Virginia Commonwealth University
School of the Arts in Qatar
Position: Image Resources Curator
Position Number: FA4340
Location: Doha, Qatar
Position Begins: July 1, 2013
Review of Applications Begins: November 25, 2012 and will continue until position is filled.
VCUQatar (www.qatar.vcu.edu) is the Qatar campus of the prestigious Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia. Established in 1998 through a partnership with the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, VCUQatar offers students the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fashion design, graphic design, interior design and painting & printmaking; Bachelor of Arts in art history, and, a Master of Fine Arts degree in design studies. Located in Doha, the capital city of Qatar, VCUQatar is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art & Design, The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. The current student body represents a diverse range of nationalities with students coming from more than 40 different countries.
VCUQatar strives to provide an engaged, learner-centered environment that fosters inquiry, discovery and innovation in a global setting. The university hosts the biennial international design conference Tasmeem Doha and supports the biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Islamic Art Symposium, attracting globally recognized designers, academics and thinkers while fostering sustainable, university-community partnerships that enhance the educational, economic and cultural vitality of Qatar. The university has substantial involvement with the emerging design industries in Qatar and is a significant catalyst for that growth. It has established itself as a center of excellence for education and research in art and design.
VCUQatar has 131 full-time faculty and staff and a student body of 249. VCUQatar was the first campus established in Education City, a unique 2500-acre campus community. Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Carnegie-Mellon University, Texas A&M University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Northwestern University, HEC Paris and UCL have since joined the university.
Qatar is a liberal, hospitable and progressive country in the Arabian Gulf and remains one of the healthiest economies in the Gulf region. English is the standard second language and the population of Qatar is approximately 1.65 million and growing – 350,000 Qatari, the remainder expatriates. Doha offers all the conveniences found in a contemporary and cosmopolitan city, and also maintains a traditional Arab flavor, evident in the old markets and the city’s Islamic Arab architecture. The Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M.Pei opened in November 2008 and the Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf) opened in 2010. The US Embassy considers Qatar among the safest countries in the world for Americans.
Position Description
Reporting to the Head of Digital Collections and Archives at VCUQatar Libraries, the Image Resources Curator manages the day-to-day operations of the libraries’ digital collections and the university archives. This position collects, displays, promotes and advocates for digital, image and archival collections to students, faculty and the VCUQatar community.
Major Responsibilities
• Collaborates and works closely with VCUQatar faculty and library teams to provide a proactive service to support curriculum, research, and administrative activities needing digital and archival collections.
• Delivers user services to students, faculty, administrators and the broader community.
• Initiates, tracks and manages digital and archival projects.
• Works in a team oriented environment, supervising paraprofessional staff and student workers.
• Assists with ongoing collection development and maintenance of the digital images collection and archives in coordination with the Head, Digital Collections and Archives and the library Collection Development team.
• Performs cataloging and database management using the Luna Insight system. Uses metadata and EAD finding aids to support collection control and access to archival collections.
• Provides training and individual support for faculty and student use of image resources for teaching, learning and scholarship.
• Guides students and faculty through specialized reference and research assistance working with images and archives relevant to specific academic research interests.
• Serves as the liaison to an academic program at VCUQatar.
• Provides information literacy instruction, research assistance and collection development to support an academic program at VCUQatar.
• Provides general library reference services. Serves on the library reference desk, including occasional evening and weekend hours.
• Contributes to a culture of learning through participation in teaching, scholarship, research and service activities as an active member of the VCUQatar faculty.
• Serves on VCUQatar Library teams and is actively engaged in local, regional and international committee work and service to the digital humanities, archives and library science professions.
Virginia Commonwealth University
School of the Arts in Qatar
Position: Image Resources Curator
Position Number: FA4340
Location: Doha, Qatar
Position Begins: July 1, 2013
Review of Applications Begins: November 25, 2012 and will continue until position is filled.
VCUQatar (www.qatar.vcu.edu) is the Qatar campus of the prestigious Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia. Established in 1998 through a partnership with the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, VCUQatar offers students the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in fashion design, graphic design, interior design and painting & printmaking; Bachelor of Arts in art history, and, a Master of Fine Arts degree in design studies. Located in Doha, the capital city of Qatar, VCUQatar is fully accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art & Design, The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and the Council for Interior Design Accreditation. The current student body represents a diverse range of nationalities with students coming from more than 40 different countries.
VCUQatar strives to provide an engaged, learner-centered environment that fosters inquiry, discovery and innovation in a global setting. The university hosts the biennial international design conference Tasmeem Doha and supports the biennial Hamad bin Khalifa Islamic Art Symposium, attracting globally recognized designers, academics and thinkers while fostering sustainable, university-community partnerships that enhance the educational, economic and cultural vitality of Qatar. The university has substantial involvement with the emerging design industries in Qatar and is a significant catalyst for that growth. It has established itself as a center of excellence for education and research in art and design.
