In consultation with the Associate Archivist, maintain and manage the company’s historical design, manufacturing, and business records. Perform accepted professional practices in the identification, arrangement, description, and preservation of these materials. Ensure timely response to in-house and external queries on the history of the company and its products. Coordinate the digitization of records and uploads to the digital asset management system. Work collaboratively and cross-functionally with the Creative Visual Merchandising, Design, Legal, Marketing, Public Relations, and Retail teams to ensure that they have needed historical background.
Archives Management
- Develop a processing schedule for collections including identifying those materials that have the potential to be of greatest value to current business needs.
- Using accepted professional practices, identify, arrange, and make accessible (via the creation of inventories and finding aids) company records of historic value.
- Through appropriate records storage protocol, transfer company records of a historic nature to the Archives.
- File and rehouse recently acquired or backlogged collection material as well as provide basic processing support, including the creation of inventories and shelf lists.
- Perform basic conservation, including cleaning and encapsulating documents.
Research External
- Assess and respond to external requests for information from customers, dealers, collectors, auction houses, scholars, book authors, journalists, curators, academics, and graduate students received electronically or via phone and mail.
- Work collaboratively with other members of the Department on the arrangement and hosting of external research visit logistics including determining which personnel and what materials and/or objects need to be available.
- Manage the Commissioned Research Program, ensuring that the highest standards of customer service are maintained in all customer communication; create commissioned reports; ensure that proper fees are collected and processed.
Digital Asset Management
- Identify collections or discrete groups of materials that have the potential to positively impact current business priorities by being digitized and made available on the digital asset management system, Vista.
- Coordinate the digitization of those records and asset uploads, metadata creation, and keyword tagging on Vista by the Digitization Coordinator.
- Serve as the Department liaison for Vista.
- Ensure that employees in other departments have access to Vista and aid with its use as necessary.
Personnel Management and Administration
- Supervise the Digitization Coordinator, including overseeing the scanning of collections, setting priorities, and managing workload.
- Maintain the internal departmental website, including posting updates and developing new content.
- Maintain the Archives’ physical and digital subject filing system and its researcher filing system.
- Assist the Associate Archivist with the technical supplies inventory by ordering supplies as necessary and updating the technical supplies budget.
- Coordinate use of the Archives’ storage area by organizing unprocessed collections.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in History, Art History, American Studies, or related field
- 2 to 3 years’ progressively responsible experience in a business archives, including supervisory experience
- Familiarity with image software applications and metadata descriptive work
- Knowledge of American decorative arts
- Excellent writing and presentation skills
- Demonstrated ability to work as part of a team
- Ability to meet deadlines and work on several projects simultaneously
- Flexible work schedule to include travel into NYC, domestic and international travel
Preferred Qualifications
- Master’s degree in Archives Administration or Library Science with a concentration in Archives
- Working knowledge of Decorative Arts or jewelry history.
- Customer Service experience.
