About

The
Job.

Department of Archaeology
Faculty of Arts and Humanities

Research Technician and Demonstrator in

Zooarchaeology

Pursue the extraordinary

Overview
The Faculty of Arts and Humanities comprises four departments: Archaeology, History, Philosophy,
Music; and two schools, the School of English and the School of Modern Languages and Cultures.
The Faculty is also home to the Humanities Research Institute, which fosters and facilitates
interdisciplinary research in the arts and humanities, and is particularly known for supporting
projects in the Digital Humanities.
The Faculty is home to more than 350 staff and 4,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students.
We reflect critically on all aspects of human society and culture (past, present, and future) and on
the process of reflection itself. We investigate cultures and languages near and far, their ideas,
texts, artefacts and landscapes. We aim to create the cultural capital of the future.

Working

individually and collaboratively, we continually develop innovative methods of enquiry within and
across disciplines while never losing sight of our cultural traditions and heritage. Our openness to
enquiry and our independence in asking and answering questions enables further understanding,
allows us to work creatively and enhances our disciplines.
We are fully committed to promoting the impact of our work beyond the University and have
developed strong strategic partnerships with many external organisations. Our standing can be
measured in many ways:

All of our REF2014 assessment units had 70% or more of their research rated world-leading or
internationally excellent; three were in the top 11 units for their discipline

Four emeritus and two current professors are Fellows of the British Academy

Nine staff are editors of prestigious journals in their field

Twenty-four staff are members of the AHRC's Peer Review College

In 2013-2014 we attracted over 3.1 million in external research funding.

We award an average of fifty PhDs each year

Between them our academic staff publish, on average, 45 books and 200 journal articles or
book chapters each year

We attract excellent students and they are highly satisfied with their experience at Sheffield in
2014, many of our departments were voted top for student satisfaction as measured by the
National Student Survey

However, statistics alone do not do justice to the variety of our research and the quality of our
teaching or the impact that our activities have in creating an intellectually exciting environment for
our staff and students. We are particularly proud of our knowledge transfer activities and the
impact of our research in the wider society.

Our Arts Enterprise strategy, our strategic

partnerships and our vibrant annual Festival of Arts and Humanities provide visible examples of the
range of engagement in which our staff and students are regularly involved in. The Faculty aim is
to combine the best in individual scholarship with collaborative interdisciplinary work in order to
create new perspectives - creative, material, historical, linguistic, literary, or philosophical - as we
interrogate the world around us.
Further information about the Faculty can be found here:
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/faculty/arts-and-humanities

About the Department

The Department of Archaeology, housed in its own building close to both the University and the city,
is

centre

of

excellence

for

research

and

teaching

(http://www.shef.ac.uk/archaeology/index.html). It is one of the largest single departments of

archaeology in the UK with 19 full-time academic posts, a large and vibrant community of doctoral
researchers, and it currently hosts seven Research Fellows (funded by the Marie Curie
Intra-European Fellowship scheme, the British Academy, the Leverhulme Trust, the Sheffield
Centre for Aegean Archaeology, and the University of Sheffield). The department also includes
numerous research assistants, working on projects ranging from the origins of agriculture to the
history of Sheffield Castle. Examples of current research projects include Evolutionary Origins of
Agriculture (funded by the European Research Council), ADAPT Life in a Cold Climate (funded by
the European Research Council), The Pig in Human History: early husbandry, intensification and
ritual use (funded by the British Academy), Silver Before Coinage: a history of silver from the fifth
millennium to the mid-first millennium BC (funded by the British Academy/Leverhulme Trust), East
Meets West: mobility and cultural contact between western Britain and the Mediterranean in the
early medieval period, c. 400-800AD (funded by the British Academy), and MEMOLA
Mediterranean Mountainous Landscapes (funded by EU FP7).

