Collection Developer (International Collections)

What will you be doing?
You define a collection development policy for your specialisation and contribute to the general policy. You are aware of the past and present collection practices of the IISH, but also understand where innovation is required and possible. You recognize the importance of increasing diversity and inclusiveness within the Institute's collections and you will contribute to the development of more participatory working methods.
Specifically, this means:

• You actively search for relevant collections and data and explore collaboration opportunities. You respond to offers received by the IISH and are involved in appraising previous acquisitions. Part of the work also involves advising on sustainable access outside the Institute;
• You develop and maintain a network of contacts with individuals and organizations. You receive collections, make appointments, record information about the collections and collaborate with other Data and Collections staff members;
• To the extent deemed suitable within the particular specialisation, you participate in, organise and supervise archival projects and partnerships, including digitisation;
• You will pay particular attention to developing collections from non-dominant sources that highlight underrepresented voices and themes;
• You have contact with researchers, users and social partners to link collection development to user needs, research programs as well as international social, economic and political issues;
• You actively work within the Collection Development department and contribute to the larger Data and Collections department;
• You contribute to the visibility and impact of our work and the IISH collections by giving presentations, publishing information and sharing your knowledge with third parties.

Where will you be working?
You will be working in the Collection Development department, which is responsible for developing and implementing the policy of acquiring and developing collections. The department consists of seven motivated employees with their own specialisation. Collection developers manage relationships with and facilitate the provision of services to record creators. You will work partly independently and partly in close collaboration with the rest of the team, and you will report to the head of the department.
The department is part of the larger Data and Collections department, which also includes Collection Processing, Data and Enrichment, and Public Services. The Data and Collections department is undergoing change, with the sub-departments increasingly working collaboratively to better align work processes and capacity.

You are based in the Netherlands, but will be travelling regularly to develop and maintain networks and personal contacts.

Depending on education and experience the minimum salary is 3.378 and the maximum salary is 5.331 gross per month for a full-time appointment (scale 10 cao Nederlandse Universiteiten/KNAW). This is exclusive of 8% vacation allowance, 8.3% year-end bonus, travel allowance, internet allowance, home working allowance and pension accrual with ABP.

The KNAW offers its staff an excellent package of secondary benefits. A package that meets the different needs of employees depending on their stage of life, lifestyle or career ambitions. For example, by working an extra two hours a week, it is possible to increase the number of days off from 29 to 41 days a year (with full-time employment).

For a complete overview of the terms of employment, please refer to the web page: werken bij de KNAW.

Applying for a Certificate of Good Conduct can be part of the employment procedure.

The International Institute of Social History (IISG-KNAW) is an Academy research institute. IISG is one of the most prestigious social history research institutes worldwide. It examines how work and labour relations have developed globally over time. To support its research, it collects archives and data from all over the world. The relationship between its research and its data and archive collections contributes substantially to the institute's unique nature.

The collection
We work with analogue and digital sources, on a global scale and over a long time span, in various forms (archives, publications, visual material, audio and video, and digital sources). Focus areas are work, labour relations, social inequality, social and emancipatory movements and economic history. We collaborate with those who produce the material, such as political groups, trade unions, social movements, NGOs, activists, researchers and (online) networks and communities. This collaboration can lead to inclusion in the IISH collection, but also to information being sustainably preserved and accessible elsewhere.

The IISH houses important historical and contemporary collections from international organisations, such as the Socialist International and the International Trade Union Confederation, well-known NGOs such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International, and a large number of smaller archives from smaller groups. In order to document recent and contemporary international movements and developments, we have to document closer to the present in more collaborative ways. Here too, we need to develop strategies that focus on digital sources and on themes such as informal labour and underrepresented groups of working people and communities.