Sr. Manager, Digital Operations, CHHC Project (Storytelling) Fixed - Term

How You’ll Contribute

The Storytelling team works to expand the organization’s impact through journalism, photography, film/video, web content, mapping, and data visualization. As one of the largest funders to individual storytellers in this work, it also identifies key grantmaking, and fellowship opportunities with creative talent. Much of the team's programmatic activity is focused on identifying and building capacity for the next generation of diverse storytellers.

National Geographic Society’s Special Collections chronicle more than 138 years of Society history through historical documents, maps, oral histories, audio and video recordings, photographs, artifacts, and media assets from our current Explorer-led science, storytelling, and education programs. Special Collections shares the story of National Geographic Society's past and present by expertly managing its unique archival, media, and information resources. We seek to create a more inclusive narrative by inspiring users to engage with and build on these materials. The Center for Human Histories and Cultures will transform the Society’s archives into a living, collaborative platform for research, digitization and global engagement. Through partnerships with descendant communities, scholars and institutions, the Center will ensure that our collections reflect a more inclusive and contextualized record of humanity.

Reporting to the Project Director for the Center for Human Histories and Cultures (CHHC), the Sr. Manager of Digital Operations, CHHC Project will work as part of an embedded project team to develop and execute a digital asset assessment, management, and digitization strategy for multi-format human histories and cultures topical material, ensuring the participation and consent of communities represented in the archives. Working as part of the existing Special Collections team of archivists, digital asset managers, and user services professionals, this role oversees project staff of two–a Digital Asset Manager and Digitization Technician–in conducting surveys and assessments, managing digitization workflows, and cataloging assets in the Enterprise DAMS. A key focus is on applying appropriate legal, ethical, and cultural restrictions and working in close consultation with source communities to achieve project goals.

This is a fixed-term role ending on December 31, 2032.

Your Impact

Responsibilities 

Strategy Development (30%)

• With the CHHC Project Director and team, 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.

• In collaboration with Special Collections’ Digital Archives, advise on the procurement of digitization equipment and necessary refurbishment of a digitization lab to support onsite digitization workflows. 

• With the CHHC Project team, develop an approach for gathering and managing restrictions and access to collections and other community-defined prerogatives for the management of cultural collections.

Project Management and Operations (60%)

• In close Collaboration with Special Collections’ Digital Collections teams, 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.

Professional Development and Networking (10%)

• Remain apprised of emerging best practices in shared digital collections stewardship, digital repatriation, cultural knowledge management, and source community engageme