Digitisation Team Leader (Preservation)

The digitisation team converts our analogue collections to enable them to be accessed (for example through collections search) and preserved digitally. The team undertake the work in house or contract work to third parties through frameworks. In all instances the team deliver to internal customers who then connect content with our audiences.

The digitisation team is grouped by why we digitise the collection (access or preservation) and the type of collections that we work to digitise (still or time-based media).

Our access team will deliver on-demand requests to enable the collection to be used in our public, learning and commercial programmes. This will be the focus of the Team Leader (Access)’s work.

Our preservation team will digitise our most vulnerable assets now, as many of the assets will no longer be in good enough condition to digitise in five years’ time. This project is called Digital Futures and will be the focus of the Team Leader (Preservation)’s work.

The Digitisation Team Leader (Access/Preservation) is a specialist leading an in-house team. The team includes technicians, contract or fee paid staff and volunteers. Third-party digitisation is managed by the Digitisation Manager.

The Preservation team’s work is project based with our current Digital Futures project seeking to capture 2.1 million items in 5 years, alongside digitisation on-demand requests which make up the Access team’s work. You will be asked to contribute to these projects at stakeholder level as a supplier at project meetings to inform decision making and to ensure progress daily.

You will be highly skilled in time-based media digitisation or stills digitisation and will require sufficient skill in both media to support the whole team.

You will be adept at using a wide range of high-end capture hardware and are intuitive in the use of various software packages. Computer work is undertaken on both Apple Mac and PC machines with high quality calibrated screens in a colour managed environment. A high level of concentration and attention to detail is a pre-requisite as are an eye and ear for historic detail. You will ensure staff working in this area support each other with learning and keep abreast of current developments.

Key duties

You will be expected to work independently as well as across different teams in order to contribute to and deliver the priorities of IWM - using your knowledge, skills, talent and potential to the best of your ability. 

You will focus at all times on delivering excellent customer service, ensure value for money at all times while being professional, courteous and demonstrating the behaviours and attributes expected of all IWM employees. You will also adhere to all corporate standards, and use corporate systems as directed to ensure consistency of service, brand and operational standards.

You will be expected to work across departments effectively, working with individuals, partners and where appropriate volunteers.

To identify and implement learning and development needs for both yourself and your team, including volunteers, if appropriate.

In addition, your duties will include:

Management

• Manage, develop and train the team of Digitisation Technicians (including contract and fee paid staff) notably: managing performance, monitoring attendance, work, undertaking staff appraisal, quarterly and annual reviews.
• Manage handling of the most vulnerable materials in our care to the agreed standards of collections care and health and safety.
• Deliver the portfolio of work delegated to you by your Manager within your team and contribute as a supplier of knowledge at stakeholder / project meetings.
• Liaison with Project Delivery to ensure an effective flow of content to and from the stores and team and with Collections Development & Information to ensure effective ingest.
• Complete management information to inform management dashboards and decisions.
• Implement the Museum’s policy, procedures and guidance within your team and provision of feedback to management of ideas to increase the efficiency of digitisation. Key areas include, but are not limited to: location and movement, environmental monitoring and control, exit.
• Maintain awareness of digital imaging practice, applications and innovation, sharing knowledge with department staff as appropriate.

Digitisation

• Undertake digitisation to the standard set out in the job description for Digitisation Technician (Time-based media).

Quality Assurance

• Manage quality assurance through spot checks and delegated checks and balances to ensure all standards are met for both in-house and third-party contracts. In the case of the in-house teams you will work with the Digitisation Team Leader (Access) and your team to resolve any issues that arise. This will include overseeing the team’s calibration of screens, software updates and output profiles to ensure a colour managed environment and being the first point of contact for technical support.
• In the case of third-party digitisation, you will undertake quality assurance and advise the Digitisation Manager of any issues arising. The Digitisation Manager will undertake all contract management.

Health & Safety

• You will implement risk assessments with the team and ensure that the team work safely. All hazards/ dangerous occurrences / equipment and accidents must be reported to your manager.

For a full list of duties and the person specification (which your application will be marked against) please view the Job Description.