Project Manager

The Project Manager is a key team member, responsible for managing a portfolio of projects which includes planning, coordination, and implementation of each project within the scope of client-driven budgets, timelines, and quality expectations. They also effectively monitor and present project updates to relevant stakeholders, clients, or project team members.

As our project managers are the primary point of contact between George Blood LP and the institutions we interact with, the ideal candidate brings excellent people skills combined with audiovisual and project management experience. This position offers the right candidate a unique opportunity to be immersed in a resource-rich environment at a fast-growing company.

Responsibilities

• Communicate with client through life of project to manage client expectations, provide updates and provide superior customer service
• Manage preservation projects from inception to completion; work directly with upper management
• Create and review proposals contracts, and Statements of Work to understand the scope and budget for implementation
• Adhere to internal production plans with timelines and milestones for production teams
• Monitor project deliverables, including shipments, metadata, and quality control for timely completion
• Update relevant stakeholders and team members on project progress
• Monitor progress against project budget and create invoices
• Collaborate with the multiple departments responsible for project execution
• Coach and support colleagues as needed to foster ongoing project progression
• Proactively address potential obstacles to keep projects on track

Education and Skills

• Master’s degree in Library or Information Science preferred, or comparable work experience
• 1-2 years experience in archives and digitization preferred, preferably including skills such as:
  • Knowledge of audio and video digital file formats and their application
  • Understanding of the file delivery, processing, and storage workflows common in media production environments and digital preservation
  • Experience with metadata, spreadsheets, and data cleanup
• Experience handling client relationships, such as working with customers or researchers
• Strong leadership and problem-solving skills
• Strong time-management and organizational skills
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously
• Ability to handle a high volume, process- and deadline-driven environment
• Ability to work independently and with a team
• A desire to learn and grow on the job - training in audiovisual preservation provided!

Benefits

• $52,000 salary, or more, commensurate with experience
• One day a week can be allotted to working from home, if desired.
• Professional development encouraged and conference attendance (one per year) sponsored by company
• Eligible for company’s benefits package, including company-sponsored medical insurance (Independence Blue Cross); voluntary SIMPLE-IRA contributions with matching; and 15 days PTO, as well as company holidays.

How to Apply

• Email rose.chiango@georgeblood.com with a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references. Please use the subject line "Your Name - Project Manager".

Obsolete Data Media Migration Specialist

Position:

Over nearly six decades, many technologies and physical formats have been used to store data: 9-track tapes, 5.25” floppy discs, dozens of cartridge formats, and hard drive interfaces. The work of the Obsolete Data Media Migration Specialist consists of three primary areas: 1) use the appropriate hardware, mount the data carrier; 2) extract the binary information from the carrier; 3) extract the logical files; sometimes migrating the logical file to a current technology is also required (such as translating EBCDIC text to ASCII or UTF, or WordStar to Word). Projects range from a handful of media to thousands, from a “box of stuff” to reverse engineering backup environments for old operating systems. The task is not “data recovery” of failed hard drives or related work.

Responsibilities:

• Assess and process client-provided media and accompanying inventory & metadata
• Coordinate and manage media preparation and conservation, as needed
• Using existing software tools or acquiring/designing new tools, migrate data from the carrier
• Using existing software tools or acquiring/designing new tools, extract logical files
• Work alone or with other staff IT professionals solving migration bottlenecks
• Develop workflows, scripts, automation (software and hardware) to improve efficiency
• Track media as they go through the migration workflow
• Manage hardware inventory, identify new purchases, assist in purchasing
• Work with sales and project managers to estimate hours of effort for projects
• Liaise with Production Manager to proactively manage resource allocation
• Manage security of data, including PII, PHI, HIPAA, encryption, and air gap requirements
• Clearly document each recovery process, building a knowledgebase to refer to for similar future projects

Qualifications:

• Master's degree in computer or information science, or comparable work experience required
• Strong project management and problem-solving skills required
• Background in obsolete hardware (5.25” floppy, 9-track, Travan, Exabyte, S/AIT, S/DLT, etc.)
• Background in obsolete computer interfaces (parallel, RS232, RS422, SCSI-family, IEEE1394, etc.)
• Familiarity with obsolete operating systems, (DOS, VAX, Windows, Apple, Mac, Kaypro, UNIX, LINUX, etc.)
• Scripting and coding skills desirable
• Excellent communication skills and ability to coordinate with staff from all departments required
• Staffing – allocating exiting staff or hiring new - will depend on project scope, scale and skillset; candidate should expect to perform all steps themselves; this is a doing job, not a managing-of-others job
• Time-management and stress-management skills required – ability to complete jobs within estimated hours and schedule
• Ability to rapidly change between tasks and environments required – multiple migrations and projects may be running concurrently
• Strong verbal, written and organizational skills required
• Prior experience with FileMaker Pro preferred – our production management application is built and managed in-house in FMP
• Willingness and ability to influence and persuade teams to accomplish project goals
• Ability to work independently

Benefits:

• Eligible for company’s benefits package, including company-sponsored medical insurance; voluntary SIMPLE-IRA contributions with matching, and PTO, as well as company holidays

Application Instructions: Please send cover letter, resume, and three references via e-mail attachment to: george.blood@georgeblood.com and include “Obsolete Data – Your Name” as subject.