FOI Manager

nationalarchives; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 37,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

The National Archives invites applications for an FOI Manager to lead the FOI team and ensure compliance with FOI, EIR and DPA obligations. You will manage casework, guide senior stakeholders and oversee reviewers who handle bulk FOI work.

Based at the Kew site with a flexible mix of onsite and home working, you will influence policy, develop guidelines, and drive timely access decisions within a prestigious national collection environment.

Qualifications

• Knowledge of FOI and Data Protection Acts.
• Ability to prioritise workload and meet tight deadlines.
• Strong communication skills and ability to explain points of law clearly.
• Experience leading a team, ideally with FOI knowledge.

Responsibilities

• Manage FOI casework and FOI staff Assessors & Researchers.
• Advise Head of Centre and determine positions on appeals and tribunals.
• Promote FOI knowledge across the organisation and update guidelines.

Skills

FOI knowledge

Data Protection Acts

Job description

As the living, growing home of our national story, The National Archives is a special place to work. We're an institution nearly 200 years old with a collection spanning 1,000 years of history.

We've 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: £40,853 per annum

Contract type: permanent

Band: F / SEO

Closing date: Friday 2nd October at midnight

The Domesday Book. Shakespeare's will. Tweets from Downing Street. War time records. These are just some of the 11 million items held by The National Archives. With a collection like this - the largest in the world - it's no surprise that we handle over five percent of all Freedom of Information (FOI) requests received by the Government. As FOI Manager, you'll have a great opportunity to work with closed historical records. You'll ensure decisions regarding their access are efficiently and appropriately managed to keep operations running smoothly. Join us and you'll work in an organisation that offers great support and exceptional benefits.

About the role:

The majority of the FOI requests we receive are for closed historical information. Your key responsibilities will involve ensuring we comply with legal obligations set by FOI, EIR and DPA Acts. This includes managing FOI casework and FOI staff Assessors & Researchers - who undertake the bulk of review work. As well as managing the FOI caseload, you'll be a source of expertise, guiding the Head of Centre and giving advice on difficult cases. As part of the FOI Management team, you'll be responsible for deciding our legal position on appeals and tribunals. This means working closely with senior figures from The National Archives managers to information rights units across government. At the same time, you'll promote FOI knowledge across the organisation. You'll give updates on guidelines, consider feedback and shape future operations.

About you:

To join us, you should have good knowledge of FOI and Data Protection Acts OR significant relevant experience involving researching, analysing and summarising complex information. It is equally important that you have the ability to prioritise workload according to tight deadlines and have judgment to make key FOI and access decisions, together with the confidence to defend them. Strong communication skills are essential - especially as you'll be influencing senior figures and explaining points of law in detail. You'll need to inspire a dedicated team to meet deadlines and perform. If you're an experienced leader, ideally with FOI knowledge, we'd like to hear from you.

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.