Job posting: Head of Digital Collections Initiatives, Chicago History Museum

Full time (hybrid:minimum 2 days/week onsite); salary range $65,000-72,000 

JOB SUMMARY:
Under the guidance of the Director of Collections, the Head of Digital Collections Initiatives leads strategy for the Museum's digital collections ecosystem, coordinating cross-departmental efforts, and overseeing the development of systems, integrations, standards, and workflows that advance the Museum's digital transformation.
The position manages and coordinates all aspects of the Digital Collections Initiatives unit, including the areas of digitization, digital asset management, and rights and reproductions, generating institutional revenue, managing the unit budget and supporting digital access to collections for internal and external audiences. The role ensures that the museum’s digital assets are responsibly managed, widely accessible, and leveraged to support research, exhibits and public engagement.

This position works closely with Collections, Curation and Exhibitions, IT, Communications, Education, and Institutional Advancement to align digital initiatives with institutional priorities, secure philanthropic support and strengthen the museum’s role as a leading research institution.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:
Manage the day-to-day operations of the Digital Collections Initiatives unit, including supervising staff, interns and volunteers and coordinating their work.
Lead the strategic planning and governance of the museum’s digital collections ecosystem, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities, best practices, available resources and long-term sustainability.
Serve as project manager for digital collections initiatives, including Digital Futures, collaborating with relevant staff, overseeing strategy, budgets, timelines, and milestone tracking and communicating project progress to internal and external stakeholders.
Oversee and/or support the planning, implementation, and optimization of collections-related digital systems, including digital asset management systems (DAMS), collections management systems (CMS), and public discovery platforms, ensuring they meet the needs of internal and external audiences and support collections stewardship.
Oversee the Museum’s Rights and Reproductions program, maximizing revenue while supporting research, exhibitions, publications, and partnerships, and ensuring responsible rights management; submit accounting and royalty reports as needed.
Advise the Director of Collections in developing annual departmental goals, objectives, and budget.
Collaborate with IT and internal stakeholders to ensure systems integration, scalability, and long-term sustainability.
Lead the development, implementation, documentation and improvement of cross-departmental workflows for collections-related digitization, digital asset management, digital preservation and digital access, ensuring work is coordinated efficiently, consistently, and in alignment with institutional priorities.
Establish and maintain technical standards, quality assurance practices, and governance for image capture, metadata creation, digital preservation, and digital asset management, ensuring consistent implementation across collections systems.
Develop an institutional digitization strategy and priorities that support collections stewardship, exhibitions, digital scholarship, community outreach, and revenue-generating opportunities.
Oversee digitization initiatives, coordinating priorities, resources, staff, and external vendors to ensure projects are completed efficiently and in accordance with established standards.
Expand public access to digitized collections through user-friendly digital platforms and improved discovery tools.
Develop and implement processes for collecting and analyzing internal and external user feedback and metrics to evaluate performance and inform continuous improvements to the digital collections ecosystem.
Participate in institutional committees and working groups to represent digital collections priorities, advocating for digital transformation across the institution and promoting best practices.
Monitor emerging technologies, standards, and best practices related to digital collections management, digital preservation, and cultural heritage technologies, recommending solutions that are practical and sustainable.
Develop and maintain strategic partnerships with technology providers, academic institutions, funding organizations, community groups and peer museums to advance digital initiatives and promote public awareness of the collection.
Foster a collaborative, inclusive, and service-oriented culture within the Digital Collections Initiatives unit and across the Museum.
Perform other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

 Education: Bachelor’s degree in library and information science, museum studies, digital humanities, archival studies, or related field required. Advanced degree preferred.

Experience: Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible experience managing digital collections, digital asset management, or digital initiatives within a museum, archives, library, or cultural heritage institution. Demonstrated success leading complex, multi-year digital projects involving multiple stakeholders and competing priorities. Experience supervising staff and leading cross-departmental teams and initiatives. Experience developing and improving workflows, policies, and standards for digitization, digital asset management, metadata, and digital access. Experience overseeing or implementing digital collections systems, including Digital Asset Management Systems (DAMS), Collections Management Systems (CMS), and/or digital discovery platforms.

Preferred qualifications:  Knowledge of photographic and digitization standards (e.g., FADGI), color management, and quality assurance practices for cultural heritage. (Preferred) Knowledge of copyright, licensing, and intellectual property law and guidelines as they relate to the creation, management, and distribution of digital collections.

Technical Knowledge: Working knowledge of Digital Asset Management Systems (DAMS), Collections Management Systems (CMS), and digital collections platforms. Knowledge of metadata standards and frameworks such as Dublin Core, MODS, or VRA. Familiarity with digital preservation standards, practices and tools (e.g., OAIS, FADGI). Understanding of system integrations, APIs, and digital infrastructure.  Experience using analytics and user feedback to evaluate digital engagement and inform improvements.