Our researchers have both initiated and contributed to a range of major research projects. The
Department is a world leader in researching and teaching (among other fields) Bioarchaeology,

Landscape Archaeology, Mediterranean Archaeology, Funerary Archaeology, Medieval Archaeology

and Material Culture Studies. The Department is both friendly and forward-looking, with a rare
combination of science-based and humanities-based staff. We have a strong commitment to
external engagement, and work in partnership with a range of local, regional and international
organisations to disseminate our research, to bring social, cultural and economic benefit to a range
of stakeholders, and to enhance student experience. In the 2015 National Student Survey our
graduates gave us a score of 100% satisfaction with their degree programme.
Further information about the department can be found here:
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/archaeology

Job Role
We are looking to appoint a Research Technician and Demonstrator in Zooarchaeology, to support
student learning and staff research projects in the study of faunal remains. They will provide
practical teaching and technical support to undergraduate and postgraduate students studying
zooarchaeology, including demonstration of the use of equipment, methods and statistical
packages regularly used in the analysis of faunal remains. They will also provide demonstrating
support for undergraduate and postgraduate modules in zooarchaeology (e.g. preparing teaching
materials, supporting academic staff in delivery of these modules, assisting students in the
classroom and laboratory and on fieldwork). They will have curatorial responsibility for the
departments zooarchaeological collections and modern skeletal reference material, and will
manage access to these collections for research and teaching purposes, for both departmental
students and, by arrangement, visiting researchers. They are also expected to contribute to the
enhancement of the current reference collection by coordinating acquisition and, when required,
small scale preparation of new skeletons. They will maintain the departments zooarchaeology
laboratories and other teaching spaces, ensuring that they are appropriately equipped with all
necessary study materials and consumables, ordering replacements from approved suppliers as
required. They will also assist in the supervision of undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations
in zooarchaeology, and provide technical support to PhD students engaged in research in these
fields. They will become a member of our technical support team, and will work closely with
academic staff to enhance student experience, support student projects and dissertations, and
work with academic staff to develop departmental research projects. They will also maintain a
research profile in zooarchaeology, in line with the strategic priorities of the department, and will
be expected to undertake regular training in new methods and techniques in the study of
zooarchaeological remains.

Job Description
Main Duties and Responsibilities

Provide practical teaching and technical support, including demonstration of the use of relevant
equipment, to undergraduate and postgraduate students undertaking modules in
zooarchaeology.

Assist in the supervision of the technical aspects of undergraduate and postgraduate research
projects and dissertations in zooarchaeology.

Provide curatorial support for the departments collections of zooarchaeological remains and
reference collections, managing volunteers and interns, on an occasional basis, as required.

Undertake regular training, as required, in the analysis of zooarchaeological remains.

Participate in research and public engagement in zooarchaeology, in line with the strategic
priorities of the department.

Maintain the departments equipment for the study of zooarchaeological remains, make
arrangements for repairs to be undertaken as necessary, and ensure that equipment and
consumables for the laboratories and other teaching spaces are sourced and ordered in a
timely manner to support teaching and research.

Manage an appropriate booking system to enable access by students and visiting researchers to
access the departments collections of zooarchaeological remains, as needed for teaching and
research.

Take responsibility for the appropriate storage of laboratory equipment.

Operate safe working practices, contribute to the creation of a safe working environment for
staff and students, and ensure that appropriate risk assessments for use of equipment in
off-campus activities are written and approved before such activities are undertaken.

Work collaboratively as part of the technical support team, and be able, as negotiated with the
team leader (the Research Technician in Archaeological Materials and Laboratory Manager), to
provide cover for other members of the team as circumstances (including sickness, holiday
cover, the service needs of the department etc.) require.

Occasionally drive vehicles on behalf of the department for example on field courses/trips, or
delivering equipment to/from sites as part of a planned workload and primarily within normal
working hours.

Any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post.

Person Specification
Applicants should provide evidence in their applications that they meet the following criteria. We
will use a range of selection methods to measure candidates abilities in these areas including
reviewing your on-line application, seeking references, inviting shortlisted candidates to interview
and other forms of assessment action relevant to the post.
Criteria

Essential

Desirable

Qualifications and experience

1.

