Research Assistant

The Research Assistant will provide support to the Curator of North American Ethnology, especially for visiting researchers and others who undertake work on the North American and South American Ethnology collections. The Research Assistant will manage most aspects of the relevant collections (besides those undertaken directly by the Curator), via liaison with the Collections staff, Conservation, Exhibition, and other museum representatives.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Serve as primary point of contact and subject matter expert for external and internal requests for information regarding the North American Ethnology and South American Ethnology Collections.
• Plan and coordinate Collections visits by artists, researchers, and members of descendant communities to view and study the North American Ethnology and South American Ethnology Collections.
• Serve as primary liaison with descendant communities and scientific communities in support of digital and archival initiatives and grant proposals.
• Work closely with Collections Management staff to oversee day-to-day management of North American Ethnology and South American Ethnology Collections.
• Process new accessions including acquisition, transfer of possessions, archival and provenance research, and cataloguing.
• Collaborate with database personnel and Image Permissions Manager to ensure quality and accuracy of internal and public database information, images, and metadata.
• Work with relevant staff to manage the migration of data and documentation (especially associated with the Northwest Coast hall renovation) to the Collections Management database and Archives.
• Recruit and manage interns in the Anthropology Division internship program as needed.

The expected salary for the Research Assistant is $20.00 - 26.00/hour. This position is overtime eligible.

Pay will be determined based on several factors. The hiring range for the position at commencement is based on the type of work and the scope of responsibilities. The salary and placement offered is based on a number of individualized factors, including, but not limited to, skills, knowledge, training, education, credentials, areas of specialization and depth and scope of experience.