Collections Registrar

Protect, manage and future‑proof Australia’s national audiovisual collection at the NFSA.

About the National Film and Sound Archive

The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) is Australia’s audiovisual archive, telling the national story by collecting, preserving and sharing audiovisual media, the cultural experience platforms of our time. The collection itself dates back to 1935, making it one of the world’s oldest audiovisual collections. It is also one of the country’s most used cultural collections, with around 125 million views of collection content each year. The NFSA is in a period of significant change. Following increased Government investment, the institution is in a process of digital transformation, establishing the NFSA as Australia’s most dynamic and valued cultural organisation. We are rebuilding our curatorial workforce and developing the NFSA’s capacity to digitise our collection at scale – to preserve it for the future, to make sure it can be discovered, and to share it with all Australians.

We continue to work on developing a stable, secure and future-proof workforce across our four physical sites based in Canberra and Mitchell in the ACT as well as in Sydney and Melbourne.

We are also undergoing a program of business improvement for many of our corporate systems to improve efficiency and reduce manual handling.

We are an ambitious organisation, and we aim to be an employer of choice within the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector, providing exciting and challenging work, as well as favourable employment conditions and unique development opportunities for our staff.

Cultural Values 

We are an equal opportunity employer, embracing a diverse range of applicants such as veterans, and people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, LGBTQIA community members, individuals with disabilities and/or health conditions, as well as those from varied faith and cultural backgrounds. At the NFSA we prioritise the development of a safe, inclusive, and high-performance culture through shared actions and behaviours that align with our strategy and direction. This empowers our employees to effectively contribute to our goals. The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia is committed to ensuring a child-safe and child-friendly environment. All employees are expected to demonstrate a commitment to, and support for these principles in theory and practice. 

About the Team 

The Collection Management team is part of the Conservation and Collection Management section of the Collection Preservation Branch. The team undertake a broad range of operational activities ensuring the National Collection is accessible, audited and stored in accordance with established standards to ensure its long-term preservation.

The Collection Management team comprises four areas: Collection Security, Collection Services and Projects, Registration and Storage Transformation. Collection Security drives collection audit activities including the annual stocktaking program, shelf checks and overdue loans. In addition to these tasks, Collection Security also manages the NFSA storage infrastructure, the Archival Packaging program and provides support for external contractors.

The Services and Projects team is primarily responsible for daily collection retrievals and returns, ensuring that collection items are transported safely and securely, and scanned to correct locations at Acton ACT and Mitchell ACT. Along with the Registration team, they undertake accessioning and de-accessioning activities, collection storage and investigation tasks. The work supports future collection management growth/de-growth, digitisation outcomes and storage efficiencies for the NFSA.

The Storage Transformation team is primarily responsible for the delivery of the Nitrate Extension and Refit Project, which will significantly improve storage capacity and collection care outcomes for the cellulose nitrate motion picture and still image collection.

The Opportunity 

The Collections Registrar plays a key role in overseeing the physical management of the national audiovisual collection. This position is responsible for leading a team of professionals to manage the storage and preservation of the collection and provide access to material for work including, curatorial, conservation, digitisation, access, and exhibitions programs.

The role requires strong collection management skills and experience working with a broad range of cultural heritage materials, including audiovisual formats. The key to this role is management of appropriate resources for storage of the collection and the ability to critically assess and review storage practices to create efficiencies, drive sustainability and optimise available space.

The Collections Registrar reports directly to the Head of Conservation and Collection Management and provides proactive and strategic advice to the leadership team in the management of the collection and actively supports sustainable collection care across the organisation.

The Collection Management team are based in Mitchell, ACT, and this position works across both sites in Canberra.

Key Responsibilities/Duties 

Under broad direction, this position is responsible for delivering the following functions: 

• Provide strategic and practical leadership to the program and performance of the Collection Management team relating to care, storage, retrieval, disaster preparedness and management of the NFSA collections.
• Create developmental opportunities and engagement to foster a professional working environment and knowledge sharing culture.
• Proactively contribute to and support the Head of Conservation and Collection Management, and Managers of Conservation and Storage Transformation in providing expert advice, analysis, reports, statistics and forward planning relating to sustainable long-term collection care and management, and work of the team.
• Cultivate productive working relationships across the NFSA and actively engage with national and international audiovisual/archiving networks and industry partitioners.
• Keep up to date with new developments and changing practice and disseminate NFSA knowledge in the field.
• Develop, review and implement projects, policies and procedures relevant to collection management and collection care activities such as legacy acquisitions, deaccessioning and data clean-up work
• Develop a Collection Management annual work program to sit alongside CCM and Collection Preservation targets and program, to meet collection storage, access and auditing milestones.

Selection Criteria  

The successful candidate will demonstrate their capacity against the following:  

Qualifications and/or relevant experience required

Mandatory:

• Relevant qualifications or substantial experience in cultural heritage management and/or collection management.

Desirable:

• Eligibility for acceptance into, or membership of, relevant professional bodies such as the Australasian Registrar’s Committee (ARC), Australian Museums and Galleries Association (AMAGA) and/or the Australian Society of Archivists (ASA).

Note:

A current driver licence and forklift licence are requirements of this role.

How to Apply 

When applying via our online e-recruitment system, please address the details in the ‘Key Responsibilities’ and ‘Selection Criteria’ by outlining in1,000 words or less, how your skills and relevant experience demonstrate that you would be our ideal candidate. Your current resume is also to be included in your application.

In addition to an application and your resume, the assessment process for this position may also include an interview and referee reports.

We welcome and encourage applications from people with disability, the LGBTIQ+ communities, from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

Eligibility  

To be eligible for this position you must: • Be an Australian Citizen. • Satisfactorily complete an Australian Federal Police National Police Check.

What we offer you 

We provide a diverse, inclusive, and supportive work environment with access to:  • Great training and development opportunities.  • Generous leave and flexible working arrangements. • Our Employee Assistance Program (EAP – a free counselling service for you and your family). • A competitive salary, plus 15.4% superannuation.  • Rewards and recognition initiatives. 

RecuitAbility

RecruitAbility applies to this vacancy. Under the RecruitAbility scheme you will be invited to participate in further assessment activity for the vacancy if you choose to apply under the scheme; declare you have a disability; and meet the minimum requirements for the job. For more information see: RecruitAbility | Australian Public Service Commission (https://apsc.gov.au)