Elwyn Collections Archivist Jobs

PRIMARY FUNCTION: The Archivist preserves and interprets Elwyn's 175-year history of treating and serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Accommodate visitors with physical and intellectual and emotional disabilities who visit the collection through adaptive, sensitive, and accessible display of the collection
• Supervise the transport and safe storage of these documents and artifacts during the five-year construction on the Media Campus
• Identify grant opportunities and working with the Advancement Office to write winning grant proposals to fund the collection
• Spot defects and determine if the material can be included in collections
• Analyze materials such as maps, films, documents, and paintings, checking their authenticity, physical condition, and historical content
• Provide supervision of assigned staff and interns in the areas including, but not limited to, recruitment, selection, leadership, coaching, training, performance management, promotion, discipline and termination
• Evaluate the possibility of the relocation of part of Elwyn's collection to a larger museum collection where the public may benefit from an understanding of the evolution of the treatment and life experience of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Design the public display of Elwyn's collection in a way that accurately interprets the experience of individuals with intellectual disabilities throughout history and advancements in the understanding, treatment, and accommodation of intellectual disability
• Catalog, digitize, and preserve existing documents and artifacts in Elwyn's archive and collections
• Collaborate with historians and preservationists in the Philadelphia area, nationally, and internationally to access the collection for research and documentation of Elwyn's story and the story of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Make material available to the public through scans and copies, ensuring access to archives to retrieve information or do research
• Preserve collections correctly regarding storing and conservation techniques from various time periods ensuring specific environmental conditions; monitor the storage space and security to protect the materials
• Design and maintain organizational systems, keeping track of archived material; prepare indexes, meta-tags, and material descriptions and, where possible, convert material into digital format
• Perform other duties as assigned
• Work with other team members at Elwyn, identify components of buildings and areas on the campus for preservation and work to ensure that these components are properly preserved

IMMEDIATE SUPERVISOR: Executive Director, Strategic Projects and Programs

DIRECT REPORTS: None

CONTACTS: Elwyn staff, museum representatives, family members, community members, historians/ academicians, vendor representatives, funders

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE/SKILLS QUALIFICATIONS:

• Experience in the archival cataloging, preservation, and management of historic documents and artifacts
• Demonstrated strong attention to detail
• Demonstrated excellent judgment with the ability to independently solve problems and make decisions with little or no need for direct supervision
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and manage and prioritize multiple, often competing, priorities
• Master's degree in library science, archival science, or museum curatorship highly preferred
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively as part of a team
• Demonstrated ability to anticipate future needed changes or identify problem areas and take effective actions
• Experience with Collections Management Software such as PastPerfect, Proficio, etc. preferred
• Demonstrated strong time management and organizational skills
• Demonstrated appreciation for the significance of Elwyn records and artifacts in documenting and interpreting this history preferred
• Demonstrated understanding of the challenges that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have experienced throughout history preferred
• Demonstrated intermediate experience with Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint; Access, Publisher and report-writer experience preferred
• Must possess excellent customer interaction, collaboration, presentation, and written and verbal communication skills

PHYSICAL DEMANDS/ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE: See Physical Demands Checklist below which represents the general physical demands and environment conditions to which the employee holding this position must meet, in addition to the duties and responsibilities listed above, to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Elwyn will engage otherwise qualified candidates for this position whose disabilities may require reasonable accommodations to enable an individual to perform the essential functions.

Elwyn reserves the right to revise or change job duties and responsibilities as needed. This job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive statement of duties and responsibilities of the job nor does it constitute a written or implied contract.

Elwyn is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Elwyn does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, ancestry, pregnancy status, medical condition, gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, sexual orientation or identity, age, national origin, citizenship, handicap status, marital or family status, mental or physical disability, perceived disability, military or veteran status, political activities or affiliations, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law, ordinance, or regulation.