John Lewis Secondment
Steve Haley in the new BFI Mediatheque
Steve Haley, sales assistant at John Lewis Newcastle, has swapped his day job to take on a voluntary role at Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums. The secondment is part of the Golden Jubilee Trust, a charity initiative set up by the John Lewis Partnership to offer practical help to UK-registered charities.
Steve will spend six months at Discovery Museum, Newcastle upon Tyne and will be based within Tyne & Wear Archives. During this period, Steve will help with the day-to-day running of BFI Mediatheque, a new digital archive of over 2000 films and TV programmes from the BFI (British Film Institute) National Archive. Part of his role will be to produce a BFI Mediatheque user guide which will provide details on films of local interest such as ship-building and coal-mining. Steve will also work on a project with volunteers at the museum to set up a Volunteers’ Film Club.
Steve Haley says: “I hope that the experience I have accumulated at John Lewis over the past 14 years will really make a difference to Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums,” says Steve. “As well as working on projects such as BFI Mediatheque, I will also look to develop strong links between John Lewis Newcastle, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums and the local community. On a personal level, I also hope to expand my own skills to then bring back to my job at John Lewis Newcastle.”
The John Lewis Partnership set up the Golden Jubilee Trust in April 2000 to mark the 50th anniversary of the co-ownership business structure. Partners (staff) at any level within John Lewis or Waitrose can apply for a secondment to provide help for a charity, whilst developing new skills which can be used in both their work and personal lives. The Golden Jubilee Trust awards approximately 50 secondments each year on a full or part-time basis for a maximum of six months and takes on the Partners’ full pay to cover the placement. Last year the Golden Jubilee Trust celebrated its tenth anniversary and donated the equivalent of 23,790 hours to charity - the highest number of hours since the scheme began.
Commenting on Steve’s new role, Carolyn Ball, Archives and Records Services Manager, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums says: “Steve’s experience at John Lewis is invaluable to us and I am really looking forward to working closely with him over the next six months. We are extremely lucky to have him working here and we hope that this secondment will further strengthen our relationship with John Lewis Newcastle. It is fantastic that services like ours get to benefit from Partners’ experience and expertise as part of the Golden Jubilee Trust and I hope that Steve will be able to go back to John Lewis and share some of the things he learnt during his time with us.”