Job Summary

This position is part of Rice University’s Fondren Library Special Collections department, known as the Woodson Research Center. The Digital Archivist reports directly to the Head of Special Collections and leads the department’s digital preservation program. This role requires creating goals for the existing digital preservation program, refining and maintaining documented workflows, and leading file transformation and preservation steps. The Digital Archivist collaborates with archivists and special collections librarians in the Woodson Research Center to arrange and describe digital collections and provide reference services for them.

The ideal applicant for this position possesses a deep understanding of archival processes and the needs of a digital preservation program, excellent technical and communication skills, and a strong commitment to public service. 

This position is offered as a hybrid role, combining both in-office and remote work to provide flexibility and support collaboration.

Minimum Requirements

• Master’s degree
• 3+ years of experience in digital archiving
• In lieu of the experience requirement, additional related education, above and beyond what is required, may be substituted on an equivalent year-for-year basis.

Skills:

• Superior verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated ability to perform precise, detailed work quickly and accurately
• Strong commitment to serving patrons, stakeholders, and the larger community
• Experience managing or working on multiple complex projects simultaneously
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems, handle difficult situations, and participate in a productive and harmonious work environment
• Demonstrated ability to handle ambiguity and a commitment to professional development and skill expansion

Preferences

• Demonstrated knowledge of and/or experience with digital stewardship issues, tools, standards, and/or best practices
• Familiarity with metadata and technical standards relevant to archival collections (e.g., Dublin Core, EAD, PREMIS, etc.)
• Experience with multiple operating systems (e.g., macOS, Windows, Linux/UNIX, etc.)
• Experience with archival technologies and tools related to appraising, accessioning, processing, preserving, describing, and enabling access to born-digital archives (e.g., Archive-It, BitCurator, ePADD, Archivematica, ArchivesSpace, command-line tools, spreadsheets, etc.)
• Digital Archives Specialist (DAS) certificate from the Society of American Archivists
• Academy of Certified Archivists membership
• Experience with a basic coding language (e.g., Python, Shell, Perl, etc.)
• Familiarity with legal and ethical considerations for digitized and born-digital access materials
• Familiarity with AI tools for digital preservation
• Familiarity with accessibility in regard to ADA Title II

Essential Functions

• Leads digital archiving processes in the department, including tasks such as high-level goal setting, maintenance of program documentation, archival arrangement and description of digital materials, development and preservation of Archival Information Packages, and quality-control steps across systems
• Identifies manuscript and archival material appropriate for digitization
• Supervises and trains processing assistants
• Performs all other duties as assigned
• Additional Functions
• Provides specialized reference service and search guidance in all collections to on-/off-site researchers
• Leads departmental use of and/or training on digitization equipment
• Participates in user education, lectures, and tours for university users and outside groups

Salary Range: $72,600 to $92,500 annually

For more information and to apply, please visit this link.