About this role
Job title: Head of General Archives
About the Role This role leads ICRC's General Archives, guiding the preservation of institutional memory and driving the Safeguarding Archives digital transformation. It combines historical stewardship with technology, including AI, to build the archives of the future and ensure long-term accessibility of both analogue and born-digital records.
What You'll Do
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Archive Management: Organize, supervise and promote the Unit’s work on long-term preservation of institutional records. Develop strategies, policies, guidelines and procedures for acquiring, describing, and preserving classified archives according to institutional policies and professional standards. Serve on the Safeguarding Archives programme Steering Committee (senior user) with a business lead role for several programme deliverables. Manage the transition from ISAD(G) to Records in Context (RiC) archival description standard. Oversee development of the ICRC ontology and promote its role as the institutional data framework. Ensure classified archives are available internally to inform present decision- and policy-making through analysis and research. Lead a team of 13 staff, set annual objectives and budget, and drive cross-divisional collaboration.
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Digital Preservation: Lead the archives digital transformation to enable archiving and preservation of born-digital records across multiple business processes and applications. Manage the implementation of a new DPS based on OAIS / ISO 14721. Build data management foundations for semantic search capabilities, including the ICRC ontology and transition to RiC. Develop automated archival acquisition processes scalable to diverse applications. Stay abreast of digital preservation technologies and practices. Ensure continued evolution of archival services to accommodate born-digital information.
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Relationships: Internally, reports to the Head of Archives, Library & Law and Policy Outreach. Works closely with the Safeguarding Archives Steering Committee and all stakeholders involved in the programme, in particular T&I and Informatics.
What We're Looking For
- Strong knowledge of archival standards (ISAD(G), RiC) and experience with records management
- Experience leading digital preservation initiatives and implementing a DPS (OAIS/ISO 14721)
- Ability to develop and manage an archival ontology and support semantic search capabilities
- Proven leadership of teams (13 staff), budgeting and strategic planning
- Collaborative mindset with internal stakeholders (Information Governance, T&I, Informatics) and cross-divisional work
- Demonstrated commitment to preserving institutional memory and informing decision- and policy-making
- Interest in leveraging technology and AI to advance archival practices
Nice to Have
- Interest in exploring and applying AI within archival workflows
- Experience with knowledge management and organizational memory projects
Compensation & Benefits
- Salary and benefits are not specified in the posting.
About the Organization
- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) operates to relieve suffering and preserve human dignity during war and armed violence, with an emphasis on protecting civilians and enabling access to knowledge and research about humanitarian law.