Historian

Arkansas Department of Transportation•Little Rock, AR

11d

About The Position

The Department Historian is responsible for researching, documenting, preserving, and making accessible the historical record and institutional knowledge of the Arkansas Department of Transportation. This position ensures that the Department’s history, including major infrastructure projects, policy decisions, leadership actions, legislative changes, and organizational changes, are accurately recorded and preserved in compliance with public records laws and archival standards. The Historian supports executive leadership, public information, legal research, and public education by providing authoritative historical context. Examples of Work The following examples are intended only as illustrations of various types of work performed. No attempt is made to be exhaustive. Related, similar, or other logical duties are performed as assigned. The Department may require employees to perform functions beyond those contained in job descriptions. The Department may modify job descriptions based on Department needs. The Arkansas Department of Transportation is an "at will" employer.

Requirements

Education and experience: The educational equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in history, public history, archival studies, library science, public administration or a related field OR the educational equivalent to a diploma from an accredited high school plus four years of related experience.
Experience in historical research, archives, records management or public-sector documentation.
Experience conducting interviews and producing formal written reports.
Knowledge of public records laws, records retention, and archival standards.
Strong research, writing, and analytical skills.
Ability to interpret engineering, planning, and policy documents for historical purposes.
Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
Ability to work independently and collaborate across divisions.
Professional judgment and discretion in handling sensitive information.
Valid driver’s license.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with government records, infrastructure documentation or technical reports preferred.

Responsibilities

Research and document the history of the Department, including major transportation projects and programs, policy and regulatory changes, organizational restructuring governance as well as leadership and agency milestones
Prepare historical narratives, timelines, reports, and briefing materials for executive leadership, legislative inquiries and public use.
Conduct and document oral history interviews with current and former executives, engineers, project managers and long-tenured employees.
Establish and maintain a centralized ARDOT historical archive, including physical and digital materials such as reports, plans, photographs, maps, videos and publications.
Identify historically significant records for long-term preservation in coordination with the Arkansas State Archives.
Capture and preserve institutional knowledge related to major projects, funding mechanisms and policy decisions to support continuity during leadership transitions.
Provide historical context to support strategic planning, program evaluations, litigation support and right-of-way or project history research.
Serve as the Department’s subject matter expert on historical matters.
Develop accurate historical content for Department websites and publications, educational outreach and public exhibits for anniversary or milestone events.
Respond to internal and external requests for historical information.
Ensure historical work is objective, fact-based and properly sourced.
Coordinate with ARDOT’s Librarian to facilitate sharing access and publishing information as a part of the knowledge management program.
Develop guidelines for documenting, referencing and publishing historical materials in a public-sector context.