Careers at Oxford Archaeology

Oxford Archaeology is one of the largest independent archaeological practices in Europe. Since our foundation in 1973, we have worked throughout the UK and on many international projects. We have offices in Oxford, Lancaster and Cambridge. We are a registered charity with a heritage and education focus. For information about careers with Oxford Archaeology, download our leaflet.

GT2SUP Career Pathway

We have recently launched our new CIfA-approved Graduate Trainee to Supervisor Career Pathway. Click here for more detail.

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Current Vacancies

Speculative applications

Please complete and submit an application form stating the area of work you are interested in.

Please apply via the online application form.

Just graduating and looking for a career in archaeology? Come and join the OA Graduate Trainee to Supervisor Career Pathway. Made up of three individual CIfA approved training programmes, the Pathway will take you from graduating in archaeology or a related subject to being ready for promotion to Field Supervisor.

Already in archaeology but not progressing as you would like? Come and join the GT2SUP Pathway; it is open to all new recruits - you will be automatically enrolled when you start with us, at the level appropriate to your experience and ability.

The Pathway consists of:

The Graduate Trainee (GT) Programme

The GT programme has been running since 2014, and during that time over 300 graduates have joined us. The programme presupposes little in the way of archaeological fieldwork skills - you will learn all of this on site under the watchful eye of your experienced mentors, many of whom will have been through the GT programme themselves. The programme lasts for six months, with scored milestones every six weeks and at the half-way point to check on your progress before final reviews. When, after 12 weeks, you earn the scores required to pass onto the second half of the programme, you will also receive a pay rise. When you complete the GT programme you will move onto the A2AS programme.

The Archaeologist to Assistant Supervisor (A2AS) Programme

The A2AS programme encourages you to seek out opportunities to enhance your career and record your ongoing experience in the relevant sections of your training pack. There are no time limits placed on the programme – everyone can take it at their own pace – but we anticipate perhaps 18 months or two years as an average. As well as the opportunity to record your experiences in a structured way, the programme also offers four training days a year. On each training day you will be taken out of the field and into the ‘classroom’, with sessions led by OA experts in their field. Once you have gained promotion to Assistant Supervisor you will move onto the AS Training Programme

The Assistant Supervisor (AS) Programme

The AS Training Programme builds on the previous schemes and trains our Assistant Supervisors to the point where they have the experience to apply for promotion to Fieldwork Supervisor. Like the A2AS programme we expect you to seek out opportunities for your career advancement and record your fieldwork and reading experiences, but you will have considerably more responsibility in your day to day site role. As with the A2AS Programme there are also office based training days.

Graduate Trainee to Supervisor (GT2SUP) Career Pathway Testimonials

For more information on the OA Career Pathway, click the link for the OA GT2SUP brochure.