The Wisconsin Historical Society, considered one of the nation's finest historical institutions, is a State of Wisconsin government agency as well as a mission-driven entrepreneurial organization.  The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. At its core, the Society believes that increasing the public's knowledge of history has profound societal, cultural, and economic benefit. The Society’s values are to Embrace a Spirit of Service, Engage our Expertise, Spark Enthusiasm, Cultivate Inclusion, Exceed Expectations, and Think Big and Grow with Purpose. Its collections, historic sites and museums, historic preservation office and extensive educational programs are focused on enriching and transforming lives through unparalleled access to history. 

 Click HERE for more information about working at the Wisconsin Historical Society.

This transformation requires modernization of the Society’s equipment, systems, workflows, and building capacity within the Society’s Collections and IT teams. This position is part of a triumvirate that will provide leadership during this transition and help shape our collections digital strategy for the future. When ultimately realized, the Society’s digital strategy will enable the Society to connect communities across the state and nation to museum programs, ensure broad accessibility and preservation of the Society’s rich collections, and facilitate discovery of freely available digital content for national and international audiences.

The Metadata Specialist will work as part of cross-functional teams to support the Wisconsin Historical Society’s digitization and discovery initiatives. The Metadata Specialist is an integral part of the team responsible for creating and expanding the ways in which patrons discover and access the Society’s collections. This position is responsible for the development, implementation, and assessment of descriptive metadata for the Society’s digital assets. As such, this position will not only create metadata, but also maintain controlled vocabularies; develop metadata rules, standards, and practices; create and maintain metadata workflows and procedures; enhance and remediate existing metadata; and collaborate with other professionals to crosswalk metadata between systems.

Salary Information

The salary will be between $28.00 - $32.08 per hour ($58,240 to $66,726 annually) in accordance with the provisions of the current Compensation Plan. This position is in pay schedule 13, range 04; Civil service classification is Archivist.  A12-month probationary period will be required. 

 Job Details

A criminal background check will be conducted prior to an offer of employment to determine if the circumstances of any conviction may be related to the job.

Permanent classified state employees who are eligible for consideration (transfer, voluntary demotion, or former employees as a reinstatement) should complete the application process to apply.

WHS does not sponsor work visas.  Any appointment made will be contingent on the applicant being able to prove valid status to work in the United States.

Certain positions within WHS may allow remote/work from home flexibility for a portion of their work schedule, depending on the needs of the position and the work unit. This topic and any remote work flexibility that may be available will be discussed in more detail in the interview process.

All state employees must report their COVID vaccination status, whether vaccinated or not and provide supporting documentation if vaccinated. Newly hired employees will be required to submit this information within their first two weeks of employment.  The State of Wisconsin continues to follow necessary health and safety protocols for COVID.  Please visit Division of Personnel Management Coronavirus - COVID-19 (wi.gov) for the most up-to-date information. Guidance may be subject to change.

 Qualifications

Please make sure to describe the following qualifications within your resume and/or letter of qualifications in order to be considered for this position.

 Minimally qualified candidate will have experience in all of the following:

• Experience using a digital asset management and discovery systems (e.g. CONTENTdm, Argus, ArchivesSpace, Aviary, PastPerfect, TIND DA, Mukurtu).
• Experience implementing a variety of metadata standards and protocols (e.g., MARC, EAD, RDA, MODS, METS/ALTO, Dublin Core, BIBFRAME).
• Experience working with archival and/or artifact collections, including experience handling fragile materials.

In addition to minimum qualifications, a well-qualified candidate will additionally have experience in one of the following areas:

• Experience using 3 or more digital asset management and discovery systems (e.g. CONTENTdm, Argus, ArchivesSpace, Aviary, PastPerfect, TIND DA, Mukurtu).
• Experience migrating from one library/archival content management system, digital asset management system, or discovery system to a new system.
• Experience with data remediation for both MARC and non-MARC data, especially involving system migration projects.

Applications are due at 11:59PM on June 1, 2023.