JOB: Digital Historian and Archivist (Washington College)

From the announcement:

Washington College invites qualified applicants to apply for a three-year grant-funded Digital Historian and Archivist position for the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience. The Digital Historian and Archivist will work closely with campus and community partners to conceive, implement, and manage the digital archive and website for Chesapeake Heartland – An African American Humanities Project. Chesapeake Heartland is a new collaboration among Washington College, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Mellon Foundation, and a diverse array of local organizations. It seeks to preserve, digitize, curate, interpret, and make accessible materials related to African American history and culture in Kent County, Maryland – building an innovative model for similar projects across the Chesapeake region.

This staff member will serve as a key digital strategist and architect for the project, helping to design and implement digital tools with which members of the public – including digital novices – can curate, interpret, and share their history. The Digital Historian and Archivist will work together with project stakeholders to develop Chesapeake Heartland’s content management system, public-facing website, and web-based community curation tools, while also serving as the Center’s primary liaison with specialized contractors in website and digital repository design.

Working closely with Starr Center staff, the Digital Historian and Archivist will also help steer the Center’s other digital humanities projects, including the National Home Front Project – one of the nation’s largest comprehensive oral history projects centered on the American home front during World War II – as well as the Center’s own internal, online institutional archives.

The Digital Historian and Archivist will act as a supervisor and mentor for Washington College undergraduates, developing and implementing opportunities for students to participate in the work of the Center, particularly the Chesapeake Heartland and National Home Front Projects.

Professional background in at least one, and preferably more, of the following is required: multi-media production, website design, public history, oral history, digital humanities, library science, archiving. Demonstrated strengths in website design, multi-media production, and/or digital archiving are required. Strong knowledge of American and African American history is strongly preferred, as is teaching and mentoring experience.

Washington College, with 1,450 undergraduates, is a liberal-arts institution that emphasizes close student/faculty collaboration and integrative learning. Established in 1782, it is the nation’s 10th-oldest college and the first one chartered in the newly independent United States, as well as America’s first fully secular college. George Washington was among the institution’s original trustees and major donors.