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Job Positng: HBCU Radio Preservation Project (Assistant Director)

The Project Assistant Director will support the goals of the project by providing leadership and logistical support to the project in the areas of budget, personnel, travel, meeting planning, mini-grant administration and communications/marketing.

Essential Functions

  • The successful candidate will work to fulfill the goals of the project through assisting the Project Director with budget monitoring, grant reporting, travel logistics, annual symposium planning and logistics, administration of the mini-grant fund for professional development and preservation needs, communications/marketing and digital management, and podcast production, with an overall objective to create and maintain sustainability and continuity through the grant period.
  • The position will report to the Project Director, and as a senior member of the team will work closely with colleagues at the project’s technical partner, the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) as well as other partners.

Qualifications/Requirements

  • Candidates must have the ability to travel as needed during the full duration of the grant period
  • Master's degree or equivalent experience in an appropriate discipline
  • Excellent communication skills (writing, editing, and speaking)
  • Strong math/budget skills and attention to detail
  • Ability to take initiative and maintain a team-orientated approach to work
  • Demonstrate a high degree of flexibility and adaptability
  • Must be able to work with minimal supervision and manage multiple tasks simultaneously
  • Knowledge of and commitment to historical preservation, audio production, African American history and culture desired
  • Knowledge of and experience with the HBCU community a plus

Time Commitment and Compensation

  • Full time, pending grant-funding through December 31, 2027. Compensation is $60,000 annually and offers health and wellness benefits. This may be a remote position.
  • Computer/software and travel funds will be provided.

About the HBCU Radio Preservation Project

Through a grant fro m the National Recording Preservation Foundation, in the summer of 2019 project director Jocelyn Robinson began administering a survey to the 29 existing radio stations located on Historically Black College/University (HBCU) campuses to begin ascertaining if these stations had historical materials and what preservation needs they might have, with the WYSO Archives, a division of Miami Valley Public Media in Ohio, serving as the administrative hub for the project.

Through 2021-22, the initial survey blossomed into the HBCU Radio Preservation Pilot Project funded by the Mellon Foundation to work with a small number of the radio stations and their institutional archives/libraries to plan and design a larger implementation project. With technical expertise provided by the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC), this pilot project provided audio and digital preservation training, disaster planning, reformatting, collection assessment, and other support to the participants. The overarching goal of the ongoing project is to foster an ethos of preservation at HBCU radio stations in concert with the institutional archives on their campuses.

Not only is the HBCU Radio Preservation project an example for the HBCU community, it is a model of practice to be shared with college and community radio stations throughout the country. Radio preservation has been long neglected, and such projects are vital to the development and continuation of this important work. As we move toward implementation in 2023 and beyond, subsequent phases will include: (1) education and training, in which post-grad fellows and graduate interns are afforded early career work experiences supervised by the project’s roving archivist; (2) multi-platform learning experiences including NEDCC-led courses/workshops in audio preservation, digital preservation, disaster preparedness and WYSO-led training in oral history and using historical media in content creation; (3) preservation, which includes collections assessments performed by the roving field archivist and also reformatting historical media, with access made possible through the American Archive of Public Broadcast (AAPB); and (4) public history praxis, including an oral history project, an annual symposium held on a different HBCU campus each year, and multiple seasons of a 6-episode podcast featuring interviews, oral histories, and reformatted media.

To Apply:

Submit the following to Project Director Jocelyn Robinson at jrobinson@wyso.org

1. Cover letter explaining how this position fits the applicant’s career goals;

2. Current resume; and

3. Three letters of recommendation from individuals knowledgeable about the applicant’s experience, skills, and suitability for the position

Application deadline is August 25, 2023 for a October 2 start date.

The HBCU Radio Preservation Project and Miami Valley Public Media value people of all races, colors, national origins, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, ages, abilities, and religions. BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.