Archivist

Description

In this position, you will serve as an Archivist with the National Archives and Records Administration, Research Services, Archival Operations - San Francisco, located in San Bruno, CA.

Whether you are new to the Federal Government or an experienced professional seeking a career change, you can make history at the National Archives. Our dedicated staff works across a variety of career fields to safeguard the records of the Federal Government - more than 10 billion of them.

Visit our Employee Gallery at www.archives.gov/careers to see the kinds of dynamic projects our staff are undertaking.  If you want a career where you can see the difference your work makes, then join the National Archives!

For more information visit: http://www.archives.gov/san-francisco/
Duties
This is a developmental position. At the full performance level, duties include some or all of the following:

Agency Advisory Services:  Contributes to the planning of activities leading to the identification and protection of permanently valuable records. Reviews and provides archival input on records control schedules and appraisal reports. Reviews unscheduled Federal records and recommends appropriate disposition instructions.

Accessioning and Processing: Coordinates and documents the transfer of legal or physical custody of records from the records creator to NARA and resolves issues associated with transfers. Reviews transferred records to confirm their provenance and assure proper application of the records schedule or deed of gift that authorized their transfer. Resolves uncertainties about the provenance of transferred records. Recognizes relationships among records transferred to the legal and/or physical custody of NARA, establishes the boundaries of series, and determines appropriate record group allocation. Coordinates processing activities carried out by other NARA staff.

Access Review/Declassification: Reviews records and applies appropriate restrictions in compliance with E.O. 13526, the Freedom of Information Act, access rules of the House and Senate, copyright laws, or donor requirements. Ensures appropriate protection of records that contain national security information. Prepares restriction statements governing records among holdings of the unit, enforces all applicable restrictions, and determines accessibility of classes of records. Oversees and ensures the quality of review for restrictions conducted by other reviewers.

Description: Contributes to the planning of a finding aids program that facilitates discovery and use of a complex body of records. Determines appropriate levels for the establishment of intellectual control and identifies controlling methods that assist users in recognizing relationships among records. Recommends new descriptive techniques and tools to improve the success of reference and research work. Prepares description of complex bodies of records for inclusion in the Archival Research Catalog. Develops major descriptive products, including microfilm publications, reference information papers, reference reports, electronic indexes, or educational packages. Oversees and assures the quality of descriptive work prepared by others.

Reference: Develops and delivers responses (orally or in writing) to non-routine reference requests that draw upon an increasingly broad knowledge of records and involve multiple sources of information, employ innovative research techniques, or require interpretation of complex rules or procedures. Assists researchers in navigating complex finding aid systems and establishing connections between related archival sources, regardless of their physical location. Plans, develops and implements effective and coordinated operating methods and tools for achievement of customer service standards and goals. Recommends appropriate solutions to issues arising in fulfillment of reproduction service orders. Directs and reviews the work of other reference professionals and technicians.

Preservation: Assesses the condition of transferred records and determines the extent to which records are at risk. Recommends appropriate housing, storage, and handling for records transferred to the legal and/or physical custody of NARA. Ensures appropriate involvement of preservation and other qualified experts in decisions affecting treatment, duplication, reformatting, storage, movement and non-routine handling of records for any purpose. Develops strategies for solving technical issues associated with records preservation. Directs other staff members in taking appropriate preservation action to reduce or eliminate risk of deterioration or loss of records.