The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is a private institution whose core mission is to improve people’s quality of life through art, philanthropy, science, and education. The Foundation carries out its activities from its headquarters in Lisbon and its branches in Paris and London.

We are looking for a Specialist Librarian / Digital Archivist to join our Art Library and Archives team. This role is responsible for ensuring the development, management, curation, accessibility and sustainable preservation of the Library and Archives’ digital information resources and services, promoting their consolidation, ongoing development and integration within the Foundation’s information ecosystem, in line with principles of interoperability, digital preservation, best practice in description, and information lifecycle management.

Contractual conditions: Permanent employment contract

Main responsibilities

• Manage, curate, and develop the digital information resources and services of the Art Library and Archives, ensuring their organization, quality, and accessibility throughout their lifecycle.
• Apply description, indexing, organization, and metadata management practices in line with internationally recognized standards, ensuring consistency, interoperability, and effective information retrieval.
• Ensure appropriate digital preservation processes throughout the lifecycle of digital objects, including planning, monitoring, quality control, integrity and authenticity assurance, and risk mitigation.
• Coordinate the processes of ingestion, processing, validation, normalization, and dissemination of digital content within the Art Library and Archives’ digital repository, including the Gulbenkian Digital Archive, ensuring alignment with internal policies, technical requirements, and international best practices.
• Contribute to the definition, updating, and continuous improvement of technological solutions, policies, procedures, and workflows related to the digital information resources and services of the Art Library and Archives.
• Promote publication across different platforms, as well as access to, visibility, use, and valorization of digital content.
• Collaborate in information literacy and digital literacy initiatives.
• Work closely with the Foundation’s IT Department on technological needs related to the digital information resources and services of the Art Library and Archives.
• Monitor trends, best practices, and developments in the fields of digital curation and preservation, metadata, interoperability, digital services, and the responsible application of artificial intelligence in a GLAM context, proposing improvements and opportunities for sustainable evolution.

Required skills and qualifications

• Master’s degree in Information Science, Documentation Sciences, Archival Science, Library Science, or related fields.
• Relevant professional experience – a minimum of 3 to 5 years – in similar roles within libraries, archives, or other cultural institutions with a strong digital component.
• Solid knowledge of curation, management, preservation, and description practices for digital information resources and services.
• Proficiency in methodologies and best practices for the organization, description, indexing, and management of metadata and digital information, ensuring coherence, interoperability, and quality.
• Practical knowledge of description and interoperability standards, models, and formats, including UNIMARC, Dublin Core, and XML.
• Full proficiency in Portuguese (mandatory) and professional proficiency in English, both written and spoken.
• Strong communication skills, analytical ability, planning and organizational skills, critical thinking, and attention to detail.
• Proficiency in digital tools and work environments, including information management systems and collaborative platforms.

Preferred skills

• Experience in the development, implementation, or improvement of digital information services in a GLAM context, including the critical and contextualized use of artificial intelligence tools.
• Experience working with Horizon and Nyron software, or equivalent bibliographic and archival management systems.
• Experience in digital transformation projects or processes within libraries, archives, or cultural institutions.
• Additional training or advanced experience in digital curation, digital preservation, metadata management, and interoperability between information systems.
• Sensitivity and interest in working with artistic, cultural, historical, and heritage collections.

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The Gulbenkian Foundation strives to attract and retain talent by recognising people as our most important asset in fulfilling the Foundation’s mission. Our organisational culture is grounded in the institution’s values, encouraging motivated teams to thrive in a healthy and inclusive workplace.

We welcome applications from all people, regardless of their age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, religion, or disability, in particular of those who identify with underrepresented groups in the various initiatives promoted by the Foundation.

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Applications