Current Vacancies

PERMANENT POSITION FOLLOWING 6 MONTH PROBATION

SALARY £33,852 – £38,800 (DEPENDENT ON SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE)

Archaeological Research Services Ltd are recruiting Project Officers for work on a variety of projects around the UK, attached to one of our offices. We have positions available for an immediate start. We particularly welcome candidates for our Bedford office.

Are you a go-getter with an ability to lead, manage and organise a field team on sites which shape our understanding of the past? Do you have a passion for delivering value and benefit through archaeology and a business-focused professional service? Do you want to join a supportive team which values innovation, career progression and purpose? Applications are invited for professional and capable Project Officers with experience of organising and running larger field projects, motivating and leading teams, completing post-excavation work and producing high quality reports for a wide range of projects. We are looking for competent and efficient individuals with a drive to get projects completed on time. We welcome experience in surveying and GIS. IT skills will be an advantage. A good knowledge of British archaeology is essential. You must be able to work as an effective team member who can be relied on to deliver to deadlines.

In this role you will lead on a variety of projects from start to finish including the production of WSIs and RAMS, fieldwork, post-excavation, archives, Illustration and creative work etc., and undertake project and personnel supervision, give and take instructions and report to your line manager. You will also produce accurate, well written reports for all site types and sizes. You will also complete administrative duties and undertake other duties that may arise as required

You must be committed to our health and safety culture and positively contribute to Company initiatives. We have a professional and friendly culture with many outstanding performers. We maintain a sector leading commitment to staff development and training which we require to be reciprocated, and we look forward to supporting and developing people to be the best they can be.

We offer an exciting range of employee benefits:

• Competitive salary
• Bonus scheme linked to achieving Company performance targets
• Attractive Company pension contribution
• Life assurance cover
• Sector-leading commitment to training and career progression
• Member of the Company’s health cash plan which includes a wide range of health services and financial support
• Discounts and rewards on health, fitness and entertainment
• 28 days annual leave (inclusive of Bank Holidays) with additional annual leave awarded according to accrued length of service
• Quality accommodation provided for away work with competitive subsistence
• Full personal protective equipment and Company branded workwear
• 100% of CIfA subscription fees etc.

TO APPLY:

Download, complete and submit all of the required documentation set out below and email to our Personnel Department. If you would like to discuss the post with us then please ring us on 01629 814540 and ask for ‘personnel’.

Applicants must complete and send in:

• Covering letter compromising 250 words on why you consider yourself a suitable candidate
• Application Form including the names and full contact details of two referees
• Full CV
• Candidates may wish to fill out and send in the Equal Opportunities Form, but this is not mandatory.

Project Officer- Job profile & application form 2026

Permanent positions following 6 month probation.

Salary £29,931 – £32,000

Archaeological Research Services Ltd are recruiting Assistant Project Officers for work on a variety of projects around the UK, attached to one of our offices. We have positions available for an immediate start. We particularly welcome candidates for our Bedford office.

Do you have good team-working ability, enthusiasm and drive to complete tasks and contribute to the operational success of projects? Do you have a passion for hands-on outdoors work with real responsibility on sites that shape our understanding of the past? Do you want to join a supportive team which values innovation, career progression and purpose? We are looking for highly motivated, competent and organised people with a wide range of experience. Applications are invited for professional and capable Assistant Project Officers with experience of taking part in and supervising field projects, completing post-excavation work and the ability to write accurate, clear English. We welcome experience in surveying, GIS and small-scale report-writing. IT skills will be an advantage. A good knowledge of British archaeology is essential. You must be able to work as an effective team member who can be relied on to deliver to deadlines.

In this role you will assist in a wide variety of project-related work and undertake archaeological fieldwork, post-excavation, digital plans and drawings, reports, archives etc. and undertake administrative and other duties that may arise as required. You will supervise small sites and junior staff, including organising work duties and monitoring the work undertaken ensuring it is to the right standard. You will take responsibility within any given project to ensure that work gets completed on time and to budget and the job runs smoothly

You must be committed to our health and safety culture and positively contribute to Company initiatives. We have a professional yet friendly business-focused culture with many outstanding performers. We maintain a sector leading commitment to staff development and training which we require to be reciprocated, and we look forward to supporting and developing people to be the best they can be.

