United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Looking for Collections Manager at Washington, DC Full Time

Information about the organization

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is a federally chartered, nonpartisan institution that was created by the US Congress to serve as America’s national memorial to the victims of the Holocaust and an educational institution dedicated to the history and lessons of the Holocaust. The Museum seeks to educate Americans from all 50 states and all walks of life as well as international audiences. The Museum has three areas of expertise: Holocaust remembrance, Holocaust scholarship and education, and genocide prevention.

In carrying out its important memorial and educational mission, the Museum is guided by its institutional values for our workplace: Honor the memory of the victims; carry out our work with dignity, humility, integrity and respect for others; and strive for excellence through teamwork, rigor, and a culture of continuous learning. Consistent respect for others is the foundation for trust, collegiality and inclusion.

Information about the role

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum seeks a Collections Manager for its Rubenstein National Institute for Holocaust Documentation (RI). The David M. Rubenstein National Institute for Holocaust Documentation’s major responsibility is to collect, preserve, and make available the historical record of the Holocaust and to support with its stewardship of the Collection of Record the Museum’s wide-ranging efforts in the areas of research, exhibition, publication, education, and memorialization.

The Collections Manager position is located in the Collections Management Branch, Collections Services Division in Bowie, Maryland. The position is responsible for assisting in the collection’s management responsibilities for the Museum’s permanent collection, as well as other collections holdings. The incumbent works with collections material that includes manuscript and archival documents, photographs, artifacts, textiles, artwork, microform and audiovisual holdings, and moving images.

The incumbent has responsibility for performing and managing a wide variety of tasks relating to the processing of new acquisitions and existing collections, creation and preservation of hardcopy and automatic records, development and/or correction of Collections Management procedural documents, and care of and access to the permanent collection; addressing complex issues and developing solutions; and initiating efforts to continuously improve collections management efficiency for the permanent collection.

This is a full-time donated position (non-Federal) paid with the Museum’s private funds. Salary is commensurate with experience.

Duties, and Responsibilities for the role

• Facilitates staff and researcher access to collections and collections information, including, but not limited to, identifying, locating, and preparing collections for use in activities such as exhibition, conservation, loan, reference, digitization, and photography.
• Carries out digitization and photography of collections items. This includes retrieving items from and returning them to storage, handling objects as needed, and creating and maintaining collections documentation.
• Creates and implements museum policies, procedures and practices relating to the access, handling, and storage of the Museum’s permanent and borrowed collections.
• Analyzes, develops, plans, and participates in arrangement or rearrangement of museum collections including condition reporting, housing, labeling, numbering and barcoding items.
• Develops, plans, and carries out preservation and rehabilitation tasks including, but not limited to, ensuring that proper storage and climate control measures are taken to protect Museum holdings; identifying items in need of preservation and recommending specific action to be taken to safeguard materials.
• Participates in general collections housekeeping and Exhibitions and Collections Care (ECC) measures in processing, storage, and exhibition areas.
• Conducts the physical tracking of collections items using both electronic and manual systems, including the use of barcoding technology, to ensure locations of items are accurate.
• Coordinates requests for items to be transported between Museum facilities. Participates in a regular schedule of collections inventories.
• Creates and maintains collection documentation including hardcopy and electronic registration records for collections items in the Museum’s holdings.
• Directs, institutes, coordinates and/or manages the transportation arrangements, both domestic and international, for donated and loaned collections. This includes customs clearances and risk coverage, for the movement of all collections into or out of the Museum.
• Researches and develops storage mechanisms, procedures, and techniques for many different media, implementing procedures to use specialized storage equipment and institute appropriate storage mechanisms, both off-site and in the Museum.
• Researches, establishes and maintains relations with vendors that are necessary to accomplish the work of Collections Management.
• Directs and guides the work of interns and volunteers relating to specific tasks under the guidance and direction of the Chief of Collections Management.

Minimum Qualifications for the role

• Professional experience in fundamental collections management principles, theoretical concepts, techniques, and functions, and the ability to apply the knowledge to practical problems.
• 3 years of experience in performing registration and collections management duties.
• Knowledge of conservation techniques, including the maintenance of relevant records.
• Ability to conduct research into the methodologies and techniques of the museum and archive discipline to provide resources for the preservation and conservation of collections.
• Knowledge of established digitization tools and photographic techniques in order to convert materials such as books, photographs, other paper items, and varied artifacts, into an electronic digital copy.
• 3 years of experience in the safe movement, packing, and shipping of collections in-house, overland, ocean and air, short and long distances and insurance considerations associated with such moves.
• Knowledge of, and experience in, the theory and practice of computer software systems, barcode technology and project tracking software.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Initiative and Critical Thinking: Demonstrates ongoing interest in learning and contributes to organizational goals by taking greater responsibility than expected.
• Gathers, evaluates, and synthesizes information from observation and experience, to identify issues, recognize opportunities, and produce innovative solutions.
• Delivery Excellence and Flexibility: Displays high productivity and delivers quality work, while maintaining a professional attitude, in order to meet stakeholder needs and advance Museum goals. Maintains flexibility amid new information, and adapts to changing priorities to carry out duties.
• Teamwork: Works cooperatively with others, inside and outside the team/Branch/Division/Office, to accomplish shared objectives. Actively listens to others and presents own ideas clearly, concisely, and accurately in written and oral form.

Preferred Qualifications for the role

• Bachelor’s degree in museum, library, or archival studies and/or a relevant historical field such as history or anthropology.

The application deadline for this position is March, 5 2024.

Interested applicants must send their resume and cover letter; applications without a cover letter will not be considered.

The Museum is committed to cultivating and maintaining a culture of diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion (DEAI). Please click to view the Museum Statement on Diversity, Equity, Accessibility and Inclusion (PDF).

Benefits Highlights:

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum values employee wellness, work-life balance and the diversity of what this means for individual employees in life and work. We are proud to offer a comprehensive benefits package for benefits-eligible employees that includes generous paid leave benefits, health, dental, and vision insurance, flexible spending accounts, a health savings account with an employer contribution, 403(b) retirement plan with a generous employer match and contribution, group term and supplemental life insurance, short and long-term disability, commuter subsidy, access to two employee assistance programs, as well as voluntary critical illness and accident insurance coverage, long-term care and pet insurance options. Our policies also support telework and other flexible schedule options based on the job, work and team collaboration requirements.