Have (or be close to completion of) a PhD (or equivalent

qualification) in zooarchaeology.

2.

Possess higher education teaching or demonstrating experience

at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

3.

Have experience of zooarchaeological methods and the use of

statistical packages relevant to the study of zooarchaeoological
evidence (e.g. Excel, Access, SSPS, R and Past).

4.

Clean driving licence.

X
X
X

Communication skills
5.

Ability to communicate detailed knowledge and complex ideas

to others.

6.

Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to liaise effectively

with colleagues and others in the workplace and beyond.

Team working
7.

Experience of working effectively as part of a team.

Problem solving and decision making

8.

Ability to think strategically and innovatively.

9.

Ability to analyse and solve problems with an appreciation of

longer-term implications.

Project management
10.

Experience of managing projects, people and resources.

Personal effectiveness
11.

Proven ability to work to and meet deadlines.

Further Information
This post is fixed-term with an anticipated start date of 2 January 2017 and an end date of 31
December 2019.

This post is part-time: working 21 hours per week, working pattern to be agreed.

Reward and Recognition The Deal

Terms and conditions of employment: Will be those for Grade 6 staff.
Salary for this grade: 25,023 - 28,982 per annum pro rata.
The Deal is the pay, rewards and many benefits you earn for being a valued
member of our University and by being ambitious and performing at your best.
If you join the University you will have access to The Deal and your own
personalised pay, reward and benefits portal where you can access a
comprehensive selection of benefits and offers to suit your changing lifestyle
needs, for example childcare vouchers, Cycle to Work initiative, shopping
discounts along with access to extensive development and training options over a third of staff
work in Investors in People (IiP)
To find our more visit www.sheffield.ac.uk/hr/thedeal/benefits
Through The Deal we are committed to making the University a remarkable place to work and we
support this through a number of sector leading initiatives such as Juice and Sheffield Leader.

Our innovative Health and Wellbeing

programme, Juice, promotes happiness and
wellbeing through a broad range of inclusive
activities (www.shef.ac.uk/juice)

Our leadership development has been designed to

ensure that our leaders have the knowledge, skills
and behaviours needed by the University
(www.sheffield.ac.uk/hr/sld/sheffieldleader ).

We are also proud of our award-winning equality and diversity action which enhances working life
for all. 91% of staff tell us they are treated with fairness and respect (staff survey 2014)
www.shef.ac.uk/hr/equality
In our staff survey (2014) 94% of staff said they were proud to work for the University and 87 % of
our staff would recommend Sheffield University as an excellent place to work. To find out more
about what its like to work here have a look at our webpages, www.sheffield.ac.uk/staff/survey
and www.sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/staffbenefits.

Closing date: For details of the closing date please view this post on our web pages at
http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/
Informal enquiries:
For informal enquiries about this job and the recruiting department, contact: Professor Dawn
Hadley (Head of Department) on D.M.Hadley@sheffield.ac.uk or 0114 222 2920.
For administration queries and details on the application process, contact the lead recruiter:
Natalie Barks on N.Barks@sheffield.ac.uk or on 0114 222 2912.
For all online application system queries and support, visit:
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/jobs/applying

Selection-Next Step
Following the closing date, we will contact you by email to let you know whether or not you have
been shortlisted to participate in the next stage of the selection process. Please note that due to
the large number of applications that we receive, it may take up to two working weeks following
the closing date before the recruiting department will be able to contact you.
The University of Sheffield is committed to achieving excellence through inclusion.
The University of Sheffield is proud to be a Two Ticks employer
www.sheffield.ac.uk/hr/equality/support/twoticks
The University has achieved the Athena SWAN award for Women in Science, Engineering and
Medicine.
The Department has achieved the Athena SWAN Bronze award for Women in Science, Engineering
and Medicine.

Pursue the extraordinary