New

Digital and Technical Services Archivist [Term-Limited]

New York, New York, United States

ABOUT THE JOB

The ACLU seeks applicants for a full-time 3-year term-limited position of Digital and Technical Services Archivist in the Records & Archives unit of the ACLU’s National office in New York, NY. This is a hybrid role that has in-office requirements of three (3) days per week or twelve (12) days per month. 

Records & Archives reduces risk, creates operational efficiency, and safeguards the historical legacy of ACLU by stewarding data/records through the information lifecycle with a particular focus on records that are no longer in use. 

  • We manage the destruction of paper and digital records that are not historically valuable and are no longer in use at ACLU. 
  • We set and enforce policies related to how long records are kept, their secure destruction and documentation thereof, according to business needs and state and federal laws and regulations. 
  • We set and enforce policies and carry out the day-to-day work of documenting, preserving, and providing access to the ACLU’s historical archives on-site, and we prepare and donate historical material that is open to the public to Princeton University. 
  • We also provide research services to all ACLU staff regarding ACLU history. 
  • We partner with other teams (e.g., Information Security, Privacy & Data Governance) to ensure that information policies, procedures, and projects meet ACLU standards (e.g, those relating to privacy, security, compliance, access, and risk) and are created and maintained in a collaborative, coordinated way that engages appropriate stakeholders.

This position is part of a collective bargaining unit. It is represented by ACLU Staff United (ASU).

WHAT YOU'LL DO 

Reporting to the Director of Records & Archives, the Digital and Technical Services Archivist will revitalize our digital and technical infrastructure to improve preservation and access to ACLU’s historical records. This role will make major improvements in collections management, including leading projects to clean up legacy data in our Collections Management System. The Digital and Technical Services Archivist will also lead the initiative to develop and implement a digital preservation program for the ACLU Archives. As a stakeholder for the Archives, this role will also collaborate with other teams as we build out our Digital Records Management program.

 

YOUR DAY TO DAY

Develop technology strategy and implementation for the ACLU’s Archives: 

  • Oversee the clean-up and transformation of our current Archival Content Management System to fully utilize its capacity to describe our archives and make reference easy 
  • Create a portal for research that engages staff and gives broader access to archives 
  • Create a digital archival program for historically significant records that allows staff to easily access past assets 
  • Lead the creation of a digital preservation program for ACLU: 
    • Conduct a digital preservation assessment of the ACLU’s current holdings and future collecting needs 
    • Create an assessment of digital preservation solutions for ACLU 
    • With Director and Manager, create a roadmap for implementating of digital preservation solution 
    • Manage the implementation of selected digital preservation system including: 
      • Creating and document metadata schemas for digital archives 
      • Create and document protocols for digital transfer and processing 
      • Ensure that digital preservation protocols are implemented, documented, and maintained for our archival digital assets

Develop data strategy, standards, and practices for Records & Archives 

  • Using appropriate standards, develop and manage consistent metadata schemas and controlled vocabularies for various systems (archival content management system, digital preservation applications, digital asset management systems, etc.). 
  • Determine ways to leverage and clean up legacy description and metadata. 
  • Develop a new record group schema to describe and classify archival material. 
  • Ensure control and consistency in the quality of our metadata 
  • Create a data management strategy and schemas to ensure consistency and usability in the ACLU's complex data and technology environment as the organization implements new records management and compliance systems.

Oversee digital archives processing 

  • Document workflows developed for ingesting and accessioning digital materials and other digital preservation actions and cross-train current Records & Archives staff on those workflows 
  • Develop plans to ingest non-standard digital objects (i.e.our website, social media, etc.) to our collections. 
  • In collaboration with Manager, plan and manage digital processing projects for Processing Archivist 
  • Cross-train Processing Archivist to successfully process digital collections

Collaborate with other teams 

  • Information management support for active records in legal department to ensure easy access and eventual disposition to archives. 
  • Represent archives as a stakeholder in the ACLU’s Records Management technology strategy and implementation. 
  • Represent archives as a stakeholder in other ACLU technology infrastructure projects as assigned. 
  • Other projects as assigned 

FUTURE ACLU'ERS WILL 

  • Be committed to advancing the mission of the ACLU
  • Center and embed the principles of equity, inclusion and belonging in their work by demonstrating commitment to diversity with an approach that respects and values multiple perspectives
  • Be committed to work collaboratively and respectfully toward resolving obstacles and conflicts

WHAT YOU'LL BRING

  • Significant experience in archives, with relevant experience in technical services and metadata management. Familiarity with creation and maintenance of records groups and local authority records is a plus. 
  • Significant experience in digital archives, with experience implementing digital preservation infrastructure preferred 
  • Strong project management and leadership skills 
  • Excellent communication skills including a spirit of collaboration and the ability to communicate complex concepts to broad audiences and adjust to a diverse set of working styles 
  • Experience in a variety of archival settings, especially institutional, government, non-profit, or business archives, preferred

COMPENSATION

The ACLU is committed to equity, transparency, and clarity in pay. Consistent with our compensation philosophy, there is a set salary for each role based on geographic work location. The annual salary for this position is $142,694.00 (Level F), reflecting the salary of a position based in New York, NY.  Salaries are subject to a regional pay adjustment if authorization is granted to work outside of the location listed in this posting.  
 
For details on our pay structure, please visit: https://www.aclu.org/careers/ACLU_Geographic_Pay_Structure-July_2024.pdf
 

WHY THE ACLU

For over 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Whether it’s ending mass incarceration, achieving full equality for the LGBTQ+ community, establishing new privacy protections for our digital age, or preserving the right to vote or the right to have an abortion, the ACLU takes up the toughest civil liberties cases and issues to defend all people.

We know that great people make a great organization. We value our people and know that what we offer is essential not just their work, but to their overall well-being. 

At the ACLU, we offer a broad range of benefits, which include:

  • Time away to focus on the things that matter with a generous paid time-off policy
  • Focus on your well-being with comprehensive healthcare benefits (including medical, dental and vision coverage, parental leave, gender affirming care & fertility treatment)
  • Plan for your retirement with 401k plan and employer match
  • We support employee growth and development through annual professional development funds, internal professional development programs and workshops

OUR COMMITMENT TO ACCESSIBILITY, EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

Accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion are core values of the ACLU and central to our work to advance liberty, equality, and justice for all. For us diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion are not just check-the-box activities, but a chance for us to make long-term meaningful change.  We are a community committed to learning and growth, humility and grace, transparency and accountability. We believe in a collective responsibility to create a culture of belonging for all people within our organization – one that respects and embraces difference; treats everyone equitably; and empowers our colleagues to do the best work possible. We are as committed to anti-oppression, anti-ableism, and anti-racism internally as we are externally. Because whether we’re in the courts or in the office, we believe ‘We the People’ means all of us.

With this commitment in mind, we strongly encourage applications from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status and record of arrest or conviction, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.    

The ACLU is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual with a disability and need assistance applying online, please email benefits.hrdept@aclu.org. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

 

The Department of Education has determined that employment in this position at the ACLU does not qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program. 

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