Leadership and Professional Skills: Strong strategic planning, leadership and project management skills. Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively with technical and non-technical audiences. Ability to advocate for digital initiatives and guide change across the institution. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Commitment to accessibility, inclusion, and responsible stewardship of cultural heritage materials.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS: The Head of Digital Collections Initiatives leads the Digital Collections Initiatives unit, consisting of the Rights and Reproductions Coordinator, Digital Asset Specialist, two Photographers/Imaging Specialists, Metadata Specialist and project staff, volunteers and interns as needed. The unit is part of the Collections department, and the Head will collaborate closely with other unit supervisors (Senior Archivist, Senior Collection Manager, Senior Conservator, Senior Registrar and Senior Research Librarian) and their unit staff. This position also works closely with Curation and Exhibitions, IT, Communications, Education, and Institutional Advancement to advance digital collections initiatives.

Application Instructions: 

https://workforcenow.adp.com/mascsr/default/mdf/recruitment/recruitment.html?cid=5b362fba-f53e-4789-bc85-d104f0b9a79c&ccId=19000101_000001&jobId=540924&source=CC2&lang=en_US

Please submit both a cover letter and resume as part of your application. Applications that do not include both documents may not be considered.

Full time, two-year, in-person position, made possible by a grant from the Getty Foundation.

Salary: $60,000

The South Side Community Art Center (SSCAC) seeks to hire an Archives Associate. The Associate will report directly to the Manager of Archives and Collections to support the stewardship of the archives and art collection at the South Side Community Art Center. The Archives Associate will be primarily responsible for completing the processing of mid-level to sizable collections that range up to approximately 200 linear feet, in particular the Dr. Margaret T. G. Burroughs Collection. Archival assets include a range of text, graphic, and art-related materials: letters, documents, photographs, artworks, ephemera, magazines, recordings, and books.

Other primary functions of this role include assisting in the development of policies, procedures, guidelines, and strategic planning, and providing recommendations and implementing best practices for ongoing collections care, access, education, engagement, and digitization strategies.

The ideal candidate for this role should demonstrate a willingness to develop an in-depth familiarity with the South Side Community Art Center (https://sscartcenter.org/), its history, impact in the community, the SSCAC staff, and a dedication to stewarding archival materials. 

Key responsibilities include:
- Archival processing of numerous unprocessed collections with primary focus on the completion of the Dr. Margaret T. G. Burroughs Collection, including developing work plans for each collection, cataloging, and completed finding aids using specified collection management tools
- Conducting research to support processing work including Scope and Content Notes, completed Finding Aids, public programs, and other documentation to support the archives.
- Under the direction of the Archives and Collections Manager, working collaboratively with SSCAC staff, Archives and Collections Committee of the Center’s Board, and occasionally with outside contractors (web design team, guest curators, strategy consultants, etc.)
- Participating in team meetings, strategic planning, and workflow discussions
- Applying knowledge and expertise on archival descriptive standards, intellectual property rights, archival collections care, and strategies towards digital preservation of archival materials
- Researching, developing, presenting, and implementing best practices in organization, storage, and access (physical and digital) for archival collections; and providing documentation of methodology and research
- Engaging in plans for digitization, promotion, use, and development of the SSCAC’s Archives with both institutional and community researchers in mind
- In conjunction with the Archives and Collections Manager, developing the Archives Processing Manual to outline a streamlined process for stewarding the archives

Additional duties include:
- Conduct archival reference by communicating with researchers and supervising archives visits for individual researchers, classes, and other archives patrons in consultation with the Archives and Collections Manager and the Executive Director
- Assisting in the day-to-day work and responsibilities of the Archives and Collections Manager, including supervision of volunteers, interns, or student workers
- Support SSCAC staff at events, openings, and public programs by actively participating with needed tasks
- Maintaining a professional profile by participating in professional development opportunities which include participating in relevant conferences, and publishing writing related to our archives and collection for SSCAC website, social media platforms, and academic journals.

Qualifications:

Master’s degree in Library and Information Science (with a focus in Archival and records management, rare books and manuscripts, digital preservation, and library conservation), Art History, or Museum Studies.

To apply for this position:

Please submit the following materials to rachel@sscartcenter.org:
● A cover letter explaining your interest in the role and in the South Side Community Art Center
● CV or Resume
● Two academic or professional (or one of each) references that can speak to your ability, accomplishments, and strengths as an applicant for this position

Application deadline: July 31, 2026