Job Opening Title:
JPCA AV PROJECT COORDINATION & VENDOR WORK MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST
Name of Employer:
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture
Job Site Location (City AND State):
Remote with some travel
Application Deadline:
July 10, 2026
Minimum Degree Requirement:
N/A
Years of experience required:
N/A
Salary Range:
comparable to GS 11
Job Opening URL:
Job Description (if URL to posting not available). Include instructions for how to apply:
*** To receive the full RFQ and SOW packet with instructions on how to apply, please email Bleakley McDowell (mcdowellh@si.edu) & CK Ming (mingc@si.edu) ***
This Request for Quote (RFQ) is issued by the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) at the Smithsonian Institution (SI) for professional, non-personal, work-for-hire project coordination and vendor work management services to support the Johnson Publishing Company Archive (JPCA) audiovisual preservation project, in accordance with the attached Statement of Work (SOW).
The base period of performance will begin on or about September 1, 2026, and end on or about August 31, 2027. The Smithsonian reserves the sole option to extend the contract for two additional one-year option periods, through August 31, 2029, as described in the SOW.
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This Statement of Work (SOW) is issued by the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) at the Smithsonian Institution (SI) for approximately 1,560 hours per year of professional, non-personal, work-for-hire services to support JPCA AV project coordination and vendor work management. The Contractor must have audiovisual archival/preservation knowledge, strong project coordination skills, and the ability to coordinate and track complex workflows across multiple vendors and systems.
The JPC archive is jointly owned and stewarded by the Smithsonian Institution and the Getty Research Institute. The JPCA videotape collection contains approximately 10,000 tapes across multiple formats (Umatic, Betacam, VHS), primarily Ebony/Jet Showcase TV recordings from 1982-1990.
SCOPE OF WORK
The Contractor will support the systematic preservation of the JPCA audiovisual collection. The Contractor will work remotely approximately 30 hours per week, reporting directly to the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR), the NMAAHC Media Archivist & Conservator. The COTR will oversee the Contractor’s work and retain responsibility for decision-making, preservation strategy, archival direction, and final review.
The goal is to keep the workflows and systems already built moving consistently — and consistently improving — through the remainder of the project, supporting the COTR in keeping vendor work, metadata, quality control, accessibility, and project logistics coordinated and on schedule.
Work will be scheduled at mutually convenient times for the Contractor and the COTR.
These services shall include supporting the COTR in:
• Liaising with vendors
• Coordinating shipping and receiving
• Tracking equipment, repairs, and upcoming equipment orders
• Troubleshooting technical workflow issues as they arise
• Attending relevant project meetings to represent JPCA AV work
• Conducting daily review and cleanup of Airtable data
• Coordinating Airtable, quality control, and ArchivesSpace work:
o Delegating and tracking work
o Reviewing completed work
o Performing work directly as needed
• Supporting accessibility work, including interim VTT and caption needs before a larger accessibility solution is in place
o Helping develop practical and creative approaches to accessibility workflows
• Supporting planning for AV rights determination, licensing, etc.
• Coordinating tape/case photography
• Supporting other project logistics as needed
The Contractor will also:
• Communicate clearly with the COTR and project stakeholders
• Document daily tasks completed and project status
• Notify the COTR of problems that impede work completion, availability for work, and changes in schedule
• Maintain a professional attitude in communicating and working with Smithsonian, Getty, and vendor staff
• Be diligent, thorough, meticulous, and consistent in following NMAAHC guidelines and established workflows
QUALIFICATIONS
The Contractor must have strong experience with all the following:
• Project coordination, particularly in museum, library, or archival settings
• Audiovisual preservation projects and workflows
• Vendor coordination across multiple service providers
• Airtable and similar database systems
• Digital asset management systems and metadata standards for audio and video, including processes for embedding, writing, and retrieving metadata
• ArchivesSpace and similar archival management systems
• Working at the command line and understanding basic bash and Python
o Support will be provided to bring the Contractor up to speed on our programmatic workflows
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to track and balance multiple concurrent workflows and priorities
• Quality control processes for digitization projects
• Rights determination/research for audiovisual materials
• Understanding of federal procurement processes and compliance requirements
• Ability to work independently in a remote environment while maintaining clear communication
Knowledge of the following is strongly desired but not required:
• The history of the Johnson Publishing Company
• The history of African American news publications
• FFV1/Matroska digital preservation formats
• Accessibility standards and captioning workflows
• Specialized shipping requirements for audiovisual materials
Orientation on the specifics of the NMAAHC/JPC workflow and project-specific systems will be provided.