Cataloguing and Metadata Officer

Job ID: 12557
Department: INFOTEC
Organization Unit: IMS
Location: Geneva
Contract type: Fixed Term

The following are eligible to apply:

• ILO Internal candidates in accordance with paragraphs 31 and 32 of Annex I of the ILO Staff Regulations.
• External candidates.

Applications from candidates who have already separated from ILO service upon retirement or early retirement, will not be considered.

The ILO values diversity among its staff and welcomes applications from qualified female candidates. We also encourage applicants with disabilities. If you are unable to complete our online application form due to a disability, please send an email to ilojobs@ilo.org.

The ILO welcomes applicants with experience in working within ILO constituents (governments, employers’ and business membership organizations, and workers’ organizations).

Applicants from non- or under-represented member States, or from those member States which staffing forecasts indicate will become non- or under-represented in the near future would be particularly welcome.

In addition to the interviews and tests that any candidate may be required to take, successful completion of the ILO Assessment Centre is required for all external candidates and any internal candidate applying to a higher category.

Notwithstanding the general considerations set out in the ILO Staff Regulations, this vacancy announcement is the only authoritative document pertaining to the qualifications required for this position. The minimum required qualifications were determined in view of the specific duties and responsibilities of this position.

The specific language requirements for this position are detailed hereunder. However, external candidates applying for the professional category vacancies and whose mother tongue is not one of the working languages of the Office (English, French and Spanish), shall be required to possess a fully satisfactory working knowledge of at least one of the ILO working languages. If appointed, they will be expected to acquire a knowledge of a second working language of the Office during their initial years of service.

The position is located in the Information Management Services Branch (IMS) within the Information and Technology Management Department (INFOTEC). IMS is responsible for managing the Office’s extensive collections, legislation, statistics and other documents on labour and social issues. It plays a key role in providing information to ILO staff and facilitating access to world of work knowledge for ILO constituents, researchers, practitioners and the general public, in support of the Director-General’s aim to make the ILO the global reference point on the world of work. IMS works closely with staff located in ILO field offices to promote the dissemination of ILO knowledge and research.

The incumbent will administer activities associated with metadata and information management including updating of the ILO Taxonomy and ILO Thesaurus.

The position will report to the Unit Head of Information Governance Services.

1. Evaluate, create and implement workflows for loading metadata for e-books, streaming resources, and other digital and print objects into the Library Service Platform (Alma). Review the publications to identify the documents to be catalogued in accordance with the criteria defined in the standard operating procedure.
2. Provide original and complex copy cataloguing, and indexing of various materials across multiple languages, formats and time periods, in a contemporary MARC-based environment in accordance with IMS cataloguing and indexing policies and standards and in line with the Anglo-American cataloguing rules.
3. Provide support to metadata strategies associated with digital initiatives and projects: collaborate in the evaluation of existing workflows and processes, utilize interoperable metadata standards, and propose creative strategies and sustainable solutions for resource description and discovery.
4. Contribute to projects related to cataloguing batch loads, normalization rules and other bibliographic maintenance. Draft procedures for importing/exporting, batch data processing and integrating records from multiple sources. Draft training materials and documentation for the cataloguers’ team in the application of metadata standards and cataloguing policy and procedures.
5. Perform analysis and manipulation of metadata utilizing MarcEdit, Excel, etc. and contribute to initiatives for the improvement of metadata quality and usage to reflect coherent and consistent terminology.
6. Update and maintain controlled vocabularies used within ILO e.g. ILO Taxonomy, to optimize content classification and discovery. Draft training materials and guidelines on tagging using the taxonomy.
7. Monitor the digitization work and the daily activities.
8. Keep abreast of existing and emerging cataloguing and metadata standards, tools and best practices, as well as developments in interoperability.
9. Perform other relevant duties as assigned.

These specific duties are aligned with the relevant ILO generic job description, which includes the following generic duties:

• Review a variety of information sources to identify appropriate materials that meet the information needs of the Organization and recommend material for inclusion in the library’s collections.
• Verify the accuracy of information on incoming requisitions.
• Identify and withdraw material from the collections in accordance with collection and retention policies and instructions from the supervisor.
• Identify bibliographic elements of items to be added to the library’s collections, determine the choice and form of entries, and prepare bibliographic descriptions.
• Analyse the content of documents and publications to identify and select the concepts that are the most relevant for users, translate these concepts into controlled vocabulary terms, and draft annotations or abstracts of the content of materials.
• Review bibliographic citations and indexing obtained from external sources for inclusion in internal databases.
• Using both manual and computerised techniques, provide reference services by searching easily accessible sources and delivering information relevant to specific user requests.
• Assist in the creation of information tools.

Advanced university degree, or a first level degree and a recognized professional qualification in library or information science or other related field.

Three years of professional experience in library work or information network administration. Experience in cataloguing and indexing using Exlibris Library Management System (Alma) is essential. Experience in MARC21 format and the Anglo-American Cataloguing rules (AACR) would be an advantage.

Excellent command of one official language (English, French, Spanish) of the Organization and a working knowledge of another official language.

In addition to the ILO core competencies, this position requires:

Technical

Knowledge of MarcEdit to work with data sets. Knowledge of maintaining and using controlled vocabularies. Knowledge of Online Computer Library Center (OCLC). Knowledge of linked data and RDF is favourable. Knowledge of digitization projects would be an advantage. Excellent analytical skills to analyse the needs of users and provide the appropriate support.

Behavioural
Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing. Ability to work on own initiative as well as a member of a team. Work collaboratively with colleagues to achieve common goals; encourage cooperation; be open to learning new ways of working and continuously develops and updates professional skills, and masters new tools; diagnoses development needs and targets learning opportunities; assimilates, applies and shares job related knowledge in a timely manner. Ability to work in a multicultural environment and to demonstrate gender-sensitive and non-discriminatory behaviour and attitudes.

• Any appointment/extension of appointment is subject to ILO Staff Regulations and other relevant internal rules. Any offer of employment with the ILO is conditional upon certification by the ILO Medical Adviser that the person concerned is medically fit to perform the specific inherent requirements of the position offered. In order to confirm an offer from the ILO the successful candidate will be required to undergo a medical examination.
• The first contract will be issued for a twenty-four month period.
• A successful external candidate will be on probation for the first two years of assignment.
• Any extension of contract beyond the probation period is subject to satisfactory conduct and performance.

Any officials of the General Service category interested in applying to this position are hereby informed that, if selected, they will be offered the salary and allowances applicable to the grade of the position applied for, which may result in substantial changes in their take-home remuneration.

Please note that all candidates must complete an online application form. To apply, please visit the ILO Jobs website. The system provides instructions for online application procedures.

Evaluation (which may include one or several written tests and a pre-interview competency-based assessment centre) and the interviews will tentatively take place during the 3 to 4 months following the application deadline. Candidates are requested to ensure their availability should they be short listed for further consideration.

Depending on the location and availability of candidates, assessors and interview panel members, the ILO may use communication technologies such as Skype, Video or teleconference, e-mail, etc. for the assessment and evaluation of candidates at the different stages of the recruitment process, including assessment centres, technical tests or interviews.

The ILO has zero tolerance for acts of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and is determined to ensure that all staff members and all beneficiaries of ILO assistance do not suffer, directly or indirectly, from sexual exploitation and abuse.

Fraud warning

The ILO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process whether at the application, interview, processing or training stage. Messages originating from a non ILO e-mail account - @ilo.org - should be disregarded. In addition, the ILO does not require or need to know any information relating to the bank account details of applicants.