Digital Archiving Specialist
Role Summary
Join Médecins Sans Frontières as a Digital Archiving Specialist and contribute to humanitarian efforts by managing digital records.
About the Organisation
Médecins Sans Frontières is an independent, international medical and humanitarian organization that provides care to people in need, people affected by natural or man-made disasters, and victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and without regard to race, religion, creed or political affiliation (MSF Charter).
In this role, you design, implement and maintain advanced digital archiving systems, including machine learning and automated document processing tools, in order to identify, classify, describe and preserve historical and legal documents from massive volumes of heterogeneous digital data (‘digital bulk’).
You apply professional expertise to address diverse and sometimes challenging issues within your area of specialization. You contribute to improving systems and tools, strengthen processes, and provide informed guidance to colleagues. Your work supports the organization in achieving consistent quality and efficiency within your domain.
- Apply specialized knowledge to analyze and resolve a range of issues within established frameworks.
- Design tools, configure systems, or produce advanced analysis to inform decisions.
- Support Officers and team members through technical guidance and knowledge sharing.
- Identify and recommend opportunities for process and system improvements, infrastructure and security teams, to plan, design, coordinate the execution of testing and report of quality level.
Key Responsibilities
- Implements the records management policy and maintains internal procedures for records management and archiving, particularly digital records
- Designs and leads the development of machine learning models, and utilises OCR/HTR, NLP, and supervised and unsupervised classification technologies
- Ensures the integrity, traceability and authenticity of digital documents to guarantee business continuity and operational memory
- Structures document workflows by analysing business processes to prevent legal, operational and reputational risks
- Implements digital preservation strategies (long-term formats, migration, integrity) in accordance with archival and legal standards (ISO 15489, OAIS)
- Documents the models, methodological choices and limitations of automated systems
- Ensures the collection, processing, description, preservation, disclosure and secure disposal of documents
- Ensures the continuity of the ADOC unit’s activities in the absence of colleagues (documentalist, archivist-records manager)
Minimum Requirements
- Education*
- A tertiary degree or equivalent in Information Science or History
- Strong coding skills (Python, R, JavaScript, etc.)
- A dual background in archiving and IT is highly desirable
- Experience*
- Experience in archiving, digital archiving and documentation
- Experience in data science
- Languages*
- English and French are the working languages of MSF Switzerland. They are essential.
- Any other language welcome
- Skills/ Technical competencies*
- Proficiency in standards and regulations relating to archives and data protection
- Practical experience with Python/R, NLP and ML, OCR and document processing
- Knowledge of document management tools
- Interest in geopolitical issues
- Personal Abilities/Qualities*
- Analytical, organisational and structuring skills
- Teaching skills, a service-oriented approach and the ability to work across departments
- Ability to engage in technical discussions with data specialists or developers
- Understanding of the limitations of AI (biases, errors)
- Ability to work in a multicultural environment
- Flexibility and the ability to manage stress.
Eligibility Criteria
The job does not specify eligibility for international applicants or the legal requirements for working in Switzerland.
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