We offer an exciting range of employee benefits:

• Competitive salary
• Bonus scheme linked to achieving Company performance targets
• Attractive Company pension contribution
• Life assurance cover
• Sector-leading commitment to training and career progression
• Member of the Company’s health cash plan which includes a wide range of health services and financial support
• Discounts and rewards on health, fitness and entertainment
• 28 days annual leave (inclusive of Bank Holidays) with additional annual leave awarded according to accrued length of service
• Quality accommodation provided for away work with competitive subsistence
• Full personal protective equipment and Company branded workwear
• 100% of CIfA subscription fees etc.

To apply:

Download, complete and submit all of the required documentation set out below and email to our Personnel Department. If you would like to discuss the post with us then please ring us on 01629 814540 and ask for ‘personnel’.

Applicants must complete and send in:

• Covering letter compromising 250 words on why you consider yourself a suitable candidate
• Application Form including the names and full contact details of two referees
• Full CV
• Candidates may wish to fill out and send in the Equal Opportunities Form, but this is not mandatory.

APO – Job profile & application form 2026

Permanent positions following 6 month probation

Salary £27,200 – £27,800

Archaeological Research Services Ltd are recruiting Archaeological Officers for work on a variety of projects around the UK, attached to one of our offices. We have positions available for an immediate start. We particularly welcome candidates for our Bedford office.

Do you have good team-working ability, enthusiasm and drive to complete tasks and contribute to the operational success of projects? Do you want to join a supportive team which values passion, innovation, career progression and purpose? Do you want to do hands-on work outdoors with real responsibility on sites that shape our understanding of the past? We are looking for highly motivated, competent and organised people with a wide range of experience. Applications are invited for professional and capable Archaeological Officers with experience of taking part in field projects, completing post-excavation work and the ability to write accurate, clear English. Survey and IT skills will be an advantage. A good knowledge of British archaeology is essential. You must be able to work as an effective team member who can be relied on to deliver to deadlines.

In this role you will carry out a wide variety of project-related work and assist in undertaking and completing fieldwork and recording, and undertake as required sample taking and processing, survey work and finds processing. You will contribute to post-excavation work, undertake illustrations, archives etc. and assist with administrative, clerical and general office duties that may arise as required.

You must be committed to our health and safety culture and positively contribute to Company initiatives. We have a professional and friendly business-focused culture with many outstanding performers. We maintain a sector leading commitment to staff development and training which we require to be reciprocated, and we look forward to supporting and developing people to be the best they can be.

We offer an exciting range of employee benefits:

• Competitive salary
• Bonus scheme linked to achieving Company performance targets
• Attractive Company pension contribution
• Life assurance cover
• Sector-leading commitment to training and career progression
• Member of the Company’s health cash plan which includes a wide range of health services and financial support
• Discounts and rewards on health, fitness and entertainment
• 28 days annual leave (inclusive of Bank Holidays) with additional annual leave awarded according to accrued length of service
• Quality Accommodation provided for away work with competitive subsistence
• Full personal protective equipment and Company branded workwear
• 100% of CIfA subscription fees etc.

To apply:

Download, complete and submit all of the required documentation set out below and email to our Personnel Department. If you would like to discuss the post with us then please ring us on 01629 814540 and ask for ‘personnel’.

Applicants must complete and send in:

• Covering letter compromising 250 words on why you consider yourself a suitable candidate
• Application Form including the names and full contact details of two referees
• Full CV
• Candidates may wish to fill out and send in the Equal Opportunities Form, but this is not mandatory.

AO – Job profile & application form – 2026

PERMANENT POSITION FOLLOWING 6 MONTH PROBATION

SALARY £29,931 – £42,000 (DEPENDENT ON SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE)

Do you have a passion for delivering value and benefit through archaeology and a business-focused professional service? Do you want to join a supportive team which values innovation, career progression and purpose? Applications are invited for someone who has strong sediment logging, monolith sampling and interpretation skills and/or botanical macrofossil assessment and analysis and charred wood identification, is proficient at producing reports, using IT and potentially able to undertake geomorphic mapping and produce deposit models. We have developed a unique suite of techniques using state of the art equipment that allows us to undertake our ‘Advanced Sediment Profiling’ using pOSL, Gamma Spectrometer, pXRF and mag susc instrumentation, together with sampling for sedaDNA alongside the typical recording and sampling of sediment and soil profiles. We are looking for either, or a combination of, a geoarchaeologist or palaeoenvironmental specialist and realise that an applicant may not have all of the above skill sets. Don’t meet every requirement? We still want to hear from you!

This post will be based at our Bakewell Office HQ with travel for meetings, site visits and training as appropriate. You will be responsible for contributing work on commercial and research-based archaeological projects. A thorough knowledge of British archaeology is helpful. You must be able to work as an effective team member who can be relied on to deliver to deadlines. We are a high performing company with a professional yet friendly culture, with many outstanding performers. We maintain a high commitment to staff development and training and look forward to supporting people to be the best they can be.

We offer an exciting range of employee benefits:

• Competitive salary
• Bonus scheme linked to achieving Company performance targets
• Attractive Company pension contribution
• Life assurance cover
• Sector-leading commitment to training and career progression
• Member of the Company’s health cash plan which includes a wide range of health services and financial support
• Discounts and rewards on health, fitness and entertainment
• 28 days annual leave (inclusive of Bank Holidays) with additional annual leave awarded according to accrued length of service
• Quality accommodation provided for away work with competitive subsistence
• Full personal protective equipment and Company branded workwear
• 100% of CIfA subscription fees etc.

TO APPLY:

Download, complete and submit all of the required documentation set out below and email to our Personnel Department. If you would like to discuss the post with us then please ring us on 01629 814540 and ask for ‘personnel’.

Applicants must complete and send in:

• Covering letter compromising 250 words on why you consider yourself a suitable candidate
• Application Form including the names and full contact details of two referees
• Full CV
• Candidates may wish to fill out and send in the Equal Opportunities Form, but this is not mandatory.

Geoarch-Palaeo Officer- Job profile & application form 2026

PERMANENT POSITION FOLLOWING 6 MONTH PROBATION

SALARY £29,931 – £38,800 (DEPENDENT ON SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE)

Are you a go-getter with an ability to lead, organise and develop a field team in survey skills? Do you have a passion for delivering value and benefit through archaeology and a business-focused professional service? Do you want to join a supportive team which values innovation, career progression and purpose? Applications are invited for a highly motivated and proficient Geomatics Officer, experienced in surveying, GIS and spatial data integration, articulation and visualisation within archaeology. Ideally the successful candidate will have experience undertaking in-field survey and recording and combining it with other remote sensing data such as that from Lidar, HER records, BGS data and satellite imagery within a GIS environment. Experience with drone survey, with an accompanying drone license, is welcomed, and if not a willingness to be trained. We are looking for a professional and capable geomatics specialist backed up with previous archaeological fieldwork experience so that they can both run and oversee site survey, taking the data from capture through to publication and archiving. An experienced archaeological background is essential.

This post will be based at our Bakewell office, with travel for surveys, site visits and training as appropriate. This is a rare opportunity to use state of the art equipment with high-resolution datasets at your fingertips, working within an innovative, supportive and forward-thinking team. There will also be the opportunity to undertake landscape surveys, walkover surveys, topographical surveys, as well as other survey applications. We have a professional and friendly culture with many outstanding performers. We maintain a high commitment to staff development and training and look forward to supporting people to be the best they can be.

We offer an exciting range of employee benefits:

• Competitive salary
• Bonus scheme linked to achieving Company performance targets
• Attractive Company pension contribution
• Life assurance cover
• Sector-leading commitment to training and career progression
• Member of the Company’s health cash plan which includes a wide range of health services and financial support
• Discounts and rewards on health, fitness and entertainment
• 28 days annual leave (inclusive of Bank Holidays) with additional annual leave awarded according to accrued length of service
• Quality accommodation provided for away work with competitive subsistence
• Full personal protective equipment and Company branded workwear
• 100% of CIfA subscription fees etc.

To apply:

Download, complete and submit all of the required documentation set out below and email to our Personnel Department. If you would like to discuss the post with us then please ring us on 01629 814540 and ask for ‘personnel’.

Applicants must complete and send in:

• Covering letter compromising 250 words on why you consider yourself a suitable candidate
• Application Form including the names and full contact details of two referees
• Full CV
• Candidates may wish to fill out and send in the Equal Opportunities Form, but this is not mandatory.

Geomatics – Job Profile 2026

PERMANENT POSITION FOLLOWING 6 MONTH PROBATION

SALARY £33,852 – £39,000 (DEPENDENT ON SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE)

 

Archaeological Research Services Ltd are recruiting a Senior Osteoarchaeology specialist to join our highly regarded Specialist Services team at Senior Scientific Officer level.

