Finding out about GKIM Job Vacancies

This posting was collaboratively drafted by members of the Government Information Group Committee. 

 

GKIM (Government Knowledge and Information Management) is a great place for one’s first or next professional position! This posting identifies some of the key sources to check for current GKIM vacancy information, whether they come from government departments or government agencies / arms-length bodies. 

 

So why work in a government / agency role?

 

In a nutshell because GKIM can offer variety, an interest and sense of purpose, wider benefits and career options. 

 

Let’s briefly look at each of these in turn.

 

There is a wide and varied range of opportunities and GKIM roles, including:

 

·      librarians, information specialists 

·      information / knowledge managers 

·      records managers

·      information rights officers (freedom of information / access to information, data protection, information governance roles)

·      information architects

 

There is something to suit most information professionals!

 

Regarding interest and sense of purpose, you will often be working on interesting and varied tasks, perhaps contributing to some very visible and high impact projects, or work that really contributes to making the country function effectively. Our roles can include supporting policy and legislation delivery, but also planning and development of new legislation or policies or their review and evaluation. One could also be supporting armed forces personnel conduct their roles more effectively and safely or assisting inspectors and regulators in their work. With a range of other professions working in government and agencies the scope for GKIM support can be extremely broad. In many instances one will be able to directly map how one’s work contributes, and possibly impacts, on life within the UK or internationally.

 

When one comes to the wider benefits, the pay levels may not always be “top notch”, but there are certainly other rewards to working in the civil service. These can include good terms and conditions of employment, strong pensions, good flexible working arrangements, excellent policies for parental leave, caring and volunteering leave, etc. There are often great opportunities for training and career development, although sometimes it may be trickier to gain profession-specific training. This may be overcome, in some instances, through the more informal support, challenge and development provided by the networks of colleagues working in similar roles across government, or within CILIP GIG! 

 

The careers options are quite good. Some departments / agencies may have a significant number of GKIM staff and so there may be good opportunities for career progression within an organisation. Depending on one’s geographical location, there may also be opportunities for role change or promotion through cross-departmental job vacancy trawls. Additionally some job roles badged under some of the other Government Professions (e.g. Data, Digital, Security or Communications) may also rely heavily on KIM skills. This broadens the range of opportunities and also means that one could be working with and supporting colleagues from a wide range of government professions.

 

Rest assured that a library and information professional will be working in an environment where their professional skills are highly sought-after and appreciated.

 

 

So GKIM might be for you, but where do you find out about job vacancies?

 

1. Civil Service Jobs

This is the first port of call. Often GKIM recruiters will not have access to a recruitment budget and so many GKIM roles may only be advertised through “free” resources. Civil Service Jobs is central here. If you are serious about applying for GKIM vacancies then set yourself up with a user account on CSJ and save a few search profiles in order to receive emails about new jobs as they are posted. You may wish to format your search by including some of the following “Job Roles”: Architecture & Data ; Knowledge & Information Management; or Library.

 

As indicated above, Digital, Data, Security and Communications government professions in addition to GKIM may also offer suitable job vacancies for KIM professionals. So you may need to think about broad search profiles in order to receive information about the full cross-section of suitable job vacancies.  

 

Existing civil servants can also use CSJ to find out about roles currently being advertised for internal recruitment only. When you register for a CSJ account be sure to select and complete fully the section “Are you a civil servant or an employee of a public body?”. Once successfully registered, log-in and run trial searches to ensure that you are seeing “Across Government” advertised roles as well as externally advertised vacancies.

The Job Centre Plus / Department of Work & Pensions Find a Job service may also include relevant vacancies and is again useful to consider where the recruiter does not have a budget for paid advertising.

 

2. Preferred potential employers

If your location restricts the range of potential employers available to you or if you are interested in roles within specific government departments or agency bodies, then you would be well advised to check their web sites. Many will have Jobs, Recruitment or “Join Us” pages, and many will enable you to set up saved search profiles in order to be emailed when new relevant vacancies are launched. This may be a “belt and braces” approach if you have already set up a search profile on Civil Service Jobs, but it is better to be told about an opportunity twice than never at all.

Remember that sometimes your location might not always be such an issue. Some GKIM roles will offer some flexibility about where they are based and which is the “home” location. Some home working may also be permitted in order to reduce the need for frequent long commutes or difficult journeys, to ensure work-life balance, or to assist with office overcrowding. This may be increasingly and enduringly true as we move out of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The lockdown has demonstrated, where appropriate IT kit is available, just how effective home working can be across a range of government departments and agencies.

 

3. Relevant professional bodies

- Information Professional Jobs 

This site is run by the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals (CILIP).  CILIP is our professional body and the place the many information professional will go to when searching for jobs. However, recruiters pay for advertisements to be placed on IPJ and so not all GKIM roles will feature here. Sign-up to receive the weekly email jobs bulletin (available under Manage Email Preferences under your personal Account & Settings profile page on the CILIP web site). Or register to be alerted for jobs relevant to your crafted search profile on the IPJ site. Your search could include “Government” as a Sector choice. 

- Information and Records Management Society Jobs 

This site is quite strong in information and records management, and information governance roles. Create a Job Seeker account in order to set up job alerts.

- Archives & Records Association members can also access job vacancy information, including roles in archives, records management and information governance.

 

4. Commercial recruitment agencies

Some GKIM roles may be recruited through the following recruitment agencies, so it may be worth scanning their vacancy lists, signing up for alerts or contacting them for further information.

Sue Hill and TFPL Recruitment (both part of Progility Group).

CB Resourcing 

Glen Recruitment 

 

5. Other sites

Knowledge Hub – GKIM Profession closed group 

If you already work in the UK Civil Service then you should be able to register using your work email address to join the Government Knowledge & Information Profession closed group on Knowledge Hub. Some vacancies are promoted through the group.

Some GKIM roles have occasionally been advertised on www.jobs.ac.uk  - “the leading international job board for careers in academic, research, science and related professions”. Check under the Professional grouping for the Library Services and Information Management category.

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Do you have suggested information sources for finding new GKIM roles, or strategies that worked for you? Please comment on this blog to let us and others know!