Job Opening Title:
Digital Collections & Assets Manager
Name of Employer:
National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum
Job Site Location (City, State) :
Oklahoma City, OK
Application Deadline:
Until filled
Minimum Degree Requirement:
Bachelor’s Degree
Years of experience required:
5
Salary Range:
Commensurate with experience, $55,000-$85,000
Job Opening URL:
https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/about-the-museum/careers/
Job Description (if URL to posting not available). Include instructions for how to apply.:
The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum seeks applications for the Digital Collections and Digital Asset Manager to provide leadership and expertise in the governance, maintenance, and support of stewarding digital collections and assets. This position will work closely with departments across the Museum to ensure a high-level approach to acquiring, processing, preserving, discovering, and delivering digital content and collections metadata. The Digital Collections and Asset Manager will oversee the digitization of all permanent museum assets and archives for internal and/or external users.
This is a new position within the Museum and will take the lead in implementing the institution wide Digital Asset Management System (DAMS) system resulting in external access to digital materials, as well as the migration of data from the old system to the new one.
This position will implement and administer an institution-wide DAMS system. The Digital Collections and Assets Manager will work to ensure a high-level approach to all facets of the management of digital collections and non-collections digital assets including but not limited to the development of policies and protocols, acquisitions, digitization, processing, preservation, discovery, and delivery of digital media both inside and outside of the museum. This position will be a key position with a broad scope of museum collections as well as non-collection digital asset management.
Application Instructions:
Review of Applications will continue until the position is filled. A resume and cover letter telling us about your experience is required. Please email those documents plus your salary expectations to the HR Director at swebb@nationalcowboymuseum.org. If selected as a finalist, you will be asked to provide name and contact information for three professional references.
ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
• Regular collaboration with all relevant museum departments to ensure adequate organization, description, and ingestion of digital material into the DAMS for efficient and effective access.
• Track statistics and report on DAMS usage to administration and key stakeholders.
• Collaborate with IT and other key stakeholders on system development projects including but not limited to integration with other systems, metadata cleanup, and remediation of duplicates.
• Digitizes print, audio, and video materials according to professional standards. Responsible for accuracy at the level of individual digital materials, as well as ensuring standards are executed accurately throughout the process.
• Working in collaboration with curatorial staff, coordinates and oversees digitization projects including archival and 3D materials from the museum’s collections performed by either internal staff or external vendors.
• Develops and enforces metadata standards and best practices for digital assets within a DAMS. Evaluates and leverages existing metadata standards to ensure compliance with larger institutions such as Library of Congress and Getty.
• Assist in digitizing collections and projects.
• Provides staff training and support, including but not limited to organizing staff training sessions for DAMS and as well as access to digital collections.
• Maintains equipment and software for all digitization efforts.
• Monitors the progress of digitization projects and ensures timely and accurate ingestion of digitized assets into the DAMS, aligning with established workflows and metadata standards.
• Works with archivists to create, maintain, and regularly update a DAMS taxonomy and cataloging practices policy and protocols document.
• Provides oversight of digital file specifications for both museum collection and noncollections digital material.
• Develops and implements standardized workflows for the description, organization, and ingestion of all digital assets and exhibitions into a DAMS.
• In collaboration with staff archivists, creates and/or reviews original descriptive metadata for digital collections according to professional standards and best practices.
• Collaborates cross-departmentally to ensure file quality, consistency, organization, and efficient access of non-collection digital assets for non-curatorial stakeholders.
• Stays informed about developments and trends in digital asset management and archival practices and incorporates relevant advancements into existing workflows and processes where warranted.
• At times, supervises the activities of student interns, volunteers, project staff, and/or external vendors.
• Develop Point of Sale opportunities for digital materials and the processes to support them.
• Enables documentation and reporting of ownership and copyright status for digital assets.
• Participates in required events on evenings or weekends.
• Other duties as assigned.
QUALIFICATIONS:
• Master’s degree required in library science or archival studies, or Bachelor’s degree of Information Technology, Master’s preferred.
• Minimum 5 years professional experience with digital collections and digital asset management software administration.
• Experience working with both born-digital and digitized material.
• Experience with cloud storage environments.
• Understanding of current library, archival, and collections processing methodologies.
• Familiarity with copyright, donor restrictions, and permissions issues related to accessing library, archival, and museum collections.
• Fundamental knowledge of the art, history, and culture of the American West is a plus.
• Ability to lead cross-departmental teams effectively and efficiently in complex projects.
• Strong attention to detail and accuracy.
• Critical thinking skills and excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work well with others and maintain professional manner using tact, initiative, good judgment, and confidentiality.
• Deadline driven and ability to prioritize competing tasks, while maintaining efficiency.
ABOUT THE NATIONAL COWBOY & WESTERN HERITAGE MUSEUM: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). Home to one of the nation’s foremost collections dedicated to historic and contemporary Western and American Indian art and material culture, the Museum has served the public since its opening in 1965. The Museum Campus is situated on nearly 37 acres atop the Persimmon Hill District in rapidly growing and affordable Oklahoma City, the state’s capital, and largest city. It includes the main 228,000 square foot building housing multiple galleries and interpretive areas, the Donald C. & Elizabeth M. Dickinson Research Library and Archive, and the Sam Noble Special Event Center, in addition to sculpture gardens, event grounds, and ample parking. This iconic cultural and educational institution has seen nearly 12 million visitors from across the nation and globe over its first half-century of operation and remains one of Oklahoma’s and the region’s primary tourist destinations. Entering its next half-century, the Museum now embarks upon an ambitious multi-year plan to establish itself as the preeminent cultural and educational institution dedicated to the American West and its place within the broader national identity and culture.
MISSION STATEMENT: The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum preserves and interprets the evolving history and cultures of the American West for the education & enrichment of its diverse audiences of both adults and children.
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