Job IISG - Senior researcher/Head collector Latin America Dept. (m/f)

The post of Senior researcher/Head collector falls under both the Collection Dept. (Collection building task group) and the Research Dept. The Collection building task group consists of 12 employees and is engaged in the acquisition of paper and digital archives, books, periodicals and audiovisual material. The Research Dept. is made up of around forty historians and social scientists and works on the development of the research programme “Global Labour History.” The Research and Collection building departments have combined regional offices on several continents

Independent historical research, as set out in the Global Labour History programme (http://www.iisg.nl/publications/globlab.pdf), in which the history of Latin America plays an important part; publication of results; initiation and directing of research projects and/or task groups; contribution to the formulation of research policy; sourcing of finance for projects; participation in Research Dept. meetings.

*Determining the collection profile for Latin America and, after its approval by the Management Team, drawing up and implementing annual plans for collection acquisitions; participating and contributing to Collection building meetings; directing the regional representative and regional office in Latin America; establishing and maintaining  contacts with archivists in the region; creating and supporting networks of local correspondents and regional archives in order to ensure the safekeeping of collections locally; selecting book and journal titles; organising (web)expositions based on items from the IISG collection; raising funds for the digitisation and the description of collections.

Responsible for the Latin America acquisition budget.

•  PhD in history or social sciences.
• Thesis on a social or economic historical topic.
•  Proven (research) experience and networks in Latin America.
•  Experience in leadership and project management.
• Willing to take courses/workshops in the creation of archival finding aids and  in digitisation.
• Fluency in English and Spanish and/or Portuguese.

Appointment by the KNAW is for an initial period of 5 years with a contract based on 30.4 hours a week.

The International Institute of Social History (IISG) is the largest documentation and research centre in the world in the field of Social History. Since its foundation in 1935 the institute has dedicated itself to collecting, preserving and ensuring public access to the legacy of social movements from all around the world.  It is an independent and reputable institute and thus an obvious safe haven for the often-threatened cultural legacy of the worker’s movement and other emancipatory groups and movements. The institute’s research department focuses on the history of industrial relations and organises international projects based on this theme. The collection (archives, library and audiovisual material) totals 50 km in shelf space. The IISG falls under the umbrella of the Royal Dutch Academy of Science (KNAW).