VCUQatar has 131 full-time faculty and staff and a student body of 249. VCUQatar was the first campus established in Education City, a unique 2500-acre campus community. Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, Carnegie-Mellon University, Texas A&M University, Weill Cornell Medical College, Northwestern University, HEC Paris and UCL have since joined the university.
Qatar is a liberal, hospitable and progressive country in the Arabian Gulf and remains one of the healthiest economies in the Gulf region. English is the standard second language and the population of Qatar is approximately 1.65 million and growing – 350,000 Qatari, the remainder expatriates. Doha offers all the conveniences found in a contemporary and cosmopolitan city, and also maintains a traditional Arab flavor, evident in the old markets and the city’s Islamic Arab architecture. The Museum of Islamic Art, designed by I.M.Pei opened in November 2008 and the Arab Museum of Modern Art (Mathaf) opened in 2010. The US Embassy considers Qatar among the safest countries in the world for Americans.
Position Description
Reporting to the Head of Digital Collections and Archives at VCUQatar Libraries, the Image Resources Curator manages the day-to-day operations of the libraries’ digital collections and the university archives. This position collects, displays, promotes and advocates for digital, image and archival collections to students, faculty and the VCUQatar community.
Major Responsibilities
- Collaborates and works closely with VCUQatar faculty and library teams to provide a proactive service to support curriculum, research, and administrative activities needing digital and archival collections.
- Delivers user services to students, faculty, administrators and the broader community.
- Initiates, tracks and manages digital and archival projects.
- Works in a team oriented environment, supervising paraprofessional staff and student workers.
- Assists with ongoing collection development and maintenance of the digital images collection and archives in coordination with the Head, Digital Collections and Archives and the library Collection Development team.
- Performs cataloging and database management using the Luna Insight system. Uses metadata and EAD finding aids to support collection control and access to archival collections.
- Provides training and individual support for faculty and student use of image resources for teaching, learning and scholarship.
- Guides students and faculty through specialized reference and research assistance working with images and archives relevant to specific academic research interests.
- Serves as the liaison to an academic program at VCUQatar.
- Provides information literacy instruction, research assistance and collection development to support an academic program at VCUQatar.
- Provides general library reference services. Serves on the library reference desk, including occasional evening and weekend hours.
- Contributes to a culture of learning through participation in teaching, scholarship, research and service activities as an active member of the VCUQatar faculty.
- Serves on VCUQatar Library teams and is actively engaged in local, regional and international committee work and service to the digital humanities, archives and library science professions.
Qualifications
Required:
- ·ALA-accredited graduate degree in Library Science or advanced degree in a related and highly relevant discipline.
- ·Experience in a responsible role within an academic library environment relevant to digital humanities, visual resources, images, and/or archives to develop digital exhibits and support use or archives and images in the classroom and across campus.
- Experience with the creation, maintenance, and access of digital image collections.
- Familiarity with standards, cataloging and processing of images and archives.
- ·Experience with current best practices for visual resources collections, reference and instruction.
- Experience working with automated academic library systems and online resources.
- Ability to meet the teaching, research, scholarship and service requirements of full-time VCUQatar faculty.
- Strong proactive public service orientation and enthusiasm for work with students, faculty and library teams.
- The ability to successfully initiate, track, and manage projects.
- ·Ability to work in a culturally diverse environment.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
- Excellent presentation and public speaking skills.
- Fluency in written and spoken English.
- Demonstrated experience working in and fostering a diverse faculty, staff, and student environment or commitment to do so as a faculty member at VCU and VCUQatar.
Preferred:
- An additional degree or substantial knowledge related to archives, digital humanities, art, design or related field.
- Experience managing digital and analog visual resources collections including:
- Copy stand and photography skills.
- Collection automation and data management software.
- Conservation issues and strategies.
- Current digital resources technologies.
- Legal and ethical issues related to visual resources management.
- Familiarity with Luna Insight or other software supporting digital collection building and access.
Benefits
- Competitive international salary
- Tax protection for U.S. Taxpayers
- 30% Off-shore supplement to base salary
- Medical Insurance (100% employer funded premium and employer cost shared options available)
- Fully furnished villa or apartment
- Annual travel allowance to home of record (to include a spouse and dependents relocated to Qatar)
- Monthly transportation allowance
- Educational reimbursement for up to 4 dependent children enrolled in an accredited K-12 program
- International Professional Development and Research Opportunities
Application Process: Qualified applicants who have a record of achievement appropriate to VCUQatar should submit a letter of interest with a curriculum vitae, and the names of five (5) references including email and telephone contact information to Tomaree Porter (tlporter@vcu.edu), Human Resources Administrator, Qatar Support Office. Only Electronic submissions will be accepted.
Virginia Commonwealth University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Women, minorities and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.
For more information on VCUQatar and this unique international opportunity, please visit
