Digitization Project Manager, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
The Natural History Museum of LA County (NHMLA) seeks a Project Manager for the NSF-funded Thematic Collections Network grant: Documenting Marine Biodiversity Through Digitization of Invertebrate Collections (DigIn ).
The aim of this project is to digitize, aggregate, and make accessible online specimen metadata for 835,000 lots, representing 7.5 million marine invertebrates at nineteen U.S. research museums. Together this vast diversity of specimens will provide an essential guide to the diversity of ocean life across the globe.
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County values and endeavors to support diversity, equity, inclusion, and access within its organization and communities. Candidates who identify as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (BIPOC), neurodiverse, a woman, a person with a disability, a veteran, and/or a part of the LGBTQAI+ community are welcome and encouraged to apply.
NHMLA is especially interested in candidates whose background and experience have prepared them to contribute to our commitment to engage and include culturally diverse audiences in museums and in science.
RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Works directly with the network of museum researchers from 19 collaborating institutions to provide or find assistance to catalog, digitize, aggregate, and make accessible specimen information and resources for marine invertebrate specimens housed at each institution, including technical support and training.
- Coordinates the development and implementation of online portal (InvertEBase) for specimen data aggregation and data repatriation between institutions and digitization endpoints (e.g. Symbiota, Notes from Nature, GEOLocate) and publishing to data aggregators (e.g. iDigBio, GBIF).
- Maintains collective resources for the project, and communicates regularly across all institutions to maintain project progress, including progress tracking.
- Identifies and coordinates contracted project-wide personnel, including those working on technical aspects such as georeferencing.
- Serves as project liaison to iDigBio and coordinates communication with national and international biodiversity informatics initiatives, including Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Catalog of Life, World Register of Marine Species, and others as appropriate, and in collaboration with content providers at the participating institutions, coordinates outreach efforts including social media, exhibits, and educational outreach programs, and maintains the project website.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- Knowledge
of biodiversity informatics, digital resource management, and georeferencing in natural history museums, equivalent to 3 years professional experience, gained through any combination of work history and graduate-level training. - Familiarity and working knowledge of methods and tools for designing and managing database systems, data processing, and data refinement (e.g., SQL, R, Python, OpenRefine); experience working with standard natural history specimen database systems (e.g., Specify, Axiell EMu, Symbiota, Arctos) preferred.
- Knowledge of geospatial information systems (QGIS, PostGIS etc.) and the CoGe collaborative georeferencing platform preferred. Familiarity with established best practices in georeferencing helpful.
- Extensive knowledge and experience in biodiversity data science, standards (Darwin Core, Audubon Core, etc), digitization best practices, specimen imaging, image processing and submission, access and use of SQL databases, comprehensive management and quality control for images, occurrence data, workflows, interfaces, and publishing occurrence data.
- Highly motivated, well-organized, and creative independent problem-solver with experience in project
management, budgeting, and coordination. - Successful track record of providing leadership and training, able to implement effective changes to achieve program goals; experience supervising staff, volunteers, or students preferred.
- Excellent communication skills, both oral and written. Must be outgoing and personable with the ability to interact effectively with and inspire museum staff, project researchers, and the public.
Applicants and employees are invited to identify reasonable accommodations that can be made to assist them to perform the essential functions of the position they seek or occupy. The incumbent must be able to perform this job safely, with reasonable accommodation if necessary, without endangering the health or safety of him/herself or others.
This is a full-time temporary position with a salary range of $65,000 to $70,000 with excellent benefits. The job will start as soon as possible, preferably in Summer or early Fall 2021. This is a grant-funded position expected to last four years.