Archival and Historical Consultant 

(March 11, 2025)

Position Title - Archival and Historical Consultant

Supervisor Title (All entry and mid-level position supervisors should be qualified, professional archivists.) - Research Analyst & Director of Development & Communications

Position Type - Part-time, term

Benefits - No

Hourly wage range - $36 - $40

Background:

United Neighborhood Houses (UNH), the membership organization for New York’s settlement houses, was founded by the leaders of New York City’s settlement house movement in 1900. As a gathering place for progressive thinkers and neighborhood workers from 1900 to today, UNH has played a key role in progressive policy campaigns to lift up New York’s working class, breaking the mold of late 19th century conservative thinking that blamed poverty on the alleged moral failings of the impoverished. Over the last 100 years, UNH and our settlement house members have played a key role in establishing many social service programs that continue to benefit New Yorkers, including early childhood education, public housing, afterschool programs, senior centers and Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities (NORCs), and the summer youth employment program.

From the beginning, UNH has told our story through the lens of our settlement house members, blurring the lines between their accomplishments and our own. While the rich history of settlement houses is worthy of repeated retellings, we are interested now in going back in time and reviewing our records–from our founding in 1900 onward–to uncover more of our own history to add to the story of the settlement house movement.

Project Description:

UNH seeks an individual who is passionate about New York City, progressive movements, and expanding the historical record to:

Phase 1: Archival Work (estimated 6 months)

- Review, organize, and catalog documents dating back to 1900 that are currently disorganized and stored in boxes in our office; and

- Identify documents that require special care and recommend/enact steps to preserve those documents.

Once documents are in order and a system is in place for the easy access of information going forward, this individual will then:

Phase 2: Historical Study (estimated 3 months)

- Review the records in UNH archives, UNH’s digital archive of board minutes, and –where necessary–our existing archives stored at University of Minnesota to develop a timeline of important events through our history;

- Develop a summary that tells the story of UNH from 1900–present with the level of detail that our budget allows.

Phase 3: Recommend next steps

At this moment, we do not know what is contained in the documents we have. Those we have reviewed are exciting and tell a fascinating story that we believe is worth further, professional examination. The ideal candidate for this role will be on the lookout throughout their work for opportunities to continue and expand this effort pending additional funding.

Compensation and Work Environment:

Compensation for this project will be $40/hour. The breakdown of time between phase one and phase two is negotiable based on how work progresses and the number of hours per week the selected candidate is available. A loose schedule including target hours per week will be agreed upon as part of contract negotiation.

As our archival and historical consultant, you will be given access to our offices at 45 Broadway at the hours most convenient to you. Our offices are officially open between 9-5 from Monday to Friday, but the building is accessible 24/7.

You will work in partnership with our Director of Development & Communications and our Research Analyst and ACLS Leading Edge Fellow with occasional input from our Executive Director.

Expected Outcomes:

At the completion of phase 1 and 2 of this project, we hope to have:

- Organized records

- A filing system for both historical and modern records

- A timeline of important events for our organization throughout the last century

- A summary of our story with as much detail as the remaining budget allows

- Ideally a polished product ready to share with the public

- Recommendations for next steps should there be facets of our history that are worth further examination/study

To Apply:

Send a resume and a brief cover letter outlining why you are interested in this project to J.T. Falcone at jfalcone@unhny.org with the subject line, “Historical Project Application” on or before Tuesday, April 1, 2025.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/16OGqt_Nwr_UD3T8Oxl8rOOsY1-hHsags/view?usp=sharing