Friday, September 22, 2017

Position Announcement: Muslims in Brooklyn Project Coordinator, Brooklyn Historical Society

The Muslims in Brooklyn Project Coordinator will work closely with the Oral Historian at Brooklyn Historical Society (BHS) to coordinate the implementation of a dynamic multi-faceted public history project designed to amplify the stories of Brooklyn’s Muslim communities, and contextualize those stories in the broader history of Brooklyn. Using oral histories, the project will provide opportunities for Muslims to tell their stories in all their complexity and nuance, create essential avenues for non-Muslims to understand how those stories relate to and speak to their own experiences, and promote listening as a tool for greater accountability and openness among our civic institutions and leaders. 


The oral histories collected as part of the project will serve as the basis for an interpretive website, an art-focused exhibition, an educational curriculum, a public programming series, and a publication—all of which will be designed to provide learning opportunities, challenge assumptions, and promote tolerance and understanding about Brooklyn’s rich ethnic and religious heritage.

As a member of this highly collaborative team, the Project Coordinator will participate in decision-making at all points in the project and will contribute to shaping content and goals of oral history collecting, public programming, and multimedia web publishing. 

Responsibilities:

• Assist with historical research
• Conduct oral histories: identify prospective narrators, develop interview guides, record interviews, and audit transcripts
• Liaise with oral history interviewers and narrators to ensure oral history best practices and documentation 
• Curate, edit, and produce audio clips from oral histories 
• Represent the project both internally to BHS departments and externally to community members and other stakeholders
• Assist with event design and coordinate logistics for project-related events, meetings, and programs 
• Coordinate communications with internal and external audiences 
• Assist in managing content for project website 
• Track overall project progress using project management tools 
• Provide administrative support for project meetings, vendor services, tracking invoices and purchase orders 
• Assist in the preparation of reports to be submitted both internally and externally to funders 

Minimum Qualifications:

• MA or higher in History, Religious Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, Cultural Studies, or a related field 
• Experience conducting oral history interviews
• Extremely organized, detail-oriented ability to stay on-task in a complex environment 
• Ability to work independently on administrative projects and ensure that they are accomplished in a timely and accurate manner 
• Comfort with both Mac and PC platforms, using MS Office Suite

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with interfaith dialogue, as well as familiarity with concepts of religious diversity and pluralism 
• Knowledge of Brooklyn’s Muslim communities
• Familiarity with multimedia software (Audacity, Photoshop), and content management systems like WordPress 
• Understanding of and interest in the history of New York and Brooklyn
• Interest and Experience writing online content for a broad audience 
• Experience working in a historical society, museum, library, academic, or related institution

Compensation:  

Part Time: $25/hour, 25 hours/week for one year; renewable for a second-year pending additional funding. BHS staff ID grants free entrance to museums around New York City.

To Apply:

Please submit cover letter, resume, and references to: oralhistory@brooklynhistory.org with “Project Coordinator” in the subject line. Be prepared to send writing samples. Applications will be reviewed immediately.

Posting Date:  

September 14, 2017

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