Manager, Collections & Archives

Location: Accra, Ghana
Employment Type: Full-Time
Application Deadline: 20 July 2026

Company Profile

Dikan is a leading cultural institution dedicated to preserving, documenting, and promoting Africa’s visual history, cultural heritage, and collective memory. Through world-class archives, exhibitions, educational programmes, research initiatives, and digital innovation, Dikan provides access to invaluable collections that inspire learning, scholarship, creativity, and public engagement.

As we continue to expand our collections and strengthen our archival infrastructure, we are seeking an experienced and visionary Manager, Collections & Archives to lead the stewardship, preservation, accessibility, and long-term development of our collections and repository systems.

Position Purpose

The Manager, Collections & Archives will provide strategic and operational leadership for Dikan’s collections and archival functions. The successful candidate will oversee acquisitions, accessioning, cataloguing, preservation, digitization, repository management, metadata governance, rights management, and public access while ensuring the highest standards of professional archival practice.

This role requires a leader who can build systems, manage teams, drive innovation, and ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of culturally significant collections.

Key Responsibilities

Collections Leadership and Governance

• Develop and implement strategic priorities, policies, standards, and operational frameworks for collections and archival management.
• Lead the planning and execution of acquisition, accessioning, cataloguing, preservation, digitization, rights management, and access initiatives.
• Advise the Executive Director on collection development opportunities, repository growth strategies, technology investments, resource requirements, and institutional risks.
• Establish and maintain governance frameworks that ensure proper documentation of ownership, provenance, donor agreements, consent requirements, copyright, restrictions, and custodial responsibilities.
• Ensure compliance with legal, ethical, professional, and institutional standards governing collections management.

Collections Management and Preservation

• Direct the receipt, registration, storage, movement, retrieval, inventory management, auditing, and tracking of physical and digital collection materials.
• Establish preservation priorities and oversee conservation initiatives to ensure long-term collection sustainability.
• Coordinate environmental monitoring, storage standards, security controls, disaster preparedness, and emergency response measures.
• Develop and maintain effective controls for rare, fragile, confidential, culturally sensitive, restricted, and high-value materials.
• Monitor collection conditions and implement preventive preservation strategies to minimize risk and deterioration.

Digitization and Repository Systems

• Lead the development and implementation of Dikan’s digitization and digital preservation strategy.
• Oversee digitization workflows, production planning, quality assurance processes, and backlog reduction initiatives.
• Establish standards for image capture quality, file formats, metadata structures, file naming conventions, storage protocols, backup procedures, and digital preservation requirements.
• Guide the selection, implementation, and optimization of collection management systems, archival description platforms, digital repositories, and public access technologies.
• Ensure digital assets remain secure, accessible, and sustainable over the long term.

Cataloguing, Metadata and Access Management

• Lead the development and maintenance of classification systems, cataloguing frameworks, metadata standards, finding aids, and collection documentation.
• Ensure collections are discoverable, searchable, accurately described, and effectively managed.
• Maintain consistency and integrity between physical holdings, repository records, databases, and digital assets.
• Oversee policies and procedures relating to access, reproduction, licensing, publication permissions, and internal use of collections.
• Balance access requirements with legal obligations, preservation priorities, donor agreements, and ethical considerations.

Team Leadership and Institutional Collaboration

• Build, lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing Collections & Archives team.
• Establish clear performance expectations, work plans, development goals, and accountability measures.
• Supervise archivists, digitization technicians, cataloguing assistants, archive assistants, interns, volunteers, and project personnel.
• Collaborate closely with research, exhibitions, education, conservation, technology, facilities, communications, and partnership teams to support institutional objectives.
• Represent Dikan in approved engagements with donors, collection owners, researchers, universities, cultural institutions, community stakeholders, technical partners, and funding organizations.
• Foster a culture of professionalism, collaboration, innovation, and continuous improvement.

Planning, Performance and Reporting

• Develop departmental strategies, annual work plans, budgets, procurement plans, and project schedules.
• Monitor and report on repository growth, accessioning activities, digitization outputs, metadata quality, collection access, preservation initiatives, project delivery, and operational risks.
• Track key performance indicators and implement improvements to enhance efficiency and service delivery.
• Ensure grant-funded and partner-supported projects are delivered on time, within budget, and in compliance with reporting requirements and agreed standards.
• Provide regular reports, analyses, and recommendations to senior leadership.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s Degree in Archives Management, Library and Information Science, Museum Studies, Heritage Management, History, Information Management, Cultural Heritage Studies, or a related discipline.
• Relevant postgraduate qualifications will be considered an advantage.
• Equivalent professional experience may be considered where appropriate.

Experience

• Minimum of six (6) to ten (10) years of progressive experience in archives, collections management, museums, libraries, digitization, cultural heritage, or related sectors.
• At least three (3) years of experience leading teams, projects, programmes, or functional areas.
• Demonstrated success in developing and improving collection management policies, workflows, repository systems, digitization programmes, preservation initiatives, and metadata frameworks.
• Proven experience managing collection accessioning, cataloguing, documentation, rights management, preservation, and access programmes.
• Experience managing budgets, service providers, procurement processes, technical projects, and institutional priorities.
• Experience working with culturally significant, sensitive, rare, or archival collections is highly desirable.

Knowledge and Technical Skills

• Strong understanding of archival principles, collection stewardship, preservation methodologies, and professional standards.
• Expertise in accessioning, cataloguing, metadata management, archival description, and records management.
• Knowledge of digital preservation strategies, repository systems, and collection management software.
• Understanding of copyright, intellectual property, donor agreements, licensing, access controls, and ethical collection management practices.
• Strong project management, planning, and organizational skills.
• Excellent analytical, documentation, and record-keeping abilities.
• Proficiency in digital asset management systems, collection databases, and Microsoft Office applications.
• Ability to interpret and apply professional archival and heritage management standards.

Leadership Competencies

• Strategic thinking and long-term planning.
• Team leadership and staff development.
• Stakeholder engagement and relationship management.
• Change management and continuous improvement.
• Project leadership and execution.
• Sound judgment and decision-making.

Personal Attributes

• High ethical standards and professional integrity.
• Strong attention to detail and commitment to accuracy.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities.
• Ability to manage competing priorities and complex projects.
• Adaptability, resilience, and a collaborative mindset.
• Passion for cultural heritage preservation and public access to knowledge.

How to Apply

Apply online by clicking on the Application Button.