Applications are invited for a professional, highly motivated, and capable osteoarchaeologist, with demonstrable experience and specialism in excavating, identifying, analysing, recording and producing reports on human remains, including assessment, analysis and ideally a track record of publications. You will also need a good working knowledge of sub-specialisms including aDNA, stable isotopes, and peptide analysis so that you can sample for these analyses and liaise with external specialists providing these services and combine their results into the osteoarchaeological reporting. This post will be based out of one of our offices, and ideally our Bakewell HQ. Travel will be required for any fieldwork, conferences, training events etc. A full UK driving license is essential.

Working as part of a vibrant and varied team of specialists, you will lead on all aspects of osteoarchaeology within the Specialist Services department, assessing and analysing human remains. You’ll be responsible for delivering your workload and will process, visualise and interpret the data, and produce quality reports. This is a unique opportunity to work within an innovative, supportive and forward-thinking team. There will be opportunity to take part in fieldwork and survey alongside the osteology specialism.

A thorough knowledge of British archaeology is helpful. You must be able to work as an effective team member who can be relied on to deliver to deadlines. We are a high performing company with a professional and friendly culture, many outstanding performers and a dedicated management team with an open-door policy. We maintain a high commitment to staff development and training and look forward to supporting career development and developing people to be the best they can be.

In return, we offer an exciting range of employee benefits: 

• Competitive salary
• Bonus scheme linked to achieving Company performance targets
• Attractive company pension contribution
• Life assurance cover
• Sector-leading commitment to training and career progression
• Member of the Company’s health cash plan which includes a range of health services and financial support
• Discounts and rewards on health, fitness and entertainment
• 28 days annual leave (including Bank Holidays)
• Additional annual leave accrued linked to length of service
• Quality Accommodation provided for away work with subsistence
• Full personal protective equipment and Company branded attire
• 100% of CIfA subscription fees, etc.

To apply:

Download, complete and submit all of the required documentation set out below and email to our Personnel Department. If you would like to discuss the post with us then please ring us on 01629 814540 and ask for ‘personnel’.

Applicants must complete and send in:

• Covering letter compromising 250 words on why you consider yourself a suitable candidate
• Application Form including the names and full contact details of two referees
• Full CV
• Candidates may wish to fill out and send in the Equal Opportunities Form, but this is not mandatory.

Senior Osteoarchaeologist – Job profile 2026

SALARY £24,800

Archaeological Research Services Ltd are recruiting Apprentice Trainee Archaeological Officers who will learn practical fieldwork skills on a variety of our projects around the UK, whilst completing the Level 3 Archaeological Technician Apprenticeship with Cirencester College. Apprentices will be based out of one of our office bases: Bedford, Cheltenham, Bakewell, Sheffield, Sale or Tyneside. We are particularly interested in candidates based in the Gloucestershire area.

Are you looking to kickstart your career in archaeology? Our structured Apprenticeship programme aims to produce safe, competent and effective archaeologists able to undertake routine archaeological work to a professional standard, with a view to them progressing to an Archaeological Officer position on successful completion of their training. Apprentices are guided through on-the-job learning and mentoring, developing skills in fieldwork, surveying, post-excavation and health and safety and a structured baseline knowledge base of British archaeology. We are a high performing company with a professional yet friendly culture with many outstanding employees. We maintain a sector leading commitment to staff development and training which we require to be reciprocated, and look forward to supporting career progression and developing people to be the best they can be.

We offer an exciting range of employee benefits:

• Competitive salary
• Bonus scheme linked to achieving Company performance targets
• Attractive Company pension contribution
• Life assurance cover
• Sector-leading commitment to training and career progression
• Member of the Company’s health cash plan which includes a wide range of health services and financial support
• Discounts and rewards on health, fitness and entertainment
• 28 days annual leave (inclusive of Bank Holidays) with additional annual leave awarded according to accrued length of service
• Quality Accommodation provided for away work with competitive subsistence
• Full personal protective equipment and Company branded workwear
• 100% of CIfA subscription fees etc.

To apply:

Head to the Gov website, by following the link below, to find full details of this apprenticeship and to submit an application:

https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeship/VAC2000035933

All applications which reach interview stage will require an in-person interview in our Bakewell HQ.