Sr. Manager, Digital Operations, CHHC Project (Storytelling) Fixed - Term
About The Position
The Storytelling team at the National Geographic Society works to expand the organization’s impact through various media including journalism, photography, film/video, web content, mapping, and data visualization. The team also identifies key grantmaking and fellowship opportunities with creative talent, focusing on developing the next generation of diverse storytellers. Special Collections at the National Geographic Society preserves over 138 years of the Society's history through a vast array of archival materials. The Center for Human Histories and Cultures (CHHC) aims to transform these archives into a dynamic platform for research, digitization, and global engagement, ensuring a more inclusive and contextualized record of humanity through partnerships with descendant communities, scholars, and institutions. The Sr. Manager of Digital Operations for the CHHC Project will be instrumental in developing and executing a digital asset assessment, management, and digitization strategy for multi-format human histories and cultures materials, with a strong emphasis on community participation and consent. This role involves overseeing project staff, managing digitization workflows, cataloging assets, and applying appropriate legal, ethical, and cultural restrictions in consultation with source communities. This is a fixed-term role ending on December 31, 2032.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s Degree preferred
- 3+ years of management experience
- 7+ years of progressive responsibility in Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) or related institutions
- Demonstrated experience working on large scale digital projects.
- Experienced digital asset or digital project manager, with demonstrated people management ability
- Experienced with using and designing survey instruments, workflow trackers, digital asset management systems and discovery interfaces.
- Knowledgeable about digitization methods for multiple formats of material, including text-based documents, photographic and AV material.
- Knowledgeable about metadata and taxonomy standards for digital collections derived from various formats
- Ability to identify and apply restrictions and appropriate permissions to institutional records and cultural material
- Highly organized with excellent writing and communication skills
- Adept at respectful communication with source communities with the ability to translate community wishes into technical solutions
- Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States.
- This position is not eligible for visa sponsorship.
Nice To Haves
- Experience with OrangeDam is a plus.
- Grasp of best practices while comfortable with innovation and out-of-the-box thinking.
- Strong team leader, able to direct and motivate staff
- Comfortable with managing multiple demands as part of a highly collaborative, informally matrixed team
- Experience implementing concepts from established and emerging literature and best practices for cultural material management and community engagement such as NAGPRA legislation, SAA’s “Protocols for Native American Archival Materials” and “Principles in Indigenous Archival Repatriation;” School for Advanced Research’s “Guidelines for Collaboration,” “Standards for Museums with Native American Collections,” and “Indigenous Collections Care Guides,” CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance, and “United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples”
Responsibilities
- Plan a strategy and develop written guidelines for digital asset assessment and management, and the digitization of analog items, that incorporates the participation and consent of communities represented in archives.
- Advise on the design of a digital asset survey instrument or method, collection management and digital asset management system enhancements, and discovery interfaces that enable shared stewardship.
- Advise on the procurement of digitization equipment and necessary refurbishment of a digitization lab to support onsite digitization workflows.
- Develop an approach for gathering and managing restrictions and access to collections and other community-defined prerogatives for the management of cultural collections.
- Oversee the work of a Digital Asset Manager and Digitization Technician in conducting a survey and assessment of digital assets, and overseeing digitization identified by the CHHC project team according to agreed-upon standards and in close consultation with source communities.
- Create, and oversee the creation of work flows and project plans.
- Catalog assets using Special Collections’ DAM ViewFinder (OrangeDAM), using methods informed by source community wishes.
- Apply appropriate legal, ethical and cultural restrictions to assets.
- Digitize analog items with respect to source community wishes.
- Participate in and facilitate in person and remote collection consultations.
- Track progress on digital asset survey, management, and digitization goals and report on both progress and roadblocks to the CHHC Project Director.
- Remain apprised of emerging best practices in shared digital collections stewardship, digital repatriation, cultural knowledge management, and source community engagement.
- Promote the CHHC project internally and externally through communications, conference presentations and other outlets.
- Maintain relationships with professional and peer organizations undertaking similar initiatives.
Benefits
- medical, dental, and vision insurance
- engaging and comprehensive wellness program
- 401(k) retirement savings plan with matching contributions after 6 months of employment
- flexible paid time off benefits with up to 22 days of paid annual leave per calendar year (15 days for new hires in their first year, prorated based on the number of pay periods remaining in the year)
- 10 days of sick leave
- 12 paid holidays and a paid winter break between December 25 and 31
- paid parental leave
- adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement
- fertility benefits
- learning and development opportunities
- Lifestyle Spending Account
- pet adoption assistance and insurance
- pre-tax transportation benefits with a generous employer subsidy
- employer-paid life insurance and disability benefit
- a variety of National Geographic discounts and perks
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
