INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY – ARCHIVAL PROGRAMME

SAHA is looking for a dedicated, thorough, meticulous individual with a keen interest in the history of struggles for justice in South Africa to work with the archival team for a 6-month internship starting in January 2014.

About SAHA
The South African History Archive (SAHA) is an independent human rights archive committed to documenting and raising awareness of past struggles against apartheid, as well as ongoing struggles in the making of democracy in South Africa.

Summary of key responsibilities
In the course of the internship, interns are expected to support the work of the archival team at SAHA through:
• Accessioning, processing and maintaining physical and digital archival materials according to archival standards;
• Updating and standardizing metadata relating to SAHA collections;
• Assisting in the implementation of various special projects, including digitisation, publication development, and exhibition preparation, as required.

Special project opportunities:
As part of their archival processing responsibilities interns could expect to work on one of the following projects:
• Processing the Joe Slovo archival collection. This collection, spanning the 1980s to his death in January 1995 contains materials relating to CODESA and negotiating processes; housing (during Joe Slovo's time as Minister of Housing from 1994-1995), the South African Communist Party (SACP), and his memorial service. The collection consists of minutes, reports, discussion papers, proposals, articles, statements, correspondence, newsletters, pamphlets, newspaper articles and ephemera;
• Retrospective work on the United Democratic Front (UDF) collection (AL2431). This collection of 75 archival boxes requires special attention with regards to the physical condition of the materials. Responsibilities would include: applying preservation measures on item level (removal of staples and paperclips); securing individual items in folders and numbering of folders; replacing the old boxes with new ones; labelling of the boxes, and updating metadata;
• Retrospective work on the Freedom of Information Programme (FOIP) collection (AL2878). This collection of over 200 archival boxes consists of materials released in respect of Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) requests made by SAHA's FOIP team. The collection will soon be reorganised and as a result will require extensive work on the re-numbering, re-boxing and re-labelling of the materials. Updating metadata will form an integral part of this project.

QUALIFICATION Required:
• Qualification in information studies, history and / or heritage management (or a related qualification that you are able to motivate relates to the work of the archival programme at SAHA);
• Demonstrable understanding of archival principles and practices;
• Familiarity with database management and library / archive management systems.

Preferred:
• Experience in processing archival collections;
• Demonstrable interest in human rights advocacy and constitutional issues;
• Interest in working in an NGO / civil society context.

SKILLS
• Ability to plan, prioritize work, and meet deadlines
• Ability to work independently
• Excellent attention to detail
• Strong written communication skills
• Competency with Microsoft Office software
• General fitness for lifting archive boxes and moving loaded carts

All SAHA internships are based at the SAHA offices at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. Internships are on a full-time basis and interns will receive a modest stipend for the duration of the internship.


How to apply

To apply, please prepare a one-page letter of motivation (no more than 500 words) that addresses the following two questions:
• What is the relationship between archives and human rights?
• What are the kinds of records and stories need to be collected and preserved in order for South Africans to understand more about the making of democracy in South Africa?

Submit this letter of motivation with your CV (no longer than 2 pages) and the contact details for at least 2 professional referees by email to debora@saha.org.za by 18 November 2013. Late applications will not be accepted. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.