The Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre (OJA) seeks an enthusiastic and motivated archivist for a full time permanent position beginning July 2025. The OJA is a community archives servicing an active community of donors, researchers, and supporters. The successful applicant will be responsible for
a broad range of archival work, including collection management and development, reference services, programming, and outreach.

About the Ontario Jewish Archives

Founded in 1973, the Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre (OJA) is the largest repository of Jewish life in Canada. The OJA is uniquely positioned to collect, preserve and share the records of the Jewish communities of Ontario, providing evidence of differing lived experiences and ensuring that the Jewish experience is included in the broader municipal, provincial and national narratives.

The OJA's collections span all segments of Ontario's Jewish community, including families, businesses, cultural organizations, and synagogues. These records date from the community's earliest days in the province in the 1850s to the present. The OJA supports a wide range of researchers through its vital work. Through exhibitions, programs, research assistance, and walking tours, the OJA tells the stories of Ontario’s Jewish community.

The OJA is a department of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

Responsibilities

Archival Responsibilities

• Meets with record donors, appraises, acquires and accessions records
  into the OJA’s permanent holdings

• Physically processes, arranges, and describes records in accordance with archival principles and standards (RAD) and OJA procedures

• Performs basic preservation actions as

• Digitizes a variety of media as required and ingests collections into OJA’s digital repository

• Maintains physical control of OJA’s collections both onsite and offsite

Reference

• Provides reference services to the general public and internal staff

• Applies applicable privacy procedures according to legislation and OJA policies

• Responds to reproduction requests for use and publication

Other responsibilities (Archival, Administrative and Outreach)

• Supports the OJA team with various administrative tasks as needed

• Assists with outreach and programming, including curatorial research and design, social media, speaking engagements, and walking tour administration.

Qualifications

• Master of Information with a focus on Archives and Records Management or equivalent

• Minimum 1-year of experience working in an archival institution and processing collections, in addition to internship or practicum placements

• Exposure to and comfort working with mixed media collections

Job Knowledge Base Requirements

• Strong and demonstrable understanding of archival principles and theories to carry out the appraisal,
  arrangement and description of archival records according to recognized standards by the Canadian archival community

• Experience with principles and theories relating to reference services

• Knowledge of conservation/preservation, handling, manipulation methods and practices related to a variety of archival records

• Familiarity with digital preservation methods and practices

• Ability to conduct
  scholarly historical research and write for a variety of audiences

• Knowledge of the history of the Jewish community in Canada, and in particular, the Ontario Jewish community an asset

Required Skills

• Excellent communication skills-verbal, written, and oral

• Good technical understanding

• Ability to think strategically and execute tactically

• Ability to multitask and work with deadlines

• Strong interpersonal skills

• Ability to respond quickly and tactfully to requests from staff and members of the public

• Fluency with Microsoft software applications

• Familiarity with InMagic and Preservica
  

Language Requirements

• English is imperative

• Other languages like Hebrew, Yiddish or Russian are consider

*This is a full-time permanent position, Union Level . At UJA we support a flexible work schedule and all of our employees engage in hybrid work. Engagement and connection are key to supporting the best employee experience and we want to ensure that this puts balance and well-being at the forefront of our approach to ways of working. In addition to a rich time off policy, UJA’s offices are closed on all Jewish holy days (yom tov) and we support early office closures to observe the Jewish Sabbath (Shabbat).

We look forward to connecting with you to understanding what you can bring to the UJA team and how we can support your career goals. Qualified applicants are invited to submit a cover letter and resume. Only those applicants invited for interview will be contacted. Please be advised that all offers of employment are contingent upon the successful completion of professional references and background checks including Social Media Account(s) and a Police Records Check/Vulnerable Sector Screening.

Commitment to Inclusion and Accessibility:

UJA Federation supports a diverse candidate and employment experience. We are proud of our dynamic professional team, which reflects the diversity of the Jewish community and general community alike in Greater Toronto. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants from all communities. We encourage you to follow us to get regular updates on open roles. We are committed to creating an inclusive and accessible workplace and believe this is essential to ensure that every member of our team can thrive.

We adhere to barrier-free and accessible employment practices in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Should you require Code-protected accommodation through any stage of the recruitment process, please notify us and we will work with you to meet your needs.

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