Lauren Speed

Experience

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  National Roman Legion Museum

  Sept 1999 - Jun 2003

  Volunteer

  Helping with events, conducting school parties around thevarious sites attached to the museum, assisting with teaching of school parties, running activity workshops, shadowing curatorial staff, assisting with public enquiries, cataloguing newly accessioned objects. 3 compulsory weeks done as part of my degree.

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  University of Durham

  Nov 2004 - Jun 2005

  Tour Guide

  Conducting tours around Durham Castle for large and diverse groups of visitors. Required excellent knowledge of the history of the Castle, and good communication/customer service skills.

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  Dr. P. Wilson

  Aug 2005 - Aug 2010

  Archaeological Illustrator

  Occasional illustration work for Dr. P Wilson, University of Durham. Drawing small finds from the excavation at Sais in the Nile Delta, Egypt, working the drawings up for publication. This includes 1 month spent on site, March/April 2006. Involved object handling.

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  Newport Museum and Art Gallery

  Jan 2006 - Sept 2006

  Work Experience Placement

  Documenting and archiving, assisting with curatorial work, attendance at staff meetings, curatorial shadowing, exhibition work.

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  University of Durham

  May 2006 - May 2006

  Archaeological Illustrator

  Two weeks illustration work in the Department of Archaeology, Durham University. Drawing pottery finds from the site of Shuna in Jordan for Dr. G. Philip/University of Liverpool. Involved object handling.

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  Royal Air Force Museum

  Nov 2006 - Aug 2011

  Assistant Curator

  Assistant curator in a small but effective team responsible for the Archive collection at the RAF Museum. My core responsibility was facilitating access to the library and archive collections. This involved the inventory and cataloguing of the Museum’s archive and library collections as well as responding to public enquiries (by telephone, email, letter or in person), running the Reading Room, giving workshops and presentations (including going out to community groups), producing exhibitions, producing educational resources in conjunction with the learning team, and collections care. I was actively involved in furthering new interpretation projects such as podcasts, online exhibitions and audio tours. I am particularly proud of programming and managing the successful podcast and audio-tour projects, and of being part of the exhibition team responsible for the Women of the Air Force exhibition. Show less

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  Museum of London

  Oct 2011 - Apr 2013

  Events Coordinator - Family Learning

  Volunteer for the Family Learning Programme Manager. The role involved greeting participants, recording visitor numbers and liaising with the freelance educators delivering the sessions. I also helped to run the workshops, interacting with participants and ensuring the sessions were successful. In addition, I produced a proposal for a self-directed learning resource for teenage visitors in consultation with the museum's youth panel. During my time at Docklands, I was privileged to be nominated for a volunteering award. Show less

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  Royal Academy of Music

  Jul 2012 - Oct 2012

  Records & Information Manager (Museum & Collections)

  Short term project where I was responsible for delivering a project to sort out the backlog of departmental records and create a new records management system. This involved organising the physical records into a single coherent system to improve access and use of the records. I also created an electronic system of retrieval and was responsible for providing training/guidance in its use. Key skills: archiving, project management, organisation and time management, communication and liaison skills. Show less

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  Museum of London Archaeology

  Nov 2012 - Nov 2013

  Community Archaeologist

  HLF-funded IfA placement that involved running a community archaeology project to investigate the standing buildings in the London Borough of Hackney. I worked with a group of ESOL students from Hackney Community College, teaching them about buildings archaeology and providing them with the skills to record a historic building. The post involved development of my project management and community engagement skills. In addition to the main project, I also ran two successful community digs at Gunnersbury Park - one for the public, one for local schools. I also presented archaeology sessions for schools and have produced a range of outreach resources. I gained general management skills, including responsibility for budget control and people management. I achieved my IOSH Supervising Safely qualification, as well as the PRINCE2 Practitioner qualification. Show less

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  Freelance

  Feb 2014 - Aug 2021

  Web content, exhibition panels, articles, podcasts, talks, presentations, workshops, outreach, projects, community engagement, audiotours, guided tours, reports, learning resources, activity sheets, activity trails, hands-on activities, handling sessions, hand-drawn illustration. These are just a few of the areas I have experience in. Please see my online portfolio for examples of my previous work. I carry out freelance archaeological illustration work from time to time, including for the Sais Project publications and, more recently, for several publications on prehistoric mega-sites in the Balkans.

  • Heritage Interpretation

    Jun 2016 - Aug 2021

  • Archaeological Illustrator

    Feb 2014 - Aug 2021
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  Save the Children UK

  Feb 2015 - May 2015

  Fundraising Campaigns Administrator

  Temporary role to support two major fundraising campaigns at Save The Children (Christmas Jumper Day and Den Day). This involved carrying out a range of administrative tasks in support of these events, from responding to enquiries and sending out information packs to issuing congratulations certificates and thank you letters. I also carried out post-event evaluations e.g. conducting telephone surveys with nursery and primary schools who took part in Christmas Jumper Day to discuss their experience of the event and how we could improve it for them. In addition to providing admin support, I was also involved in generating ideas and producing research for future activities. For example, I researched and presented ideas for craft-based activities related to Christmas Jumper Day; I created a list of potential stakeholders/partners for the Den Day event; I collated the contact details for all local authority education contacts in the UK; and I suggested a programme of activities for the launch of the new Save The Children Club. I also provided help and support for other colleagues as needed, from diary management to event promotion and even graphic design.Key skills: diary management, project management, communication and liaison skills, relationship management, research, activity programming. Show less

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  Railway Management Services Ltd

  May 2015 - May 2016

  Data Management Project Manager

  Data Manager for the ESTEEM building survey programme. This role involves managing the input of data into the ESTEEM database via a strict quality control process to ensure all data conforms to system requirements and is of a high standard. The data from ESTEEM is used by the client to identify areas of degradation in their building fabrics and to plan upgrades and remedial work. Since the buildings are public facing, it is vital that the data is accurate and high quality. In addition to quality control, I am also responsible for issuing jobs to surveyors, training new surveyors in use of the ESTEEM system and liaising with stakeholders on the progress of the ESTEEM works programme. I am also the document controller for the ESTEEM Guidance Notes which means I am responsible for ensuring the content is up-to-date, relevant and user-friendly. Show less

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  The British Museum

  Oct 2016 - May 2021

  Outreach Officer, Portable Antiquities Scheme

  Delivery of the National Lottery Heritage Fund-supported PASt Explorers project. This involved:- creation and delivery of a national outreach programme and associated resources, to support our staff and volunteers in delivering outreach.- coordination of our national training programme for volunteers, as well as creation and delivery of some training sessions.- coordination and support for our national network of volunteers (in-house and remote).- moderation and support of our online forum.- creation and delivery of our social media strategy and subsequent content (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).- events organisation and delivery, including the annual PASt Explorers conference.- resource creation, including toolkits, training videos, children's activities and blog posts. Show less

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  Museum of London

  Aug 2021 - Mar 2024

  Museum Development Officer, Workforce
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  Society for Medieval Archaeology

  Nov 2022 - now

  Social Media and Website Manager