Archives Technician

Archives Technician

Salary

$49,589.49 - $82,649.01 Annually

Location

JENNINGS BUILDING, 4110 CHAIN BRIDGE RD, FAIRFAX (FJ16), VA

Job Type

FT Hourly W BN

Job Number

26-00857

Department

Circuit Court & Records

Opening Date

05/30/2026

Closing Date

6/12/2026 11:59 PM Eastern

Pay Grade

S17

Posting Type

Open to General Public

• Description
• Benefits
• Questions

Job Announcement

Serves as the initial point of contact for visitors to the Fairfax Circuit Court Historic Records Center, which is the Archives of the Circuit Court. Assists the Historic Courthouse Manager and Assistant Archivist in the daily operations of the Historic Records Center. The court's archives is open to the public for research, and this position serves as the primary contact with customers that include: genealogists, historians, attorneys, judges, county & city planning agencies title companies, and school groups. Serves as the immediate liaison to all customers whether in-person at the reference desk, via telephone, or email.

Navigates the Historic Records Center with patrons and actively assists customers in the physical inspection and retrieval of historic court records. Processes, arranges, and describes historic records collections, as assigned by the Assistant Archivist. Actively encourages and promotes outreach, in part by showcasing interesting record groups by writing the clerk's monthly "Found in the Archives" newsletter. Hosts regular, weekly historic courthouse tours. Participates in Historic Records Center community events, locally, on weeknights and weekends, approximately two days per month. Calculates and collects appropriate fees for transactions (i.e. copies and certified copy fees) and prepares daily business close-outs. Performs other duties as assigned.

Illustrative Duties

• Assists in the identification and preservation of mandated archival materials through the establishment of finding aids, guides, and other reference tools;
• Coordinates all agency records transfers and retrievals involving the Records Center;
• Initiates reference and retrieval activities as required by agency personnel and citizens;
• Informs agencies of proper procedures in the utilization of the public record as defined in the Code of Virginia;
• Is responsible for allocation of the space required for the proper storage of inactive agency records;
• Assists in comprehensive records surveys and seminars involving unique or complex records groups;
• Assures agency compliance with legal and administrative requirements in the transfer, storage, and retrieval or disposition of public records;
• Assists in the compilation of a variety of statistics and reports related to records management operations.

Required Knowledge Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge of proper procedures and legal requirements for the utilization of public records;
• Knowledge of the preservation of archival materials;
• Ability to prepare finding aids, guides, and other reference tools;
• Ability to determine space allocation requirements for record storage;
• Ability to participate in records surveys and seminars;
• Ability to prepare reports;
• Ability to deal effectively with County personnel, professional researchers, and the public.

Employment Standards

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Any combination of education, experience, and training equivalent to the following: (Click on the aforementioned link to learn how Fairfax County interprets equivalencies for "Any combination, experience, and training equivalent to")

High school graduation or a GED issued by a state department of education, supplemented by college level course work in American history, American studies, library science, or a related field; plus, two years of experience in cataloging and managing public records, preferably in a "records center" environment.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

The appointee to this position will be required to complete a criminal background check to the satisfaction of the employer.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's or master's degree from an ALA-accredited MLIS program with a concentration in archives, library science, or American history, or experience equivalent to an archives concentration.
• Firm understanding of national archival standards and best practices.
• Minimum of 1 year of experience performing professional tasks related to the preservation of historic records (defined as any public document dated 1913 or older).
• Experience in conducting independent historical research.
• Excellent oral, written, and communication skills.
• Experience giving presentations to various groups, large and small, in a professional setting.
• Ability to exercise tact, discretion, initiative, creativity and independent judgment.
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office computer software, especially Word, Excel, and Outlook.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

Must be able to lift boxes, books, files and equipment weighing up to 30 lbs. Must be able to climb a ladder to file and retrieve historical records and push a cart weighing up to 30 lbs. Must be able to stand and speak to tours for 30 minutes without interruption. Must be able to input and retrieve data from a computer. Duties are mainly sedentary. All duties performed with or without reasonable accommodations.

SELECTION PROCEDURE:

Panel Interview and may include exercise.

Fairfax County is home to a highly diverse population, with a significant number of residents speaking languages other than English at home including Spanish, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indo-European, and many others. We encourage candidates who are bilingual in English and another language to apply for this opportunity.

Fairfax County Government prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetics, political affiliation, or military status in the recruitment, selection, and hiring of its workforce.

Reasonable accommodations are available to persons with disabilities during application and/or interview processes per the Americans with Disabilities Act. TTY 703-222-7314. DHREmployment@fairfaxcounty.gov EEO/AA/TTY.

