Archivist, Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre, Vancouver, BC

Location: Vancouver, BC
Compensation: $60,000-$65,000 per annum

Founded by Holocaust survivors in 1994, the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC) is Western Canada’s leading Holocaust teaching museum, engaging more than 25,000 students and teachers annually. The VHEC’s mission is to promote human rights, social justice and genocide awareness through education and remembrance of the Holocaust.

We produce acclaimed original exhibitions, onsite and online school programs, teaching materials and public events. The VHEC also maintains a museum collection and archives, Holocaust survivor testimony project, and a library and resource centre. With an ambitious expansion on the horizon as part of the JWest redevelopment project, the VHEC is poised to expand its reach and ensure that the lessons of the Holocaust engage future generations of British Columbians.

Description and Duties:

The VHEC is actively searching for a skilled and dynamic Archivist to join our dedicated team in April 2024. This pivotal role involves a commitment of approximately 36.5 hours per week.

The Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre is seeking a full-time Archivist to start as soon as possible. Reporting to the Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions, the Archivist is responsible for the management and creation of systems and processes for the preservation of and access to the VHEC archives and museum collection, in support of the work of the Centre and in compliance with relevant legislation, standards and norms. Interacting with professional staff, volunteers, researchers, donors and members of the public, the Archivist performs a vital role within the teaching museum at an exciting period of growth for its collections. This is an opportunity to contribute to a collaborative team and a social justice mandate.

Reporting to the Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions, the Archivist is responsible for the following duties:

• Manage and carry out item-level and collection-level processing (including appraisal, arrangement, description, rights analysis, translations and transcriptions, physical storage and basic conservation) of archival material donated to the VHEC collections;
• Maintain and grow the finding aid for the VHEC fonds, describing institutional records created by VHEC staff and stored in Iron Mountain and at the VHEC;
• With the Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions, oversee donations to the archives and museum collection, guiding donor cultivation, stewardship and acknowledgement;
• Create, follow and maintain strategies, policies and procedures for the management and preservation of archival, testimony and museum holdings in accordance with best practices and standards:
• In collaboration with the Librarian and Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions, track usage of and support the ongoing maintenance, development and usability of the collections management software.
• With the Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions, manage relationships to and content in third-party aggregator databases (e.g. Yale Fortunoff, USC Shoah Foundation, memoryBC, EHRI);
• Help identify funding programs and draft grant applications in support of collections activities, and oversee grant projects that fund archival activities (e.g. DHCP, BCHDP, IHRA, Claims Conference, Jewish Community Foundation
• With the Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions and Librarian, communicate collections budgetary needs to the Director of Operations and Executive Director;
• Train, supervise and provide feedback on the work of collections students, volunteers and contractors;
• With the Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions, Librarian and Administrator, participate on the team responsible for disaster preparedness and recovery planning and procedures;
• With the Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions, participate in collections- related exhibitions activities, including checking exhibit label credit lines and writing condition reports;
• Participate in annual planning for collections and future space planning;
• Support the Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions in the intake, cataloguing and documentation of Holocaust testimonies to the collection;
• With the Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions and Librarian, respond to external and internal collections reference inquiries;
• Support the Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions in response to collections reproduction and use requests and track and report on external usage of the collection, ensuring links back to the VHEC and its systems;
• Keep up to date with current archival and digital preservation standards and technologies, relevant legislation and best practices related to collection management;
• Advise staff on institutional records management, databases, privacy and data management and protection;
• Contribute regular updates for the VHEC annual report, Zachor, blog and social media;
• With the Associate Director of Collections & Exhibitions and Jewish Museum & Archives of BC, manage offsite collections storage;
• Represent the VHEC and its collections at programs, and develop public programming and outreach activities related to the archives;
• Perform a variety of administrative duties (creating and updating paper and digital files, maintaining the accession register, communicating supply needs to the Administrator, liaising with other archival organizations, etc.) as required.

Benefits and Perks:

• Competitive benefits package
• 10 health days/year
• 3 PM close every Friday in December
• 2 weeks of vacation
• December holiday shutdown
• Observation of Jewish holidays in addition to statutory holidays (as many as an additional 18 paid days off a year)

Position is Full-time, 36.5 hours a week.

Qualifications:

The successful candidate will have a graduate degree in the field of archival studies, knowledge of the principles, practices and values of collections management, and two years’ work experience, ideally in a museum archive. This position requires strong analytical skills, and the candidate should
be detail oriented, well organized and have a demonstrated ability to work independently and to deliverable-based deadlines.

This position requires working with records relating to the Holocaust and may include content that is graphic in nature, upsetting or triggering.

Experience and Skills:

• Graduate degree in archival studies (required).
• Minimum 2 years’ work experience preferred.
• Database knowledge (CollectiveAccess, Filemaker Pro)
• Adobe Creative Cloud
• MS Office Suite, particularly Outlook, Word & Excel
• Project management platforms (Ex: Asana)

How to Apply:

Please email your cover letter and resume in one file quoting Archivist in the subject line.

Your application will be handled with utmost discretion and confidentiality. All applicants will receive an automated email response confirming receipt of their application submission. Please note that only applicants shortlisted for an interview will be contacted.

The VHEC is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from Canada’s federal job equity groups: women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.

We sincerely thank all applicants for their interest in the VHEC.

Application Deadline: April 19, 2024
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