Nine PBS: Media Archivist

Who We Are: As an essential community institution, Nine PBS magnifies and deepens understanding of our community to help our region flourish. We convene meaningful conversations, we share thought-provoking content, and we host events that engage and inspire our region. We prioritize communicating the essential nature of Nine PBS by creating content that provides space for individuals to choose their own words, tell their own stories, and amplify the experiences of individuals whose might not otherwise be heard, empowered or celebrated.

Our History: We are a community-licensed public media station. For nearly 70 years, we have been a foundational pillar in the St. Louis community by providing trusted, community-centered content and resources. Our core purpose is to magnify and deepen understanding of our community to help our region flourish. 

Our Values: Nine PBS is rooted in our four values: Community, Trust, Equity, and Learning. These guide every aspect of our work – both in how we interact with one another as teammates, as well as how we engage with the community. 

Our Culture: Nine PBS is an equal opportunity employer with a leadership team and culture that prioritizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. For the past three years, Nine PBS was identified by the Women’s Foundation of Greater St. Louis as a top place for women to work.

Our Team: One of our strategic goals is to create and sustain a positive, high-performing, inspiring, and inclusive culture that prioritizes the well-being and belonging of every member of our team. Get to know the amazing individuals you will be working alongside if you are selected for this position: https://www.ninepbs.org/ourteam/.

Position: Nine PBS is searching for an enthusiastic Media Archivist to aid in digitization of Nine PBS’s media archives, as well as developing and maintaining the metadata and asset-management system that supports the organization. This position plays a key role in maintaining the integrity of Nine PBS’s rich media archive – both digital and physical – through preservation, cataloging and media asset-management.

The ideal candidate for this role demonstrates exceptional attention-to-detail, organizational abilities, and time-management skills. This position reports to the Content Technical Manager on the Content team.

Primary Responsibilities: The following primary responsibilities are vital to successfully meeting the expectations of this position in an effective and efficient manner.

• Implement and support metadata framework and organizational storage policies.
• Digitize media assets from ingest to archive.
• Train staff on process and procedures for metadata and preservation.
• Oversee digital and physical media accessions, including housing, organization and off-site storage coordination.
• Train and work with Production team to monitor health of asset management systems.
• Stay up to date on PBS and industry-wide best practices for metadata and archiving.

Required Skills and Core Competencies: Success in this role is not only measured by meeting the expectations outlined above, but also in how the work is performed. The following competencies are required for this role.

• Ability to represent Nine PBS in a friendly, knowledgeable, and professional manner.
• Approach all interactions solution focused.
• Be open to feedback and demonstrate a growth mindset.
• Provide respectful feedback to others, as needed.
• Demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging by modeling inclusive behaviors.
• Effectively and proactively communicate with supervisor, teammates, and others across the organization to create a collaborative work environment.
• Demonstrate effective time management.
• Demonstrate good judgment.
• Demonstrate effective working relationships with others.

Qualifications: 1-3 years of experience in broadcast, digital video, and audio formats, as well as application of archival theory and best practices surrounding digital preservation concerns. Working knowledge of digital file formats, specifically moving image. Working knowledge of parse text-based system commands.

Additional required skills include:

• Deploying and maintaining digital asset management systems.
• CATDV database management.
• Understanding of PBCore XML Database, preferred.
• Operation of data-tape libraries and related archive management software.
• Operation of digital and analog VTRs.
• Media transcoding.
• IT troubleshooting, especially macOS and Windows platforms.
• Ability to lift 20 lb boxes.
• Working knowledge to parse text-based system commands.
• Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Work Environment: Due to the nature of this position, all work will be completed on-site.

Application Process and Timeline

Company: Nine PBS

Vacancy Type: Part-time

Job Location: St Louis, MO, US

Pay Range: $32/hour, 12-15 hours per week

Application Timeline: November 3 – November 17, 2023

Application Process: For a candidate to be considered for employment, the following materials must be submitted as a complete application to jobs@ninepbs.org:

• Resume
• Cover Letter
• 3 Professional References

Word document that provides responses to the following three questions:

• What have you read in this job posting that is interesting and inspiring to you? (no more than 150 words)
• How are you uniquely qualified to enhance the Nine PBS team and our work? (no more than 150 words)
• One of Nine PBS’s organizational priorities is to foster an inclusive culture that values belonging and connection. Please provide an example of a time when you reinforced these priorities. (no more than 150 words)

Nine PBS

As an essential community institution, Nine PBS magnifies and deepens understanding of our community to help our region flourish. We tell stories that move us. We meet people where they are the most comfortable consuming content. Nine PBS’s platforms include four distinct broadcast channels (Nine PBS, Nine PBS KIDS®, Nine PBS World, and Nine PBS Create), ninepbs.org, social media, the free PBS Video App, streaming services, live and virtual events, and the Public Media Commons. Since 1954, Nine PBS has accepted the community’s invitation into their homes, schools, and businesses. Follow Nine PBS on X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.