Middle East/North Africe Ottoman Handwriting Recognition Intern

The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints • Salt Lake City, UT

24d • Remote

About The Position

The Middle East/North Africa (MENA) team works to make historical records from the Middle East and North Africa region accessible to FamilySearch patrons. A key initiative within this effort is improving access to Ottoman-era records through advanced handwriting recognition technologies. This requires close collaboration with archivists, scholars, technologists, and external vendors. The Ottoman HWR Coordinator will play a central role in supporting and advancing the Ottoman handwriting recognition program, including: • Coordinating and scheduling workflows across internal teams, external partners, and third-party vendors. • Supporting the lead Ottomanist scholar and Content Strategist with administrative tasks and leadership reporting. • Developing pipeline-based reports for project tracking, visibility, and financial oversight. • Creating written content—including blogs and other communications—highlighting the use of Ottoman records in family history research. • Transcribing Ottoman-language materials into structured metadata. • Preparing Ottoman collections for processing in partnership with external research organizations. • Documenting and refining processes related to Ottoman content creation and patron accessibility. • Producing and sharing data reports and analyses related to Ottoman-related FamilySearch user experiences. • Assisting in regional and diaspora events that promote the use of Ottoman documents and historical records.

Requirements

• Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills.
• Strong organizational and project coordination abilities.
• Advanced linguistic capability, including the ability to read and write Arabic script.
• Ability to learn the Ottoman Turkish linguistic system quickly.
• Demonstrated ability to multitask and work professionally with individuals at all levels, both internal and external.
• Familiarity with project scheduling concepts and tools.

Nice To Haves

• Fluent or near-fluent reading proficiency in an Arabic- or Persian-script language.
• Knowledge of Middle Eastern and North African history and cultures.
• Familiarity with FamilySearch.org and its systems.
• Understanding of programming fundamentals, machine learning concepts, and natural language processing.
• Prior project management experience.

Responsibilities

• Coordinating and scheduling workflows across internal teams, external partners, and third-party vendors.
• Supporting the lead Ottomanist scholar and Content Strategist with administrative tasks and leadership reporting.
• Developing pipeline-based reports for project tracking, visibility, and financial oversight.
• Creating written content—including blogs and other communications—highlighting the use of Ottoman records in family history research.
• Transcribing Ottoman-language materials into structured metadata.
• Preparing Ottoman collections for processing in partnership with external research organizations.
• Documenting and refining processes related to Ottoman content creation and patron accessibility.
• Producing and sharing data reports and analyses related to Ottoman-related FamilySearch user experiences.
• Assisting in regional and diaspora events that promote the use of Ottoman documents and historical records.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Part-time
• Career Level: Intern
• Education Level: No Education Listed
• Number of Employees: 501-1,000 employees