Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Project Archivist

Although this position will remain posted until filled, applicants are strongly encouraged to apply by end of day on March 1, 2024.

**This is a 18-month term position**

Reporting to the Collections Services Archivist/Processing Manager, the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Project Archivist (EJSPA) will process the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf personal archive as recently acquired by the Harvard Library. The collection includes over 50 cubic feet of documents, photographs, books, newspapers, and artifacts as well as audio-visual recordings on removable media and in digital form documenting Sirleaf’s personal life while active in Liberian politics, including her governing of Liberia as Africa’s first elected female head of state from 2005 to 2018. This high-profile and content-rich collection will take significant research, analysis, and attention to detail to provide the level of description and access it warrants.

The EJSPA will survey the collection, prepare a detailed plan of work, and conduct detailed analysis, preparation, and preservation of the born-digital content before fully describing the collection in a finding aid according to archival descriptive standards to facilitate full digitization of analog contents and delivery of born digital content. The EJSPA will also collaborate with the Associate University Archivist for Community Engagement to promote the collection on social media and other Harvard outlets, engage students with the collection during class visits to the Harvard University Archives, and assist in the planning of a symposium, exhibition, and related events to be held to celebrate the opening of the collection for researcher use.

The Harvard University Archives has recently joined with the Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library, Fine Arts Library, Harvard Film Archive, and Houghton Library to create Archives, Arts, and Special Collections of Harvard Library, a new administrative unit currently planning integrated approaches to technical services for archives and special collections across the portfolio.

• Arranges and describes analog records and born digital content in the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf personal archive according to archival descriptive standards.

• Creates a finding aid and MARC record for collection discovery in HOLLIS, Harvard’s online library catalog and HOLLIS for Archival Discovery, Harvard’s online finding aid discovery platform.

• Liaises with Liberian history content experts for the accurate description of collection contents.

• Coordinates with Holdings Management Associate and Weissman Preservation Center staff to proper house collection contents in appropriate archival enclosures.

• Contributes to community outreach and engagement for the collection via social media posts, blogs, and participating in the development of an exhibition and symposium to showcase the collection content and promote research use.

• MLS/MIS degree with concentration in archival studies or equivalent education or work experience.

• Minimum of three years of professional experience in an archives setting working with institutional records.

• Demonstrated experience describing large archival collections (over 20 cubic feet).

• Minimum two years of experience analyzing, describing, and preserving born digital content in institutional records and personal archives.

• Demonstrated experience working with highly sensitive information or confidential records.

• Demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging, and antiracism.

• Working knowledge of library and archival information systems including the ILS and ArchivesSpace, RDA and DACS descriptive standards, MARC and EAD encoding standards, and controlled vocabularies such as LCSH and AAT.

• Working knowledge of best practices and standards for the description and delivery of born digital content in an archives or special collections environment.

• Working knowledge of 20th century African history and politics preferred.

• Ability to contribute to a team environment where consultation, communication, creativity, and flexibility are essential.

• Supervisory experience preferred.

• Demonstrated attention to detail.

• Excellent organizational, analytical and communication (both orally and written).

• This position involves lifting and moving loads weighing in excess of 40 pounds and requires bending, squatting, stretching and climbing small step stools when needed to pack or retrieve boxes/cartons and shelve them.

• This position is based on site in Cambridge, MA. There may be an opportunity for a flexible or hybrid work model compliant with Harvard University flexwork policies.

• Work location is responsive and subject to change based on business needs.

• Requests for flexibility will be considered consistent with Harvard University flexwork policies.

• Interacting with collections that may contain dust, mold, or other contaminants.

This is a hybrid position that is based in Massachusetts. Additional details will be discussed during the interview process. All remote work must be performed within one of the Harvard Registered Payroll States, which currently includes Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Washington, and California (CA for exempt positions only). Certain visa types and funding sources may limit work location. Individuals must meet work location sponsorship requirements prior to employment.

We invite you to visit Harvard's Total Rewards website (https://hr.harvard.edu/totalrewards) to learn more about our outstanding benefits package, which may include:

• Paid Time Off: 3-4 weeks of accrued vacation time per year (3 weeks for support staff and 4 weeks for administrative/professional staff), 12 accrued sick days per year, 12.5 holidays plus a Winter Recess in December/January, 3 personal days per year (prorated based on date of hire), and up to 12 weeks of paid leave for new parents who are primary care givers.

• Health and Welfare: Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision benefits, disability and life insurance programs, along with voluntary benefits. Most coverage begins as of your start date.

• Work/Life and Wellness: Child and elder/adult care resources including on campus childcare centers, Employee Assistance Program, and wellness programs related to stress management, nutrition, meditation, and more.

• Retirement: University-funded retirement plan with contributions from 5% to 15% of eligible compensation, based on age and earnings with full vesting after 3 years of service.

• Tuition Assistance Program: Competitive program including $40 per class at the Harvard Extension School and reduced tuition through other participating Harvard graduate schools.

• Tuition Reimbursement: Program that provides 75% to 90% reimbursement up to $5,250 per calendar year for eligible courses taken at other accredited institutions.

• Professional Development: Programs and classes at little or no cost, including through the Harvard Center for Workplace Development and LinkedIn Learning.

• Commuting and Transportation: Various commuter options handled through the Parking Office, including discounted parking, half-priced public transportation passes and pre-tax transit passes, biking benefits, and more.

• Harvard Facilities Access, Discounts and Perks: Access to Harvard athletic and fitness facilities, libraries, campus events, credit union, and more, as well as discounts to various types of services (legal, financial, etc.) and cultural and leisure activities throughout metro-Boston.

Across the Harvard Library, our work is enriched by our diverse campus community. Our unique and wide-ranging abilities, experiences, and perspectives are integral to achieving Harvard University’s mission of excellence in research, teaching, and learning for our patrons, our collections, and our workplace. We believe that an inclusive environment that cultivates and promotes understanding, respect, and collaboration across our diverse workforce enables our success.

We invite individuals with diverse backgrounds, experiences and abilities to be a part of our community of over 700 staff members. Our work with faculty, students and researchers to explore answers to intellectual questions, enduring and new, and to seek solutions to the world’s most consequential problems, requires that we not only reflect, but also champion our diverse society.

Harvard Library inspires collaboration, reflection, experimentation, and discovery connecting users to related disciplines and to University-wide teaching resources. The Library engages users through curated discovery, digital collections, reimagined physical space, and specialized research support. Today, Harvard Library’s holdings range from traditional print collections to rapidly expanding access to digital resources. Harvard Library provides the University's faculty, students, and researchers—now and in the future—with exceptional experiences and comprehensive access to these materials.

Learn more about our contributions to the academic enterprise by visiting us at http://library.harvard.edu and about the Harvard University community at http://hr.harvard.edu/why-harvard.

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