Project Director, HBCU Digital Trust

About the role

The Program Director provides strategic and operational leadership for a multi-year collaborative initiative among the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library, the HBCU Library Alliance, Harvard Library, and participating Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The initiative seeks to expand discovery, access, preservation, and stewardship of archival collections documenting African American history and culture.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall operational leadership for the initiative.
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive project roadmap, including timelines, milestones, and a communications strategy.
• Lead collaborative planning with HBCU partners to identify, inventory, and prioritize collections for processing and digitization.
• Evaluate the need to design and help establish regional service hubs and associated workflows; assess and shape sustainable technical approaches for discovery, access, and promotion of collections across participating institutions.
• Develop and coordinate learning exchanges, professional development opportunities, and communities of practice in areas such as archival processing, metadata, conservation, and digitization.
• Supervise a program coordinator and facilitate collaboration among staff and units at multiple institutions.
• Establish structures and methods for stakeholder engagement and program sustainability, including needs assessments and feedback mechanisms.
• Lead the development of sustainable business models for ongoing programs beyond the project term.
• Write and manage grants.
• Support the work of the advisory group and executive team, including preparation of agendas, meeting materials, and follow-up actions.

Requirements

• Master's degree from an accredited institution in Library and Information Science, Archival Studies, Public History, Museum Studies, Information Management, Higher Education Administration, or a related field.
• Minimum of seven years of progressively responsible experience leading complex projects, programs, or collaborative initiatives.
• Experience managing multi-institutional partnerships and stakeholder relationships.
• Experience with grant-funded projects, including planning, implementation, reporting, and compliance.
• Experience supervising staff and coordinating cross-functional teams.
• Experience working within HBCUs, academic libraries, archives, museums, or cultural heritage organizations.
• Experience working with digital library platforms, repository systems, or large-scale digitization initiatives.
• Demonstrated success securing external funding through grants or philanthropic partnerships.
• Experience facilitating communities of practice and professional learning networks.

Skills

• Knowledge of African American history collections, special collections, and archival practices.
• Excellent written, verbal, facilitation, and presentation skills.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and project management skills.

Physical Demands

• Physical ability to comfortably move and shelf library materials from place to place.
• Must have the ability to lift up to 40 lbs. and push fully loaded book trucks on an occasional basis.
• Ability to stand, walk, bend, kneel, climb, and reach for long periods of time and frequently.