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News and Events

See below for our latest news, events and publications.

You can also:

- Follow the History on Twitter (@HistParl) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/HistoryOfParliament)

- Follow our 1832-68 ‘Victorian Commons’ section on Twitter (@TheVictCommons)

- Read our History of Parliament blog, the Victorian Commons blog and our Director’s blog.

- See the current programme of our 'Parliaments, Politics and People' Seminar at the Institute of Historical Research

Job Advertisement: Public Engagement Assistant

The History of Parliament has a vacancy for a Public Engagement Assistant to join our small but busy communications team to maintain and further develop our public presence via our website, social media and to contribute to the expansion of our projects and outreach activities in and through Parliament, education, and the voluntary sector.

The History of Parliament is one of the largest and most comprehensive research projects in British History.  Our published volumes provide summary biographies of Members of Parliament, surveys of politics and elections in each constituency, and introductory material, and so far cover periods from the fourteenth century to the nineteenth.  We are currently working on periods in the fifteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Most of our work has also been published on our website, which we are currently redeveloping and expanding. The project has an active presence on social media and undertakes a lively programme of events and outreach activities.

We’re looking for someone with excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, a strong interest in history and some experience in writing for/managing non-personal social media and websites and other engagement and outreach activities. The appointment is offered initially on a fixed-term basis for two years.

Job title: Public Engagement Assistant

Reporting to: Public Engagement Officer

Salary: £28,509 (point 16)

This post is offered on a full-time basis, but The History of Parliament is open to the possibility of a 3/5 or 4/5 part-time appointment. Some work can be done remotely, but there will be a requirement to attend the office in central London for 1 day a week.

Informal Enquiries can be sent to either Dr Jennifer Davey, the Director (jdavey@histparl.ac.uk) or Connie Jeffery, Public Engagement Manager (cjeffery@histparl.ac.uk)

Full job description and person specification available here

Application form available here

Please send C.V., application form and cover letter to atucker@histparl.ac.uk

Deadline: 27 March 2024

Interviews will be held remotely week commencing 15th April

Job Advertisement: Finance Manager
Job description

Salary: £221 per day worked (pro rata equivalent to point 38 on the History of Parliament’s pay spine, £48,640).

Hours: Part time and variable. A minimum of one day a week; further days by arrangement. Significant extra hours may be required during the preparation of the budget (March-June); annual accounts (April-June) and annual audit (usually August-October)

Place of work: Much of the work may be done remotely, and meetings are often held remotely. The postholder will be required to attend in person at least two Trustee meetings, two Executive committee meetings and two Finance Committee meetings a year, and regular in-person meetings with the Director. There will also be a requirement for attendance in the office during some of the period of the annual audit.

Accountable to: Director, with reporting functions to Treasurer, Finance Committee and Trustees

Works with: Director, Office Manager (responsible for bookkeeping), Treasurer

Software: HPT uses VT accounts software

Responsible for:

·         Financial planning: involvement in the annual preparation of the strategic plan, modelling and preparation of annual budgets and bids for Grant-in-Aid for submission to Trustees and parliamentary authorities; support for the director in the presentation of budgets to Trustees and parliamentary authorities.

·         Monitoring of expenditure and in-year revision of budget, production of management reports and forecasts of expenditure and cash flow for the Director and others. Includes monitoring and checking of payroll, entering of data on accounts package.

·         Development of processes of risk management and monitoring.

·         Preparation of annual accounts according to Charities SORP and other legal and reporting standards; liaison with auditors (the National Audit Office), answering queries from the auditors. Support for the director in presentation of accounts to Trustees and parliamentary authorities.

·         Financial record keeping, including stocks of books held with various publishers and onsite, and fixed assets.

·         Monitoring of bank and investment accounts

·         Compliance: liaison with HMRC, including preparation of VAT returns; updating information supplied to Charity Commission.

·         Other related tasks as required, including input to preparation of external funding bids. There are various queries from other staff at the Trust (usually the Office Manager & Director) but occasionally other staff on financial issues that need to be researched and answered.

Please apply by completing an application form, along with your CV and a covering letter of not more than 2 pages.

Applications should be submitted to Adam Tucker at atucker@histparl.ac.uk by 5pm on Friday 24th November.

Application Form

Full Job Description

New Director for the History of Parliament

The Trustees of the History of Parliament are very pleased to announce that Dr Jennifer Davey will be the successor to Paul Seaward as the Director of the History of Parliament Trust. Lord Norton of Louth, the Chair of the History of Parliament Trust, said that “The History of Parliament is delighted that Jennifer Davey will be our next Director. She has been appointed following a recruitment exercise that involved the Editorial Board and the staff of the History as well as Trustees. Jennifer is a historian of great distinction of Modern British, particularly Victorian, history. Her work has particularly focused on female influence in the politics of Victorian Britain. She is editor-in-chief of History, the journal of the Historical Association, and has held several senior roles in the School of History at the University of East Anglia. Jennifer will take up the position from December, and we very much look forward to working with her to take the History into a new and exciting period”.

Dr Davey said “I am thrilled to have been appointed as the next Director of the History of Parliament. The History is one of the country’s leading research projects, and is extremely well-placed to encourage, sustain, and prompt research into Britain’s political past. As the History enters its next phase, I am looking forward to building on its exemplary expertise and facilitating work across academic, parliamentary and public communities to produce robust and authoritative narratives of the history of British politics and much else besides.”

Dr Davey will take up the position in December.