#LI-KA1

Merit Positions

Fairfax County is proud to offer employees an attractive and comprehensive benefits program, including the following:

• Medical/Vision/Dental Insurance Coverage
• Group Term Life Insurance
• Long Term Disability
• LiveWell Program
• Flexible Spending Programs
• Paid Leave (annual, sick, parental, volunteer activity, and more!)
• Paid Holidays
• Contributory Retirement Plan
• Deferred Compensation
• Employee Assistance Program
• Employees Child Care Center
• Continuous Learning Opportunities

Please click here for a summary of our benefits.

NOTE: Fairfax County Government is a qualifying employer under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. For more information about the PSLF program: Public Service Loan Forgiveness | Federal Student Aid

For additional details please visit the Countys benefits webpage.

Non-Merit Positions

• Non-Merit Benefit Eligible: scheduled to work a minimum 1,040 hours and no more than a maximum of 1,560 hours in a calendar year.

• Medical/Vision/Dental Insurance Coverage

• Flexible Spending Program

• Deferred Compensation

• Temporary: scheduled to work a maximum of 900 hours in a calendar year.

• No benefits

01

What is the highest level of education that you have completed?

• Less than 12th grade
• High school diploma or GED
• Some college
• Associates degree
• Bachelors degree
• Masters degree
• Doctorate degree

02

If you answered "Some college" for the highest level of education completed, please indicate the number of quarter or semester hours you have completed towards a degree.

• Less than 45 quarter hours
• 45 to less than 90 quarter hours
• 90 to less than 135 quarter hours
• 135 to less than 180 quarter hours
• 180 or more quarter hours
• Less than 30 semester hours
• 30 to less than 60 semester hours
• 60 to less than 90 semester hours
• 90 to less than 120 semester hours
• 120 or more semester hours
• Not applicable

03

Please indicate all major(s) or minor(s) for your completed degree(s). Check all that apply.

• American history
• American studies
• Library science
• Archives
• Other (related field)
• Other (non-related field)
• Not applicable

04

If you answered "Other (related field)" or "Other (non-related field)" for the previous question, please list all of your majors and minors. If this question does not pertain to you, or you do not have a degree, enter "Not applicable".

05

Have you completed college level course work in American history, American studies, library science, or a related field?

• Yes
• No

06

How many years of full-time equivalent experience do you have in cataloging and managing public records, preferably in a "records center" environment?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five or more years

07

How many years of full-time equivalent experience do you have conducting presentations to various groups, large and small, in a professional setting?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five or more years

08

How many years of full-time equivalent experience do you have performing professional tasks related to the preservation of historic records (defined as any public document dated 1913 or older)?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five or more years

09

How many years of full-time equivalent experience do you have conducting independent historical research?

• None
• Less than one year
• One to less than two years
• Two to less than three years
• Three to less than four years
• Four to less than five years
• Five or more years

10

Please indicate your level of proficiency with Microsoft Word.

• Beginner (Basic knowledge of creating, editing, formatting, and saving simple documents; inserting simple tables; and proofreading documents for accuracy)
• Intermediate (Knowledge of common commands such as creating a title; using, modifying, and creating styles; setting up the ruler; indenting paragraphs, using tabs and tables; inserting captions, footnotes, endnotes, special characters, or hard page breaks; using page numbering; creating headers and footers; inserting graphics; inserting an equation, adding comments and tracking changes.)
• Advanced (Extensive knowledge of almost all function of program including mail merge, macros, creating a table of contents, creating bookmarks and cross-referencing.)
• No experience

11

Please indicate your level of proficiency with Microsoft Excel.

• Beginner (Basic knowledge of creating a worksheet; performing calculations in a worksheet; modifying and formatting a worksheet; printing workbook contents)
• Intermediate (Knowledge of inserting and modifying graphic objects in a worksheet; customizing and enhancing workbooks; analyzing data using Pivot Tables, Slicers, and Pivot Charts)
• Advanced (Extensive knowledge of increasing productivity and improving efficiency by streamlining workflow; collaborating with others using workbooks; auditing worksheets; analyzing data; working with multiple workbooks; importing and exporting data, using Excel with the web)
• No experience

12

Please indicate your level of proficiency with Microsoft Outlook.

• Beginner (Basic knowledge of identifying the components of the Outlook environment; composing email messages; sending and receiving email messages; organizing email messages into folders; managing contacts; scheduling appointments; scheduling meetings, managing tasks, notes and journal entries)
• Intermediate (Knowledge of customizing message settings; organizing and locating Outlook messages; setting calendar options; tracking activities using the Journal; assigning and tracking tasks; sharing folder information; customizing the Outlook environment)
• Advanced (Extensive knowledge of almost all functions of program including personalizing your email; organizing Outlook items; managing data files; managing contacts and contact information; saving and archiving email; creating a custom Outlook form; working offline and remotely)
• No experience

13

Are you available to work on weekends and weekday evenings, approximately twice per month?

• Yes
• No

Required Question

Employer Fairfax County

Address 12000 Government Center Pkwy. Suite 270

Fairfax, Virginia, 22035

Phone 703-324-3311

Website http://agency.governmentjobs.com/fairfaxcounty/default.cfm