Collections Management Assistant

Colgate University Collections Management Assistant Requisition Number: 2024S055Posting Full Time/Part Time: Full Time Division: Dean of the Faculty Department: University Museums Wage/Salary Range: 22.00-23.50 Department Statement: Under the direction of the Head of Collections, the Collections Management Assistant provides critical support for the overall safety, preservation, maintenance, and documentation for works in the Longyear Museum of Anthropology (LMA) and Picker Art Gallery (PAG) collections, including works on view, in storage, and on loan, and helps maintain the UM Collections digital and analog image repositories. Additionally he/she/they supports all aspects of incoming/outgoing exhibition loans, acquisitions, and class visits, along with other administrative tasks, as assigned. The University Museums are at an exciting point in their history. As a key component of Colgates ambitious Middle Campus Plan for Arts, Creativity, and Innovation, our team is currently reenvisioning and redefining how academic museums fit into the contemporary liberal arts experience and into the cultural fabric of the regional communities into which the campus is embedded. Our strategic plan prioritizes implementing decolonizing practices across museum operations, creating a more inclusive and accessible program, increasing student and faculty engagement, enhancing collaborations on and off campus, and developing collections that represent a wider range of identities and experiences. Accountabilities: Provides key support for collections care and management, including cataloging, condition reporting, rehousing, and numbering of works; pest and environment management; managing physical and digital records; processing acquisitions; coordinating moves and storage projects; performing collections inventories; documentation of conservation treatments; and tracking the movements of works. Assists with student collections-focused projects. Supports requests for access to collections and their associated records for research, teaching, and exhibitions, including retrieving and transporting objects from on- and off-site storage to classrooms and galleries. Assists with coordination of and documentation for museum acquisitions and deaccessions. Assists with preparing reports for museum committees and institutional planning. Assists with coordination of and documentation for museum loan activities, including responsibility for processing necessary forms and reports; condition reporting; coordinating transportation, crating, packing, couriering, and insurance; and ensuring completeness and accuracy of database records. Assists with managing traveling exhibitions. Assists with exhibition installations, as assigned. Assists with oversight of the museum's photographic and digital materials, including helping to establish and implement metadata standards, cataloging images, integrating digital assets into the collection management database, coordinating new photography, processing external requests for images, distributing digital assets, securing copyright permissions, and maintaining updated print and digital libraries related to collections. Participates in developing and implementing collections management policies and processes. Adheres to DEAI and decolonizing practices across museum operations, especially in exhibitions and collections. Responsible for other registration tasks as needed to ensure effectiveness of overall registration functions of the museums. Special projects as assigned. Professional Experience/Qualifications At least 1 year of museum or gallery registration or collections management experience in a professional capacity. Knowledge of registration, collection management, image management, digital assets preservation, rights and reproduction standards, and legal and ethical issues. Hands-on experience in record keeping for art and/or anthropology collections, including cataloging, condition reporting, and image rights management. Previous hands-on experience with packing or rehousing, handling, and installing artworks. Solid understanding of and commitment to decolonizing, equity, and inclusion practices, preferably in a museum context. Preferred Qualifications 3 or more years of museum or gallery registration or collections management experience in a professional capacity. Solid understanding of managing domestic and international loans, including preparing loan agreements, managing insurance, condition reporting, packing, crating, shipping, and couriering. Solid understanding of current best practices in conservation and long-term storage of art and/or anthropology museum collections. Demonstrated knowledge of issues pertaining to metadata work based on DEAI and decolonizing principles. Current knowledge of collections management and digital asset management systems; proficiency in TMS preferred. Education Bachelors degree in art history, anthropology, museum studies, or related field, or demonstrable equivalent experience or training is required. Masters degree in art history, anthropology, museum studies, or related field, or demonstrable equivalent experience preferred. Other Information This position will occasionally be required to work extended hours during installations/deinstallations, scheduled shipments etc. and as needed. Work Schedule: Job Open Date: 06/27/2024 Job Close Date: Open Until Filled Yes Special Instructions Summary EEO Statement It is the policy of Colgate University not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of their race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, pregnancy, national origin, marital status, disability, protected Veterans status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, being or having been victims of domestic violence or stalking, familial status, or any other categories covered by law. Colgate is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. Candidates from historically underrepresented groups, women, persons with disabilities, and protected veterans are encouraged to apply. Clery Act CAMPUS CRIME REPORTING AND STATISTICS The Department of Campus Safety will provide upon request a copy of Colgates Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. This report includes statistics as reported to the United States Department of Education for the previous three years concerning reported: 1. crimes that occurred on-campus; in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by Colgate University; and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from, the campus and 2. fires that occurred in student housing facilities. The report also includes institutional policies concerning campus security and fire safety, such as policies concerning sexual assault, life safety systems, and other related matters. You may access the report from the Clery Compliance web page at: https://www.colgate.edu/about/offices-centers-institutes/dean-college/campus-safety-staff/clery-compliance. Printed copies of this report may be obtained upon request from the Department of Campus Safety via e-mail at cusafety@colgate.edu.