Associate Rights Specialist

National Museum of Wildlife Art; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 60,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Getty Research Institute seeks an Associate Rights Specialist to coordinate image acquisition, rights clearance, and licensing for publications, exhibitions, and public programs. The role includes negotiating licenses, maintaining image logs, processing payments, and tracking contracts through Procurement, with potential work on audio/video assets and publication licensing.

Requirements include 3–5 years in photo licensing, a high school diploma (bachelor's preferred), and strong organizational

Qualifications

• High school diploma or equivalent required; bachelor’s degree preferred.
• 3–5 years experience in photo licensing and digital images.

Responsibilities

• Coordinates image acquisition and rights clearance for a high volume of publications, exhibitions, and programs.
• Sources reproduction‑quality images and negotiates licenses with image vendors, museums, galleries, collectors, and artists.
• Maintains relationships and billing with stock image, video, and music agencies.
• Collaborates with Getty departments and imaging studios to acquire and clear rights for collection images.
• Develops and maintains image logs to track caption and credit language and legal restrictions.

Skills

Microsoft Office

Adobe Creative Cloud

Adobe Acrobat

AirTable

Open Access literacy

Open Culture knowledge

Communication skills

Organizational skills

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Bachelor’s degree preferred

Job description

Reporting to the Associate Director of Dissemination and External Affairs at the Getty Research Institute, the Associate Rights Specialist coordinates image acquisition for communications, exhibitions, and public programs. Sources and acquires reproduction‑quality images, identifies legal restrictions in their use, negotiates reproduction rights, processes payments, creates image logs to track caption and credit language, and develops and maintains records of all contracts and obligations. May also acquire assets and rights for other types of media assets, including audio, video, music, and text. May also assist with publication licensing activity in Getty Research Institute Publications, including research, material preparation, proposal and contract drafting, and contract tracking through Procurement.

Major Job Responsibilities

• Coordinates image acquisition and rights clearance for a high volume of communications, exhibitions, and public programs projects, including print and digital publications, digital and video communications, websites, and marketing/advertising materials
• Sources reproduction‑quality images and negotiates licenses for their use with image vendors, museums, galleries, collectors, and artists
• Maintains relationships and billing arrangements with stock image, video, and music agencies
• Works in partnership with colleagues in other Getty departments and imaging studios to acquire and clear rights for Getty collection images
• Develops and maintains image logs or other records to track caption and credit language and to ensure that legal restrictions for use are well documented
• Ensures that images are being used in compliance with licensing contracts, including with accurate caption and credit lines upon publication
• Organizes image files and documentation for transmittal to design and production teams
• Processes payments and tracks costs against project budgets
• May supervise rights and permissions freelancers on select projects
• May conduct research, prepare materials, draft proposals and contracts, and track contracts through Procurement to assist publications licensing activity

Qualifications

• High school diploma/equivalent required; bachelor’s degree preferred
• 3-5 years experience in photo licensing industry and experience working with digital images

Please note: This position is not eligible for employer‑based immigration sponsorship. Applicants must have authorization to work for Getty in the United States without the need for sponsorship, currently or in the future.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Acrobat; familiarity with AirTable a plus
• Familiarity with one or more European languages a plus
• Knowledge of art history and of intellectual property and copyright issues as applied in the visual arts required
• Excellent organizational and communication skills
• Understanding of the Open Access and Open Culture landscape in the arts and culture sector a plus