Purpose
- The Archives Manager is responsible for leading and managing the implementation of the Market Theatre Foundation Archival Strategy, ensuring the systematic collection, preservation, digitisation, and promotion of archival materials both tangible and intangible that records the organisation’s artistic, social and institutional history. The role manages archival workflows, develops procedures, ensure condition assessment and appropriate upkeep of archival objects, and ensures legal and ethical compliance, including copyright and intellectual property permissions for use of archival materials. The Archives Manager plays a key role in enabling consolidation of archives, access for research, publications, exhibition, heritage projects and public storytelling, while ensuring the long-term protection and care of the collection (e.g audio visual materials, historic documents and scripts, posters, photographs, paintings, sculptures, set designs).
Key Performance Measures:
Collection, Accessioning & Acquisition
- Lead and manage ongoing acquisition and acceptance of donations of archival material from productions, internal departments, artists and external contributors.
- Develop and implement acquisition and donation policies, donor agreements, release forms and accessioning procedures.
- Ensure proper sorting, appraisal, cataloguing, metadata entry and database management.
- Secure appropriate copyright, licensing, and IP permissions for use and digitisation of materials.
Preservation, Conservation & Digitisation
- Implement preservation and storage standards for physical and digital collections
- Oversee digitisation workflows, quality control, metadata capture and secure storage.
- Maintain archival management systems, digital asset platforms and back-up processes.
- Coordinate conservation and repair interventions as needed.
- Contribute to disaster recovery and business continuity plans for heritage assets.
Access, Promotion & Public Engagement
- Facilitate access for internal users, researchers, scholars, students and external stakeholders.
- Support exhibitions, documentaries, marketing campaigns, publications, festivals and anniversary projects.
- Develop public-facing initiatives such as displays, talks, online showcases or heritage storytelling.
- Respond to research queries and manage researcher access protocols.
Stakeholder & Partnership Management
- Maintain relationships with artists, estates, donors, universities, broadcasters, production companies and beneficiaries.
- Negotiate copyright usage, IP clearance and donor agreements.
- Collaborate with Marketing, Producing, Artistic and Education units to integrate archival content.
Reporting, Administration & Compliance
- Develop annual work plans, priorities and budgets for the Archives Unit.
- Produce monthly and quarterly performance reports, statistics and asset inventories.
- Ensure compliance with archival standards, copyright law, IP legislation, POPIA and heritage policies.
- Procure supplies, manage contracts, maintain inventories and secure controlled access.
- Supervise and mentor interns, assistants and volunteers.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE
Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s Degree in Archives and Records Management, Museum Studies, Library & Information Science, Heritage Studies, History, or equivalent.
- Postgraduate qualification or short course in preservation, digitisation, archival collections management or IP/copyright is an advantage.
Experience:
Minimum:
- 3 – 5 years in archival, museum, library, heritage or cultural collections environment.
- Experience in cataloguing, digitisation, metadata creation and archives database systems.
- Experience handling IP and copyright permissions, licensing or donor agreements.
- Demonstrated ability in stakeholder engagement and managing external partnerships.
- Experience supervising interns, volunteers or junior staff.
- Strong track record in report writing and administration.
BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCIES / PERFORMANCE DRIVERS
- Strong organisational, problem-solving and project management skills.
- Strong research skills.
- Excellent written communication and formal report-writing ability.
- Computer literacy (MS Office, archives software, digital asset systems).
- Systematic and highly organised with strong attention to detail.
- Ethical, confidential and sensitive to historical integrity.
- Passion for heritage preservation, storytelling and public engagement.
- Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
- Comfortable working independently and within teams.
- Professional and confident in liaison with diverse stakeholders.
TECHNICAL COMPETENCIES / PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE
- Knowledge of archival and cataloguing standards (ISAD(G), Dublin Core, ICA, etc.) and familiarity with the National
- Archives and Records Service Act (Act 43 of 1996), and heritage legislation.
- Understanding of IP, copyright, licensing PAIA, and POPIA compliance.
- Ability to develop contracts related to lease and use of archival materials.
- Entry level photography equipment use knowledge.
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