« Back to all jobs Archaeological Collections Manager
- Employer: Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
- Salary: $28.13-$32.34 per hour; commensurate with experience
The Archaeological Collections Manager will experience the inner workings of an archaeological laboratory by performing various collections-based duties. Essential responsibilities include managing activities related to the permanent collection, exhibition coordination; registration of objects, cataloging, and inventory control; packing, crating and shipping of collections; management of outgoing loans; evaluation of collection conservation needs and implementation of long-range collections care plan.
Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in museum studies, anthropology or archaeology. Minimum of 3 years of consecutive collections management experience in the capacity of Collections Manager or other closely related position in an archaeological curation facility/museum setting required.
Care of Collections (Primary duty)
- Work closely with the Director of Cultural Resources Management to oversee stewardship of the archaeological collections including policy and procedure creation and enforcement.
- Organize the collections rooms and assign barcodes to each box; maintain associated database and inventory.
- Direct and supervise volunteers and students with the reconstruction and/or cross mending of catalogued objects.
- Direct and supervise volunteers and students with the labeling of artifacts and packaging materials.
- Rehouse old collections that are incorrectly packaged (non-acid free boxes, etc.) into archivally stable materials.
- Monitor environmental condition of objects (desiccants and HOBO sensors).
- Administer Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program – coordinate with IPM contractor and pest traps to ensure there are no infestations, if there are, be able to treat the infestation/work with IPM Contractor to treat.
- Coordinate conservation efforts;
- Manage object and accession records, both paper and computer.
- Track object locations and condition within the facility, e.g. display areas, using a database.
- Track project collections temporarily housed at CRM facilities for analysis.
- Coordinate and perform inventories of objects on display and storage areas both on and off site.
- Coordinate and implement rotation schedules for objects on display.
Collections Catalog Backlog Reduction (Primary duty)
- Reduce project backlog: catalog archaeological collections from previous projects using an electronic collections database (including digital images). Assign accession and catalogue numbers to collections and individual artifacts.
- Recommend individual artifacts and collections for deaccession in accordance to the written deaccession policy (actual deaccession of items will be approved by the CRM director prior to implementation).
Public Outreach (collaborative programs, loans, exhibits, etc.)
- Assist the CRM director with the creation of a strategic plan for exhibitions.
- Manage the volunteer corps and student workers/interns.
- Prepare loan agreements with museums and other SCU departments.
- Manage transfer arrangements for exhibitions, including receiving and releasing all incoming/outgoing exhibition loans.
- Respond to various requests and inquiries from staff and the public about the collections.
- Create appropriate database records for exhibition loans including generating lists as well as incoming and outgoing receipts.
- Manage outgoing loans, both internal to SCU and regional institutions, particularly those temporarily housed offsite to CRM contractors.
Cultural Resources Management (CRM) Support
- Act as field liaison between CRM director and CRM consultants; providing logistical support as needed.
- Assist CRM contractors with field projects by providing help with artifact identification, particularly during the screening process.
- Coordinate, with CRM field lab, the packaging, recordation and transfer of artifacts during field recovery efforts.
