Library Assistant, G-6

About the position:

The mandate of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) is to promote sustainable and inclusive development and regional connectivity in the Asian and Pacific region. ESCAP’s role as a regional development arm of the United Nations Secretariat is to support its membership with policy oriented research and analysis, normative support and technical assistance and capacity building, to respond to the development priorities and changing needs of the Asian and Pacific region. The Communications and Knowledge Management Section provides media, web and knowledge services, helping disseminate key messages and support progress towards meeting the 2030 Agenda in the region. The Library ensures that ESCAP staff have the data and research tools they need in order to provide reliable and relevant guidance to the region and provides access to its knowledge products via a variety of digital initiatives. This position is located in the Communications and Knowledge Management Section.

This position is located in the Communications and Knowledge Management Section. The incumbent reports to the Librarian.

Responsibilities:

Under the direct supervision of the Librarian, and overall supervision of the Chief of Communications and Knowledge Management Section, the incumbent is required to perform the following functions:

• Provides technical and hands-on support for library digitization operations, including scanning, proofreading, creating digital objects, assigning relevant metadata, and uploading to designated repositories.

• Co-ordinates digitization work, develops and maintains workflow manuals and training sessions, and participates in training and supervision of junior support staff, consultants, contractors and interns assisting with digitization projects.

• Initiates and supports digitization and digital curation projects with library and section colleagues in connection with research requests by library patrons, as well as with teams across the Organization.

• Provides statistical workflow data and analysis on digitization programme, evaluates productivity and progress, and adapts workflows as required to incorporate new technologies and/or improve workflows.

• Assists in cataloguing operations, in particular, indexing and uploading official ESCAP documents to the Official Document System (ODS) and the UN Digital Library (UNDL).

• Assists in the review of sources to identify relevant technologies, strategies and tools in the areas of digitization, scanning, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital curation to assist the library in its effort to improve its workflows and meet the information needs of the Organisation and its information clientele.

• Assists in development and maintenance of relevant databases and repositories, keeping data accurate and current, and preparing new material as needed.

• Provides technical support and instruction to library patrons in using electronic resources and reference tools.

• Submits regular backup jobs for library databases on various platforms and performs other routine maintenance procedures that ensure the integrity of library data.

• Assists with the collection and analysis of data across the section.

• Prepares data presentations and reports for information sharing, responding to queries, knowledge management, planning and decision making.

• Assists with visualizations and updating information material such as intranet sites, web pages or brochures.

• Assists in management of library accounts.

• Provides administrative support for the section and unit chief and undertakes other duties as assigned.

Education:

High school diploma or equivalent is required. A first-level university degree may be accepted in lieu of two years of required experience.

Work Experience:

A minimum of seven years (or five years if graduated with a first-level university degree) of progressively responsible experience in library work, archives, information network administration or related field is required.

1 year or more of experience digitizing documents, publications, audiovisual materials, and/or other physical or digital objects is desirable.

1 year or more of experience managing digitization workflows & projects, including training and supervising others, is desirable.

1 year or more of experience in data analytics or related area is desirable, including the use of visualization tools such as Microsoft Power BI, Fabric, etc.

Experience with the following is desirable: ABBY FineReader, Bookeye scanners, Alma/Primo (Exlibris ILS), Sharepoint (and other Microsoft O365 software), DSpace, Drupal, or UN documents management systems (gDoc 2.0, ODS).

Experience in the United Nations Common System or in international organizations similar to those in the UN Common System is desirable.

Languages:

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the post advertised, fluency in English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language is an advantage.

Application Deadline: 26 October 2024