in line with corporate policies and procedures, if required.

Please note that the post holder will be required to carry out manual handling.

Other information

Please see the attached job summary for further information on this role and person specification.

The team is currently based in the Walton Street offices in Aylesbury, but the service is relocating to High Wycombe, reopening there in the Spring of 2027.

Closing date: 6th May 2026

Interview date: TBC

Interview-type / process: In person

If you would like to have an informal conversation with the recruiting manager, please contact: Daniel Williams, County and Diocesan Archivist at [email protected]

This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:

• All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions

For further information on how long it takes for cautions and convictions cautions to become spent, please refer to our guide on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (updated 2023) | Nacro

We understand that candidates may use AI tools to assist with their applications. While we welcome innovation, we expect all submissions to reflect your own experience, skills, and achievements accurately. Please ensure your application is truthful and demonstrates your personal capabilities, as this will be assessed during the selection process.

We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.

Our values and culture

We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.

By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:

• a fair and inclusive culture
• the chance to really make a difference to those around you
• health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
• a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
• ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
• opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events

At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.

From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.

We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.

About the Business Unit

Our Communities directorate works across the county to deliver a number of the key customer-facing services that our residents, businesses and visitors rely on every day. 

This directorate includes a wide range of services, including:

• collecting and disposing of waste and recycling
• maintaining our roads and Rights of Way network and parking
• ensuring the delivery of school transport, and supporting sustainable travel including public bus services and School Crossing Patrollers
• managing Country Parks
• leisure facilities, museums, theatres and libraries, as well as developing our Cultural Strategy
• Licensing, Environmental Health and Trading Standards
• Cemeteries and Crematoria

The customer is central to how we develop and deliver all of these services, which help promote our rich and vibrant culture and special environment. 

We are looking for enthusiastic, ambitious and committed individuals to join our team and help us to continue to make Buckinghamshire a great place to live, work and visit. This is an exciting time for us as we bring together the services previously run by five separate councils before Buckinghamshire Council was created. Whilst making major changes to contracts affecting residents across Bucks, we continue to focus on delivering great customer service. You will join us on our journey of continuous improvement - whether that’s through developing strategies and ways of working or delivering services on the ground, every person in Communities is a valued member of the team.

We recognise and reward you

Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.

https://jobs.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/working-buckinghamshire-council/