Processing Archivist 

(April 26, 2023)

Position Title - Processing Archivist

Supervisor Title (All entry and mid-level position supervisors should be qualified, professional archivists.) - Director, Records and Archives Management

Position Type - Full-time, permanent

Benefits - Yes

Salary Range - $66,000 - $75,000

Job Description

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) protects public health and the environment by supplying clean drinking water, collecting and treating wastewater, and reducing air, noise and hazardous materials pollution. The Department manages the City’s water supply, which provides more than one billion gallons of high quality drinking water daily to more than half the population of New York State. It builds and maintains the City’s water distribution network, fire hydrants, storm and sanitary sewage collection systems and Bluebelt and green infrastructure systems and manages 14 in-City wastewater resource recovery facilities as well as seven wastewater resource recovery facilities in the upstate watershed. DEP also implements federal Clean Water Act rules and regulations, handles hazardous materials emergencies and toxic site remediation, oversees asbestos monitoring and removal, enforces the City’s air and noise codes, bills and collects on approximately 836,000 water and sewer accounts and manages citywide water conservation programs.

Records and Archives Management (RAM), within the Bureau of Business Information Technology, collects, organizes, protects, and provides access to records having long-term business and historical value to the agency and the City of New York. It is a valuable resource for information about DEP including the work of predecessors that planned and built the city’s water supply and delivery systems dating back to the 19th century. RAM supports the agency and its employees to manage records effectively and in compliance with DEP and citywide policies. The team’s ongoing projects improve access to information and facilitate the planning of billion-dollar capital construction and rehabilitation projects, as well as land use activities, facilities maintenance, and other operations.

Reporting to the Director of Records and Archives Management, major responsibilities of the Processing Archivist include planning and undertaking projects to process and digitize collection records, write collection guides and fact sheets and assist with research for Information Requests. There will be opportunities to participate in outreach and engagement activities with DEP employees, such as hosting site visits to the archive.

This position will be based at the DEP Archive in midtown Manhattan with the requirement to travel periodically to DEP headquarters in Queens and occasionally to offices and plants around the city and upstate to survey records and meet with employees.

Responsibilities

1. In collaboration with colleagues, identify and propose collection processing and digitization priorities.

2. Develop detailed project plans to support collection processing and digitization projects.

3. Arrange, describe, manage, and house records according to established unit procedures using professional archival standards and best practices.

4. Oversee and assure the quality of processing and digitization projects performed by yourself and by others under your supervision.

5. Assist to plan and carry out surveys of records in the field and to prepare records for transfer to archive or storage.

6. Process newly accessioned collection records.

7. Develop a broad knowledge of DEP and DEP predecessor agency records and history.

8. Create well-written concise collection guides and fact sheets to improve access to our collections and to increase knowledge about DEP history for unit and agency employees.

9. Assist to conduct research for Information Requests.

10. Hire, train, and supervise student workers.

Preferred Skills

• Desire and ability to work in a highly collaborative environment.
• Strong organizational and analytical skills.
• Attention to detail and superior problem-solving skills.
• Aptitude for learning new skills and systems.
• Ability to work independently, prioritize work assignments across multiple projects and/or activities, and manage multiple deadlines.
• Ability to communicate information and ideas verbally and in writing, and professionally with a high attention to detail and accuracy.

Additional Information

• This is a physically active job that requires ability to push, lift and shelve boxes of records up to 30lbs, bending and kneeling and using step ladders, and moving wide-format drawings in and out of flat files.
• Ability to remain stationary for extended periods of time, operating computers and scanning equipment.
• May on occasion be required to use personal protective equipment (PPE) such as hard hat, eye protection, and/or gloves when surveying records at some DEP facilities.
• Archive is located in a warehouse environment with collection storage and offices.

DEP is an equal opportunity employer with a strong commitment to the diversity of our organization and workforce.

To Apply: Find Job ID 573794 on https://www1.nyc.gov/jobs/.

For more information about NYC Environmental Protection, please visit www.nyc.gov/dep.

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DEP Archives on Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/nycwater/sets/72157647118511120/

Urban Archive - https://www.urbanarchive.org/nycwater