Archival Consultant, Know History, Ottawa, ON

Location: Canada-based
Compensation: $45-75/hr
Timeline: Starting Fall 2025

Know History, a leading historical research firm, is growing our Archives & Collections Department to support communities, Indigenous organizations, and institutions in stewarding their historical records and digital collections. We're looking for an archival specialist to further develop our current offerings—someone who brings strong technical and strategic expertise in the archival world.

Requirements:

• Further develop standards, tools, and processes
• Provide strategic input on metadata, access policies, and digital preservation
• Evaluate and implement new archival software tools (e.g., AtoM, Preservica, Keeping Culture, etc.)
• Create or refine collection plans (for both physical and digital assets)
• Support client onboarding and new project set up, consultation, and training, to support digital archival collections
• Assist clients to establish protocols and infrastructure needs
• Offer insight into industry trends and opportunities

Background:

• Professional archival training or equivalent experience (MLIS, MAS, ACA designation preferred)
• Advanced knowledge of Canadian archival guidelines and conservation standards (e.g. RAD, Dublin Core, OCAP®, etc.)
• Demonstrate at least 5-8 years experience in establishing and/or maintaining physical and digital archival collections
• Familiarity with tools like Archivematica, Mukurtu, Lucidea, or other open-source, commercial, or custom platforms
• Experience working with or advising Indigenous organizations and/or community or cultural institutions on archives
• Able to work independently and collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team
• Comfortable advising on both strategy and implementation

More Information:

This is a unique opportunity to:

• Provide expertise and guidance with the support of a team who values innovation, ethics, and accessibility
• Collaborate on meaningful projects with Indigenous governments, community archives, and non-profit institutions
• Influence the future of digital archiving within a firm trusted by clients across Canada
• Consult on a part time base with schedule flexibility

How to Apply:

Please send a short expression of interest showing how you can support this work for Know History (or CV/portfolio) with hourly consulting rate to www.knowhistory.ca/join-us/. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, especially those with experience in community archives, Indigenous information stewardship, or decolonial archival practice.