Senior Archives Technician, Library

The University Archives, a department in the University Library, is responsible for preserving UWinnipeg’s historical analogue and digital records, houses the historical and institutional records of the University of Winnipeg, as well as several private collections. Additionally, the Archives is responsible for special collections, including the Rare Books Collection and the Western Canada Pictorial Index (WCPI). It is the responsibility of the Archives to make these holdings accessible to the University of Winnipeg and wider communities.

The Senior Archives Technician is a full-time continuing role integral to the daily care, management, and provision of access to the University Archives. Under the direction of the University Archivist, the Senior Archives Technician performs a range of duties including arrangement, description, reference and outreach, all in keeping with archival standards and best practices.  The Senior Archives Technician develops and maintains considerable knowledge of the archival holdings to effectively perform their responsibilities.

Responsibilities:

• Intellectually organizes and arranges collections of analogue and born-digital records according to archival standards and best practices in preparation for description and access.
• Writes, reviews, and edits descriptions of analogue and born-digital records and their creators according to archival standards, including the Rules for Archival Description.
• Adheres to standards and best practices in the creation of finding aids at the fonds, series, file, and/or item levels via spreadsheets, word processing documents, or descriptive databases, and makes them available via the Archives’ website as well as the provincial and national archival catalogues.
• Works with University Archivist to train staff and ensure they adhere to relevant established policies, procedures, and workflows.
• Maintains current knowledge of relevant concepts, practices, issues and technologies, suggests alternative service delivery models.
• Maintains the Archives’ statistics tracking spreadsheet, conducts statistical analysis, and regularly reports on findings, assists in using statistical data to make evidence-based decisions.
• Ensures reading room is adequately staffed and secure and that there are no scheduling conflicts.         
• Liaises with University personnel responsible for accessibility, implements policies and procedures ensuring compliance with The Accessibility for Manitobans Act.
• Receives and responds to reference inquiries by email, telephone, social media, or in-person, conducts reference interviews to determine appropriate materials to satisfy inquiries.
• Generates original historical research using archival sources upon request.
• Generates content for and maintains the Archives’ social media platforms and website.
• Researches, writes, organizes, schedules, and selects material for physical and digital archival exhibitions.
• Coordinates events, liaising with internal and external units in their execution.
• Directs, supervises and completes performance reviews for, the Archives Assistant.
• Attends staff meetings and serves on Library committees, projects and assignments.

Qualifications:

• Library or Archives technician diploma or certificate required.
• Undergraduate degree with previous experience working in a library or archives desirable.
• Minimum two years public service experience in archives or libraries, including reference, description and outreach.
• Experience conducting and/or supporting basic historical research required.
• Experience arranging and describing analogue and/or digital records to archival standards required.
• Experience planning and installing physical and digital exhibits preferred.
• Experience with digitization preferred.
• Experience building/maintaining websites and using social media in a professional setting preferred.
• Experience supervising staff in a library or archives setting preferred.
• Extensive knowledge of archival descriptive practice and standards, including the Rules for Archival Description, provenance, and original order of collections.
• Extensive knowledge of archival descriptive software, including AtoM
• Knowledge of social media platforms (Facebook or Instagram) and website content management systems (Cascade).
• Understanding of relationship between records and history, and ability to advise on the use of primary sources in scholarly research.
• Ability to apply automated/manual procedures/systems.
• Very strong analytical and creative thinking skills.
• Superior communication skills and ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing with faculty, staff, students, alumni and the public.
• Ability to work independently and cooperatively with others.
• Strong organizational skills and ability to pay close attention to detail.
• Ability to train and direct the work of other employees at a lower level.
• Proficiency in M365 and related suite of software (Word, Excel, Teams, OneDrive) and comfort in learning new technologies.
• Proficiency in digitization and requisite scanning and image editing software (Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Acrobat).

An equivalent combination of education, experience, skills, knowledge and abilities may be considered.

Condition(s) of Employment:

• Must be legally entitled to work in Canada.
• Ability to lift up to 40 lbs.

The salary range for this position will be from $45,973.20 to $63,372.40 annually.

Note: The work described in this posting will be conducted in-person.

The University of Winnipeg is committed to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognizes that a diverse staff and faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research environments, and is essential to academic and institutional excellence. We welcome applications from all qualified individuals and encourage women, racialized persons, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, and 2SLGBTQ+ persons to confidentially self-identify at time of application.

The University of Winnipeg is committed to ensuring employment opportunities are accessible for all applicants. If you require accommodation supports during the recruitment process, please contact human_resources@uwinnipeg.ca.

The personal information of applicants is collected under the authority of the University of Winnipeg Act and 36(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. All personal information collected via the recruitment process is used to assess the applicant’s suitability, eligibility, and qualifications for employment, and to otherwise support recruitment activities. This information will be provided to participating members of the recruitment process. Questions regarding the collection of your personal information may be directed to the Director, HR Services, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB, R3B 2E9 or human_resources@uwinnipeg.ca.