Graduate Archive Trainee

Fixed Term - 12 Months

The University of London

The University of London is a leading UK provider of distance and digital education internationally, offering programmes to 45,000 students in 190 countries around the world. Although proudly rooted in London, our community and impact are global.

The Warburg Institute

The Warburg Institute, follower to the Kulturwissenschaftliche Bibliothek Warburg in Hamburg, is the premier institute in the world for the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture. Research at the Institute is cross-disciplinary and global: it is concerned with the survival and transmission of cultural forms across national borders and from the earliest times to the present. It has historic strengths in the reception of the classical tradition in the Renaissance, and has been home to some of the most innovative and influential scholars in the fields it covers. Its library holds some 360,000 volumes, stored on open shelves and structured according to Aby Warburg’s own unique scheme: it is the world’s largest collection of its kind and includes a large proportion of continental books and journals unavailable elsewhere in the UK.

Since 1944, the Warburg Institute has been part of the University of London, one of the oldest and largest universities in the UK—and its most diverse. The Institute is a founding member of the University’s School of Advanced Study, a cluster of internationally renowned institutes that form the UK's national centre for the promotion and facilitation of research in the humanities.

The Role

The Warburg Institute is appointing a Graduate Archive Trainee for September 2025 – September 2026. The post is designed for graduates carrying out a year of work experience and training prior to attending a course in archive management.

The trainee is based in the Warburg’s Special Collections Reading Room and works with all the Collections staff. This will enable the post-holder to gain specific experience and skills as well as developing an overall understanding of the links between the different sections and how the archive and library fit together as a whole. The trainee is entirely integrated into the smooth running of the Archive.

The Archive Trainee will work under the direction of the Warburg Archivist.

A staff development programme is available for the trainee, along with the Warburg’s Graduate Library Trainees and others in the University of London and beyond.

For a full role profile, please refer to the job description.

Further Information

To be considered for this opportunity, please submit your Application and CV before the closing date at midnight on the 7^th February 2025. 

The University will be unable to sponsor candidates for a visa for this role. Successful applicants must be able to demonstrate their right to work in the UK for the duration of their employment.

The University reserves the right to close the vacancy earlier than the published end date should it receive sufficient applications to warrant earlier shortlisting.

The University of London is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive working environment where we can all be ourselves and succeed. We particularly encourage applications from members of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities as this group is currently under-represented at all levels within the University. All appointments will be made on merit, based on the criteria identified in the job description.

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