Permanent Administrative Position in the Document Collection Area, focusing on the Baltic region

The Department of Scientific Collections is seeking to fill, as soon as possible, a Permanent Administrative Position in the Document Collection Area, focusing on the Baltic region with full-time employment possible (up to 100%) remunerated according to pay grade E11 under the public-sector salary system of the State of Hesse (TV-H)

The Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe in Marburg focuses on the history and culture of East Central Europe. Drawing on its own extensive collections, the Institute conducts research on history, collection-based cultural and art studies, and is also engaged in the design and implementation of multimedia knowledge portals.

The Document Collection is an archival repository focusing on the history and culture of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Among other things, it preserves numerous personal, institutional, and family archives and makes them accessible to scholars and the interested public. In addition, it serves as the Herder Institute’s institutional archive and carries out research, editorial, and publication projects.

Your responsibilities will include:
❫ providing subject-specific guidance to academic and non-academic users in person, as well as via written correspondence and telephone;
❫ evaluating and cataloging holdings, including large and complex collections such as personal and family archives, using our database system ACTApro Desk (Startext), as well as determining retention periods;
❫ creating metadata, such as personal records and subject indexing, using the German National Library’s Integrated Authority File (Gemeinsame Normdatei, GND) and in-house thesauri;
❫ supporting networking activities and maintaining contacts with the German-Baltic community as well as national and international communities engaged with the history and cultural heritage of the Baltic region, including archives, collections, and associations;
❫ ensuring proper archival storage of materials, taking into account conservation aspects such as climate and material properties, as well as identifying material damage;
❫ supporting public relations work relating to the document collection (short blogs, magazine articles, guided tours, etc.).

Required qualifications:
❫ Training in the archival field is desirable; several years of work experience in a collection archive in the areas of cataloging and user support is an advantage;
❫ basic knowledge of the history and culture of the Baltic countries, particularly the historical regions of Courland, Livonia, and Estonia;
❫ very good knowledge of Estonian or Latvian, or a willingness to acquire these language skills;
❫ very good written and spoken German and good written and spoken English;
❫ good reading skills in German Kurrent script;
❫ experience with database-supported cataloging of collection materials;
❫ willingness to undertake further professional training in archival science.

Desirable qualifications:
❫ experience with digital collection management software, preferably ACTApro Magazin by Startext;
❫ knowledge of the legal aspects of archival work (retention periods, copyrights, [postmortem] personality rights).

With this position, we offer a diverse and interesting range of responsibilities within the Document Collection. You will join a small, dedicated, and friendly team that is looking for someone who is a team player, communicative, and capable of working independently.

The Herder Institute is committed to professional equality between women and men. We therefore strongly encourage qualified women to apply. Applicants with severe disabilities will also be given special consideration if equally qualified. The Herder Institute considers itself a family-friendly institution that strives for a good work-life balance, so applicants with children are warmly welcome. We offer, for example, flexible working hours and, if needed, a parent-child room. Remote work opportunities are very limited for this position; the role can be structured on a part-time basis. 

For further information, please contact Dr. Dietmar Popp (dietmar.popp@herder-institut.de). Please submit your application via email as a single PDF file by July 24, 2026, to the Herder Institute administration, for the attention of Katja Bugatti (bewerbung@herder-institut.de), quoting the reference “Application_DSHI_2026.” To help prevent discrimination, please refrain from including a photo with your application.