Job Description

AFC Position Announcement: Archives Director

The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress is hiring a Director, AFC Archives to lead the day-to-day administration of the Archive of Folk Culture. The Archives Director is responsible for managing teams of archivists, technicians, and digital specialists who steward a dynamic ethnographic archives documenting traditional culture from around the world, including the earliest field recordings made in the 1890s on wax cylinder through recordings made using digital technology. The Director is responsible for acquisitions, processing, preservation and digital access activities related to the Centers collections, which includes the Veterans History Project collection.

The role is a significant leadership opportunity, calling for the successful applicant to work with the AFC Director and a team of supervisors and team leads, to lead a committed archives staff as they serve the needs of Congress and the public.

Supervises a group of employees performing work up to the GS-14 level. Provides administrative and technical supervision relative to the staff supervised. Plans work to be accomplished by subordinates, sets and adjusts shortterm priorities, and prepares schedules for completion of work; assigns work to subordinates based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees; observes workers performance; demonstrates and conducts work performance critiques. Establishes guidelines and performance expectations for staff and clearly communicates these through the formal employee performance management system. Provides informal feedback and periodically evaluates employee performance. Resolves informal complaints and grievances. Recommends appointment, promotion, or reassignment and develops work improvement plans, recommending personnel actions as necessary. Provides advice and counsel to workers related to work and administrative matters.

Serves as a primary advisor to top management on the various folklife archives and library preservation projects and/or programs, policies and initiatives, including the Veterans History Project. Plans, develops and carries out a vital archives project planning and execution of highly visible projects and the participation in the evaluation, development and documentation of longterm and shortterm archives special collections strategies. Plans, develops and implements complex multiphased archival preservation and access projects that require collaboration and coordination across multiple service units, the formation of crossdivisional working groups; and collaboration with other governmental agencies and external partners.

Handles and troubleshoots largely undefined issues and elements that require deep probing and analysis to determine the scope and nature of the problem. Develops authoritative new approaches, methods or standards to resolve critical or highly unusual project planning related problems. The projects are essential to the missions of the Library and affects large numbers of people on a longterm or continuing basis. The work encompasses a broad range of library functions and processes related to the acquisition, management and preservation of Folklife related collections and archives projects.

Serves as a primary advisor to the AFC Director on the development and stewardship of AFC collections, including establishing acquisitions policies and priorities; developing and implementing preservation protocols and practices for AFCs digital and analog collections.

Provides expert, authoritative guidance to AFC Director regarding AFC acquisition and collections development policy, to include matters pertaining to subject areas, scope, format, preservation, security and access.

Serves as an expert consultant to the Director of the American Folklife Center regarding the development and preservation of ethnographic collections. Serves as an expert consultant to top senior management in Library Services and the Special Collections directorate on matters pertaining to archival policies and preservation of cultural heritage collections. Reports regularly to senior management of Library Services and directorate regarding intradivision activities and collaborative projects and programs. Establishes and maintains close and cooperative working relationships with Library of Congress officials including the LC Office of Communications, LC Congressional Relations Office, with related interests in the subject areas within the purview of the AFC.

Provides expert advice to Division colleagues regarding work related to folklife, ethnomusicology, archiving, reference services, and archival instruction and training, and access services. Works with other Division leadership in developing and providing access to library resources in the Archive on site, online and other means. Engages in the implementation and evaluation of reference and public service policies, procedures and publications.

Job Tags

Similar Jobs