Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia
Job title: Archives Research Assistant
Duration: 30 hours per week, Monday – Thursday for 12 weeks
Start and end dates: June 3rd – August 23rd 2019
Hourly Wage: $15/hour

The Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia (JMABC), administered by the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia (JHSBC), is seeking an Archives Research Assistant to work on the collection phase of the Scribe 2020. As part of the mandate of the JMABC, the archives documents, acquires and preserves archival records, thereby safeguarding the history of the Jewish community of British Columbia. The primary duties for this project include background research and conducting of oral history interviews, as well as the appraisal of archival materials, including physical processing, arrangement and description and finding aid production. Other duties may include transcribing oral history interviews, adding content to the JMABC website, filing and re-filing community publications and research files, digitizing photographs, assisting research requests and helping visitors at the Jewish Museum and Archives.

The JMABC has published its annual journal, The Scribe, consistently since 1979 and covered wide ranging topics from pioneers to women’s charitable groups to the local Jewish newspaper and many others. The JMABC Publications Committee has proposed topics through 2021 with the aim of completing oral history interviews, acquiring photographs and archival material, and compiling research well in advance of each journal’s editing and publication dates. The 2020 issue will focus on Jewish education and educators in British Columbia, sharing and celebrating the people and institutions that have enriched many generations through the years. This project has been proposed as a follow up to the success seen with the 2019 Scribe research project (focusing on medical innovations).
The Scribe is collected by institutions across Canada and the world, and its research process allows significant opportunities for outreach and acquisition for the archives. The Young Canada Works Assistant for this project would have an opportunity to see not only how material is collected and preserved, but will also see the process of sharing this material through selecting and editing it for publication.
Requirements:
The ideal candidate for the Archives Research Assistant at the JMABC will have:
-a demonstrated interest in working in an archival or heritage institution shown through previous volunteer or paid work experiences and/or an academic background in a related field such as history, anthropology, museum studies, library studies or archival studies. Preferences will be given to archival studies students;
-basic computer skills and will be comfortable working independently at a computer station. Any experience working with databases or digital imaging software such as Adobe Photoshop will be considered an asset;
-excellent English communication skills, both written and verbal;
-an enthusiastic attitude.

In addition to the above qualifications, all candidates must meet the following requirements dictated by the Young Canada Works program:
-be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, or have refugee status in Canada;
-be legally entitled to work in Canada;
-be between 16 and 30 years of age at the start of the project;
-meet the specific eligibility criteria of the program to which you apply;
-be registered in the YCW on-line candidate inventory;
-be willing to commit to the full duration of the work assignment;
-not have another full-time job (over 30 hours a week) while employed with YCW;
-have been a full-time student in the semester preceding the YCW job;
-intent to return to full-time studies in the semester following the YCW job.

This position is dependent upon receipt of funding through the Young Canada Works. Candidates must meet the eligibility criteria to be considered for this position.

The Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia advocates a barrier-free workplace and encourages all qualified candidates to apply.

Please submit a resume and cover letter by email by the application deadline 9:00 am on Tuesday May 21th, 2019.

Attention: Alysa Routtenberg, Archivist
Email: archives@jewishmuseum.ca