Head of Digital Collections

Code4lib; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 129,521 - 158,304; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Excellent benefits package

Job summary

A prominent cultural institution in Washington, DC is looking for a Head of Digital Collections to lead digitization strategies for their extensive collection. This role involves coordinating projects and managing a talented team while ensuring compliance with legal and ethical standards. The ideal candidate should have experience in museum collections and project management. An attractive compensation package is offered including a starting salary of $143,913 annually.

Qualifications

• Experience implementing digitization and digital access strategies for museum or archive collections.
• Ability to manage staff and oversee multiple projects.
• Knowledge of legal, ethical, and community rights related to historical materials.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of digitization and documentation strategies for the museum's collection.
• Coordinate digitization activities with various departments and stakeholders.
• Develop standards and policies for digital asset management.
• Manage a diverse team across digital collections disciplines.

Skills

Digitization strategies

Project management

Knowledge of legal and ethical issues

Staff management

Job description

Description

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History invites applicationsfor the position ofHead of Digital Collections.Thisexcitingpositionwill play a key role inthe museum’s efforts togrow and expand the impact of its digital collections through planning, project management, and collaboration.

The person in thispositionwill:

• Leadthe development ofstrategiesfor digitizing and documenting the museum’s collection of1.8 millionobjects and3 shelf-miles ofarchival materials.
• Coordinatedigitization activities, working closely with curatorial and collections departments, vendors, and other stakeholders.
• Developstandards and policies for the creation, management, and preservation of digital assets.
• Managea team oftalentedstaff acrossdigitalcollectionsdisciplines.

Qualifiedcandidates willhaveexperienceimplementing and developingdigitization and digital accessstrategies for collections in a museum, archive, library, orsimilarsetting;ability to managestaff andmultiple projects; and knowledgeof the legal, ethical, and community rights and issues involved inprovidingaccessto historical materials.Please refer tothe job announcements listed belowfor specific informationas you prepare your application.

Starting SalaryGS-14-$143,913annually, plusan excellentbenefitspackage.

Open throughMarch13,2026. For more information and to apply, please visitwww.si.edu/ohr/jobs and click on the links for the announcement numbers listed below:

Open to the public

26R-SA-313508-DEU-NMAH

Current & former Federal status employees & special appointing authorities should apply to the announcement # below & may also apply to the above public announcement

26R-SA-313508-MPA-NMAH

[e-mail] with questions.

The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities whereappropriate.Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact the Human Resources Specialist listed.Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. To learn more,please review the Smithsonian’s Accommodation Procedures.

The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that a workforcecomprisinga variety of educational, cultural, and experiential backgrounds supports and enhances our daily work life and contributes to the richness of our exhibitions and programs. For more information on the Smithsonian EEO program please seewww.si.edu/oeema .

How to apply

http://www.si.edu/ohr/jobs

Contact:

[e-mail]