What is it like to work as a community heritage officer with disabilities?

As many of you will know I left archaeology due to the barriers around career progression whilst having to work part time. I now have a wonderful job with a local authority as a community heritage officer and such a supportive working environment but what is it like navigating work with multiple disabilities? I've chosen a snapshot in to a week in my life in July 2025 which was also the first week of the school summer holidays.

My role as a Community Heritage Officer is to help community heritage groups to become more sustainable through training them, helping them to recruit new members and assisting with funding bids. Although it is much more varied than that in reality. I do have support at home which enables me to pursue my passion for heritage and archaeology. 

Monday - In the morning I went for exercise therapy, then I went online for a steering group meeting and it was great to hear how the project was progressing. I don't normally work on Mondays but I don't mind being flexible. This means I build up some flexitime and I prefer to use this to start later each day as I struggle with sleeping through the night due to pain. 

Tuesday - Although I normally work from home as a reasonable adjustment I go to the office and we have a meeting about tackling Heritage crime and  Maritime Heritage crime after a training session I went to recently with the Protected Wrecks Association. Being allowed to continue working from home (as others have gone back to the office one day a week) means that I can concentrate better and minimise fatigue. 

I successfully gained funding for a project which will benefit disabled people in our area so in the afternoon I worked on a brief to send out to consultants. 

After work, I did a talk with Dr Abi Hunt in my voluntary role with the Enabled Archaeology Foundation. The talk was for a group in Germany on disability inclusion in the heritage sector.

Wednesday - I had acupuncture which is important for me to reduce pain and fatigue. I usually work on my doctorate when I am not in my paid role which is all about barriers facing disabled people working in the heritage sector and how to potentially reduce these. 

Thursday - I manage a grant scheme so I monitoring meetings regarding this most of the day. I also had a meeting with a company who are going to provide free training on AI for the heritage groups I work with.

Friday - I went on a Richard Burton tour. This was a coach trip which took us on a tour around Pontrhydyfen and Taibach where Richard Burton grew up. I advised the tourism team to make sure this trip was as accessible as possible.

Saturday - I held a Roman Archaeology Day in partnership with Heneb and our library service for the Festival of Archaeology. It was very popular! We had dressing up, Roman cooking, colouring, a sandpit excavation, a handling collection, an exhibition and a guided walk. Families played for hours and one person came for their birthday! I was in pain and exhausted after this but I had made sure to build in time to rest and recover afterwards. 

Sunday - I spent time with my children and family and rested. Resting and pacing are so important to reduce fatigue and pain.