Job Posting: Curatorial Associate – Collections

Position Overview

The MDCC Curatorial Associate–Collections will work with the Mi’kmawey Debert Cultural Centre (MDCC) curatorial staff on a wide range of curatorial activities including digital archiving, collections care and stabilization, conservation assessments, and community outreach and engagement. An entry-level position, this is an extraordinary opportunity to train at the National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian Institution as well as with various cultural and historical experts.

The MDCC Curatorial Associate–Collections will travel with MDCC staff to assess the Mi’kmaw ethnographic collection at the National Museum of the American Indian/Smithsonian Institution for return to Mi’kma’ki. This travel will require residency in Washington, DC for two 4-month periods between March to November 2022.

In addition to this work, the Curatorial Associate—Collections will work closely with the MDCC Collections Manager to care and to document the Centre’s digital and physical collections and to develop the MDCC digital portal, an online curatorial and educational resource. This work will support the content development for the future MDCC galleries and other curatorial spaces in the Centre.

Responsibilities

– Travel and residency in Washington, DC, to assess the Mi’kmaw ethnographic collection at the National Museum of the American Indian/Smithsonian Institution for return to Mi’kma’ki. This work will be undertaken through two 4-month periods: March to June 2022 and August to November 2022.
– Growing curatorial records to support the development of the MDCC digital portal.
– Develop accession records and documentation for MDCC collections.
– Care and stabilization of documentary and photographic collections with MDCC staff.
– Digitization of documentary and photographic collections following MDCC standards.
– Data entry in the MDCC content management system (Qi).
– Description and research of significant cultural resources (oral history, documentary, visual, multi-media, and artifactual).
– Documentary, photographic, artifactual, and oral history research as necessary.

Position Requirements

– Bachelor’s degree in history, Canadian Studies, anthropology, or related field, or a combination of work and knowledge equivalence.
– Minimum one-year experience working in a cultural or community research or community educational outreach environment.
– Interest in cultural heritage, museum curation, digital collections, and community engagement.
– Knowledge of and experience working with Mi’kmaw Elders and other community experts.
– Excellent attention to detail, strong writing skills and well-developed research strategies.
– Proficient in Microsoft Office Word and Excel and familiarity with Adobe Photoshop and Acrobat.
– Able to work independently, prioritize and initiate work without direction.
– Dedicated, organized, meticulous and cooperative.
– Must have a valid driver’s license, vehicle, and ability to travel.

Asset Qualifications:

– Spoken and written Mi’kmaw are an important asset.
– Knowledge of and experience working with Mi’kmaw historical and oral historical, ethnographic and/or archaeological collections.
– Knowledge of and experience with curatorial resource care and basic preservation practices for objects, multimedia, images, and documents.
Familiarity with relational database use and design.

Salary/Employment Term: $37,500 per year. This is a 2-year contract position with the expectation for renewal.

Application Deadline: November 8, 2021

To apply, submit cover letter AND resume to:
Human Resources
c/o The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq
PO Box 1590, Truro, Nova Scotia B2N 5V3
Email: HR@cmmns.com

We are an equal opportunity employer; however, qualified Aboriginal applicants will be given priority in accordance with the Aboriginal Employment Preference Policy of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Only those applicants who provide an up-to-date CV along with Cover Letter and qualify for an interview will be contacted. The successful candidate may be required to submit a current criminal record check. Non-Canadian applicants must be able to provide proof of current entitlement or eligibility to work in Canada.

MDCC Curatorial Associate – Collections