Senior Photograph Conservator

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Job Posting Title:
Senior Photograph Conservator
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Hiring Department:
Harry Ransom Center
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Position Open To:
All Applicants
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Weekly Scheduled Hours:
40
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FLSA Status:
Exempt
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Earliest Start Date:
Immediately
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Position Duration:
Expected to Continue
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Location:
UT MAIN CAMPUS
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Job Description:
The Senior Photograph Conservation leads and manages the activities of the Harry Ransom Center’s Photograph Conservation Lab, including planning and prioritizing the work of the lab and all associated photograph preservation initiatives and programs. This position supervises the work of an Assistant Preventive Conservator. The Senior Photograph Conservator undertakes conservation treatments of all levels of complexity for the Center’s photographic materials, including technical and cross-disciplinary research as needed, and engages in a range of Preservation and Conservation Division management functions and operations towards the long-term care of the Harry Ransom Center’s collection holdings. The Preservation and Conservation Division embraces a highly collaborative environment, and the Senior Photograph Conservator works closely with division conservators and technicians as well as with curatorial, cataloging, exhibition, and public services colleagues.
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Job Details:
General Notes
The Harry Ransom Center seeks skilled, collaborative candidates for the position of Senior Photograph Conservator. The Ransom Center is an internationally renowned humanities research library and museum at The University of Texas at Austin. Its holdings include 42 million manuscripts, one million books, five million photographs, and over 100,000 works of art. The Ransom Center hosts more than 60,000 visitors annually, including undergraduate and graduate students, scholars, and members of the public. It has a full-time staff of 90, with six conservators. Conservators and preservation technicians collaborate with colleagues in the Center’s Library, Education & Exhibitions, Scholarly Programs, and Curatorial divisions to support the Center’s mission to encourage discovery, inspire creativity, and advance understanding of the humanities for broad and diverse audiences through the preservation and sharing of its collections.
Since Harry Ransom’s purchase of Helmut and Alison Gernsheim’s photohistorical collection in 1963, the strength of the Center’s photography collection has been its documentation of the history and evolution of the medium. In addition to five million prints and negatives encyclopedic in scope, the collection holds the archives of several photographers and over six hundred pieces of photographic equipment from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. A growing library of more than forty thousand books and journals, focusing on the theory, technique, art, and history of photography, begins with early sixteenth-century English, German, and French treatises on optics and light-sensitive chemistry. The Center holds the complete negative and print morgue of the New York Journal-American, with nearly three million images. Approximately two hundred thousand press prints from the Magnum Photos agency’s New York print library, dating from 1929 to 2004, comprise the center’s Magnum Photos collection.

The Ransom Center welcomes and respects all individuals and communities by valuing and maintaining awareness of diverse perspectives and experiences. We believe inclusivity is critical to fostering excellence in all of our endeavors, and we strive to promote diversity in our collections and services. We welcome applicants from under-represented groups and those who demonstrate a commitment to inclusion. To learn more about our institutional mission and values, visit: https://www.hrc.utexas.edu/about/#mission-values.

Responsibilities

Perform conservation treatments of all levels of complexity, including the historical and technical investigation of photographic processes and artist’s methods. Design and construct appropriate housings for storage of collection material. Conduct preservation surveys as needed.
Supervise the work of an Assistant Preventive Conservator who undertakes housing and treatment of photograph collections, monitors Center’s building environment, and manages and coordinates treatment of collections with mold.
Liaise and collaborate with curators, collection managers, exhibition staff, administrative personnel, and other Ransom Center staff with regard to the handling, housing, treatment, and exhibition of photograph collections.
Participate in preventive measures, such as inspection of incoming collections; emergency preparedness, response and recovery; and staff collections handling training.
Participate as part of the division’s senior management team to strategically plan for the ongoing care of the Ransom Center’s collections.
Pursue independent studies and professional opportunities that further the field of preservation and conservation. Communicate to the Ransom Center’s audience through a range of methods on matters of photograph preservation.
Supervise the work of occasional undergraduate and graduate interns and post-graduate fellows in appropriate procedures and practices for the treatment and care of the Ransom Center’s photograph collections.
Other related functions as assigned.

Required Qualifications

Master’s degree in conservation.
A minimum of five years of post-graduate experience applying photograph conservation and preservation practices in museums, libraries, special collections, and/or archives.
Extensive knowledge of the materials and technologies encountered in the creation and conservation of the range of photographic objects.
Demonstrated ability to conduct conservation research and to analyze photographic materials to identify and/or determine their condition and material composition.
Knowledge of exhibition standards, building environment systems, disaster planning and response, conservation trends, and collection surveys.
Demonstrated excellence in written and oral communication.
Demonstrated successful project management and organizational skills, including the ability to train, supervise, and assess work.
Experience working with conservators, technicians, curators, scientists, and other allied professionals in a team environment.
A record of publications and presentations on conservation topics.
Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

More than five years of post-graduate experience in documentation, conservation treatment, and preventive care of photographs.
Knowledge and experience in the preservation of analog moving image collection materials.

Salary Range

$66,056.00

Working Conditions

Ability to work in a standard office environment.
Ability to use standard office equipment.
Repetitive use of a keyboard at a workstation.
Ability to work with conservation variables including chemicals and mold.
Ability to work with conservation equipment including sharp instruments.

Required Materials

Resume/CV
3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.
Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.