Archivist

Job Title: Archivist                                            

Start Date: immediately vacant

Salary: Competitive based on experience  

Location: Hybrid - Huntington (Cambridge) & Remote

Hours: Full time desirable - flexible days/hrs 

Role Type: Project based

Applications by: 13th March 2023

 

The Revival of a Legend:

Lola Cars, one of the world’s iconic motorsport brands, and the most successful manufacturer of customer racing cars of all time. Since 1958, we have been building cars destined to win on the track.

Lola Cars has cultivated a brand synonymous with engineering excellence, iconic design and racing success. Under new ownership, Lola is committed to pushing innovation in engineering and as part of this commitment, Lola intends to release the IP back into the ecosystems and develop products that have far reaching impacts beyond motorsports.

 

The Opportunity:

A fabulous opportunity for an Archivist to join the small, dedicated and talented team at Lola as we embark on the next phase of the adventure. The Archivist role is particularly important in collating all the Lola IP.  The heritage of Lola is well evident. Many thousands of historical documents exist detailing Lola’s journey and story. A priority project for Lola is to collect, preserve, organise, catalogue and index the large amount of information; building a database and making it accessible. The abundance of information including hand drawn blueprints is massively important, super interesting and valuable for many reasons.  Ultimately, the role of the Archivist will make easily accessible all information as relevant when requested e.g. “please show me all the drawings associated with the Lola T70."

 

Role Responsibilities:

  • Carefully sort through and appraise Lola’s historical documents
  • Organise, research and review drawings, blueprints etc.
  • Group and arrange all documentation by project or car design.
  • Consider and identify the best means to preserve documentation e.g. lay out flat, digital platforms
  • Partner and liaise with external providers as necessary to secure services e.g. scanning of documents, dry storage of paper documents etc
  • Methodical in the indexing and cataloguing of electronic documents (PDF)
  • Build a database that organises the drawings and documentation; making it accessible

 

Skills required:

  • Self-motivated to drive & own the project.
  • Ability to work independently with minimal supervision.
  • Communicates and demonstrates progress towards the end-goal.
  • Strong attention to and enjoys the detail.
  • Respect for the fragility and importance of documentation
  • A deftness of hand
  • Methodical and measured in approach
  • Patient – it can be time consuming
  • Research skills to find out about the background of materials.
  • Initiative, to find ways to make information more accessible to users.
  • Interest and knowledge of automotives / motorsport
  • Knowledge of audio-visual formats and information technology are highly desirable
  • Proficient PC skills

 

Qualifications & Experience required:

  • Degree Level or commensurate work experience
  • Engineering degree desirable but not essential
  • Project Management experience desirable but not essential
  • Some experience in working with database management desirable
  • An interest in history and the management of such information
  • A research interest in and understanding of engineering/motorsport.

 

The Successful Candidate might be:

  • A mechanic with a fascination and enthusiasm for old racing cars/Lola cars
  • A mechanical engineer studying for a degree or a recent graduate
  • An enthusiast who has acquired the appropriate work experience skills.
  • An experienced engineer with a fascination for old racing cars and looking for an interesting project
  • A professional archivist with an interest in motorsport
  • A museum curator ready to embark on a new challenge.

 

Role Location & Hours:

The role will be based in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire at the Lola Facility. It’s anticipated that a full-time commitment will be required (40hrs a week), but once the hand work at Huntingdon is finished (scanning sorting, preserving) – there is scope for the 'electronic' cataloguing and indexing (database) to be worked on remotely. Hence the potential for a hybrid role with a combination of Huntingdon based workdays and remote work days. If you are unable to commit to full time but possess the relevant skills and interest in the role, please do still contact us.

 

Interested in the role?

  • Please submit your CV accompanied by a short cover letter explaining why you are suitable for the role, salary expectations and availability to start.
  • If you have any questions or would like to know any further details please do make contact.

 

We look forward to hearing from you.