Assistant Archivist/Archivist, Records Management (Digital Preservation)

[What the role is]

The National Library Board (NLB) nurtures Readers for Life, Learning Communities and a Knowledgeable Nation by promoting reading, learning and history through our network of 28 libraries across Singapore, the National Library and the National Archives of Singapore.

At NLB, you can look forward to a flexible, hybrid work environment with rewarding, impactful deliverables that improve the lives of the community. With caring colleagues, you will be in an ideal environment for professional development, innovation and impact.

We can offer you:
• A chance to Impact the Community, bridge gaps and empower everyone with the opportunity for learning and discovery.
• An opportunity to Innovate and Push Boundaries. We value ideas, curiosity and a passion for innovation to transform our libraries and archives.
• An organisation that Cares for your Growth and Wellbeing through investment in staff development and wellbeing in a supportive and collaborative environment.

As part of the National Archives of Singapore (NAS), the Digital Preservation Team is responsible for managing the transfer, preservation, and access of government records of archival value. The team develops and maintains the systems, workflows, and guidelines that keep government records trustworthy, accessible, and usable over the long term — working closely with a range of internal and external stakeholders, such as IT colleagues, vendors and government agencies, to do so.

As an archivist in the Digital Preservation Team, you will play a hands-on role across system development and maintenance, workflow design, and policy and guidelines development, working closely with technical and non-technical stakeholders. A typical week might involve writing a Python script to automate a manual task, meeting with government agencies to walk them through transfer requirements or clarifying their queries, working with IT and vendors on system enhancements or issues, and exploring a new tool to assess whether it could support digital preservation workflows. This is neither a pure IT role nor a traditional archival role — there will be both technical or generalist tasks, as well as stakeholder engagement.

Location: National Archives of Singapore, 1 Canning Rise, Singapore 179868
Division/Dept: National Archives / Records Management (RM) - Digital Preservation

[What you will be working on]

Systems and Technologies:

• Act as the business user representative in the development, maintenance, and enhancement of multiple digital systems and platforms, working with users, IT colleagues and vendors on requirements gathering, user acceptance testing, issue resolution, and management of project timelines and budget.

• Review and maintain systems documentation such as Requirements Specifications, User Manuals, and Test Scripts.

• Monitor system performance and troubleshoot issues to facilitate the transfer, ingestion and preservation of digital records.

• Write scripts in Python or other scripting languages to automate repetitive tasks and improve work processes.

• Work with IT colleagues to review and improve workflows across the full records management lifecycle — including appraisal, transfer, preservation, and access — identifying opportunities for automation or process enhancement.

Digital Recordkeeping and Preservation:

• Prepare and ingest legacy digitised records into systems, including identifying and resolving data quality issues to ensure records meet ingestion requirements.

• Collaborate with government agencies to facilitate the seamless transfer and ingestion of records to NAS, providing clear guidance on transfer requirements and resolving issues that arise throughout the process.

• Maintain and update various documentation (e.g. policies, guidelines, and specifications) related to digital recordkeeping and preservation.

• Experiment with and evaluate tools and technologies for digital preservation — including established tools (e.g. SIARD, Bagger) and emerging technologies such as Generative AI — developing Proof of Concepts and scaling up successful pilots into regular workflows.

• Monitor developments across diverse digital record formats and platforms (e.g. emails, databases, collaboration tools such as MS Teams), and propose guidelines or approaches for how NAS should handle these, including identifying and evaluating relevant tools where applicable.

Engagement and Advocacy:

• Regularly engage government agencies to facilitate the transfer of records to NAS, including troubleshooting issues, coordinating logistics, and providing training and guidance on NAS's transfer requirements, policies, and guidelines.

• Engage internal and external stakeholders on collaborative projects relating to digital preservation and archiving.

[What we are looking for]

• At least 2 years of experience working as a business analyst, systems analyst, or in a similar role involving system development, maintenance, or enhancement.

• Comfortable working with data, technical documentation, and file format specifications; able to produce and contribute to Requirements Specifications and similar artefacts.

• Able to write scripts in Python or other scripting languages for automation and data processing tasks.

 • Experience managing or contributing to projects involving system development or enhancement, including coordinating timelines, stakeholders, and deliverables.

• Strong communication and documentation skills, with experience engaging and managing relationships with diverse stakeholders — including government agencies, IT colleagues, vendors, and business users — providing guidance, resolving issues, and coordinating across technical and non-technical audiences.

• Able to work independently and take ownership of tasks, while collaborating effectively with a diverse range of stakeholders to deliver shared outcomes.

• Curious about new tools and technologies — including AI — and willing to experiment and explore their practical applications.

• Positive learning attitude and comfortable dealing with ambiguity and new challenges.

• Some familiarity with archival, records management, or digital preservation concepts and practices is an advantage, though formal archival training is not required.

The successful candidate will be appointed on a 2-year contract in the first instance. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified.