Archivist II

About the Role

The Archivist is responsible for ensuring the integrated management of archives and special collections through their acquisition, appraisal, classification, description, preservation, access and distribution in keeping with relevant principles, rules and standards.

The Archivist provides direct support and advice to researchers, faculty and students by utilizing expert knowledge of the collections, policies and procedures.

Typical Accountabilities

1. Archival Arrangement and Description: Processes, arranges, and describes, in accordance with archival principles and standards, archival fonds and special collections in all media including audiovisual and digital archival documents, and creates standardized finding aids and other research tools in order to make them accessible to researchers.
2. Collections Management: Implements procedures and makes updates and improvements when required to ensure effective and practical management of archival fonds and special collections in all media with respect to physical and intellectual organization, preservation and dissemination.
3. Reference and Research Services: Provides expert reference and research services to users, which includes responding to requests about holdings; interpreting reference questions; helping to locate relevant sources; retrieving information to answer research questions; making on-demand digital reproductions while respecting relevant legislation; and responding to general information requests.
4. Preservation: Ensures the proper storage and preservation of archival records and special collections in all media, including born-digital material, through expert knowledge of standards and best practices and helps to develop tools and strategies in order to secure long term access and preservation of unique assets.
5. Donor Relations: Establishes professional and cordial relationships with archival donors, proactively helps to develop relationships with potential donors, and assist in the appraisal of donation offers of archival documents to ensure relevance and appropriateness, in accordance with current guidelines, acquisition policies and mandates.
6. Instructional Support: Manages and facilitates faculty and student use of the archives and special collections, including planning and designing instructional sessions and workshops, and develops instructional materials to highlight the collections, promote archival use in research projects, and support teaching activities.
7. Relationship Management: Develops effective working relationships with campus partners including Library and IT staff and faculty to increase collection access and student engagement with the collections.
8. Access: Determines the conditions for access to the archival documents and ensures that users are made aware of their responsibilities and requirements through expert knowledge of relevant access and copyright legislation, as well as imposed donor restrictions.
9. Outreach: Designs outreach activities to enhance the collections, including on-site and online exhibitions, assists with the planning and hosting of conferences and other events, assists with the development and maintenance of websites and online tools, and engages with social media to increase awareness.

Knowledge, Experience and Skills

Essential Qualifications (cannot be modified)

• Graduate degree (Archival Studies, Library and Information Studies or related field)
• Minimum 3 years of relevant experience in archival setting

Other Qualifications (can be customized for posting purposes)

• Theoretical and practical knowledge and experience of the activities and services offered in an archival setting, including appraisal techniques, preservation, arrangement and description, and reference services.
• Knowledge and experience in archival descriptive and metadata standards, including RAD, ISAD-G, Dublin Core, METS, etc.
• Practical experience in the use of computer systems and software, including word processing, spreadsheet and presentation software, as well as databases for describing and disseminating information about the archival fonds and preserving digitized and born-digital assets.
• Knowledge of academic information sources and experience in historical research.
• Experience in writing texts and content for websites and promotional resources.
• Ability to analyze documents to apply appropriate rules and procedures for acquisition, selection and access, as well as good knowledge of the laws surrounding access and use of archives.
• Knowledge of women's history and the women's movement in Canada (for the Library).
• Some knowledge of rare book handling and the history of print (for the Library).
• Ability to plan, work under pressure and organize work with minimal supervision.
• Ability to develop and implement new working methods, analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work and collaborate effectively within a team setting
• Ability to seek relevant information, identify and evaluate options and choose the best solution.
• Demonstrated ability in providing instruction to groups with varying levels of knowledge and experience and working effectively with faculty and students.
• Bilingualism (French-English), oral and written expression, including the ability to give training and presentations in both languages

Key Competencies at uOttawa

Here are the required competencies for all of our employees at uOttawa:

• Planning: Organize in time a series of actions or events in order to realize an objective or a project. Plan and organize own work and priorities in regular daily activities.
• Initiative: Demonstrate creativity and initiative to suggest improvements and encourage positive results. Is proactive and self-starting. Show availability and willingness to go above and beyond whenever it is possible.
• Client Service Orientation: Help or serve others to meet their needs. This implies anticipating and identifying the needs of internal and external clients and finding solutions on how to meet them.
• Teamwork and Cooperation: Cooperate and work well with other members of the team to reach common goal(s). Accept and give constructive feedback. Able to adjust own behaviour to reach the goals of the team.

Equity and Accessibility

The University of Ottawa embraces diversity and inclusion in the workplace. We are passionate about our people and committed to employment equity. We foster a culture of respect, teamwork and inclusion, where collaboration, innovation, and creativity fuel our quest for research and teaching excellence. While all qualified persons are invited to apply, we welcome applications from qualified Indigenous persons, racialized persons, persons with disabilities, women and LGBTQIA2S+ persons. The University is committed to creating and maintaining an accessible, barrier-free work environment. The University is also committed to working with applicants with disabilities requesting accommodation during the recruitment, assessment and selection processes. Applicants with disabilities may contact hrtalentmanagement@uottawa.ca to communicate the accommodation need. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

Location: Morisset Hall

Hours per week: 35

Job Type: Employee

Anticipated Duration: 12 months

Union Affiliation: SSUO

Salary Grade: SSUO Grade 10