Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Archive Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Archive Manager leads the strategic and operational management of an organization's archives and records lifecycle. This role is responsible for accessioning, organizing, preserving, and providing controlled access to physical and digital records; developing and enforcing retention schedules; implementing digital preservation workflows; and ensuring legal and regulatory compliance. The Archive Manager balances collection stewardship with process-driven information governance to reduce risk, enable research and reporting, and support business continuity.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Records Coordinator or Records Analyst
Archivist or Collections Assistant
Library Technician or Digital Preservation Technician

Advancement To:

Senior/Head of Archives or Records Management
Director of Information Governance or Records & Information Management (RIM)
Chief Information Officer (for broader information leadership)

Lateral Moves:

Digital Preservation Specialist
Collections / Museum Manager
Information Governance Manager
Data Governance or Compliance Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, maintain, and enforce organizational records retention schedules and archival policies that comply with legal, regulatory, and operational requirements, including FOIA, GDPR/CCPA considerations, and industry-specific mandates.
Oversee accessioning and deaccessioning processes for both physical and digital collections, ensuring provenance, chain of custody, and accurate intake documentation for all incoming records and artifacts.
Design, implement, and manage digital preservation strategies and workflows (e.g., OAIS-based practices), including format migration, checksum verification, bit-level preservation, and redundant storage to ensure long-term accessibility.
Create, implement, and review metadata schemas and standards (EAD, Dublin Core, PREMIS, DACS) for consistent description, discoverability, and interoperability of archival materials across systems and platforms.
Lead large-scale digitization projects from vendor selection and scanning specifications through quality control, image/process validation, and final delivery, while optimizing cost, throughput, and preservation outcomes.
Administer the organization’s archival management system / digital asset management system (DAMS) or records management system (RMS), including configuration, user roles, authority control, and integration with enterprise systems (SharePoint, ERP, CMS).
Manage physical archives facilities: environmental monitoring (temperature/humidity), pest control, shelving and boxing standards, security protocols, and disaster preparedness planning for collections.
Supervise, coach, and evaluate archives and records staff and volunteers, allocating resources and tasks, setting priorities, and developing training programs to maintain professional standards and staff competency.
Conduct appraisal and analysis to determine archival value and retention periods, balancing legal hold requirements, fiscal needs, historical significance, and operational utility.
Serve as the primary liaison with legal, compliance, IT, HR, facilities, and business units to coordinate records holds, eDiscovery support, retention schedule updates, and secure transfer of records between active systems and archives.
Develop and manage the archives budget: forecasting capital and operating needs (e.g., storage, digitization, conservation, vendor services), negotiating contracts, and tracking expenditures for cost-effective stewardship.
Establish and maintain access policies that balance public access, researcher needs, privacy, and confidentiality; review and process access requests, restrictions, and redactions in accordance with policy.
Oversee conservation, stabilization, and preservation treatments, coordinating with conservators and external vendors to prioritize interventions and minimize long-term degradation of high-value materials.
Implement quality control and metrics programs to track accessioning throughput, preservation actions, user requests, digitization accuracy, and service-level agreements; produce regular reports for senior leadership.
Lead preparation of archival materials and records for transfer, storage, or disposal—ensuring legal compliance, complete documentation, condition assessment, and secure transportation.
Develop outreach, discovery, and engagement strategies to increase internal and external awareness and use of archival resources, including digital exhibits, research services, and internal training for staff.
Create, review, and update disaster recovery and business continuity plans specific to archives and records, coordinate tabletop exercises, and lead emergency response when incidents occur.
Ensure compliance with national and international standards, recommended best practices and frameworks (ISO 15489, NARA guidelines, Data Protection Acts), and participate in audits or accreditations as needed.
Provide subject matter expertise for policy development, retention schedule revisions, acquisition strategies, and risk assessments; prepare clear, actionable recommendations for executive stakeholders.
Lead cross-functional projects to integrate records and archives considerations into system implementations, migrations, or business process changes, serving as the records/archives SME during IT projects.
Execute complex retrieval and research requests, including archival reference services, reproductions, and redaction workflows; provide timely, documented responses to internal and external researchers.
Maintain strong relationships with vendors and service providers for offsite storage, digitization, indexing, and conservation; manage SLAs, performance metrics, and procurement processes.
Champion continuous improvement and innovation in archival workflows, tooling, automation (e.g., automated metadata extraction, OCR/AI-assisted indexing), and accessibility to increase efficiency and user satisfaction.
Monitor and analyze emerging trends in digital preservation, records management, and information governance; recommend and pilot new technologies or processes to improve archival stewardship.

Secondary Functions

Support ad hoc legal and compliance requests, including producing records for litigation, audits, and regulatory inquiries, and coordinating with legal counsel for sensitive disclosures.
Provide regular training and documentation for staff across the organization on records creation, retention obligations, legal holds, and archival transfer procedures.
Contribute to organizational knowledge management initiatives by linking archival holdings to corporate history, knowledge bases, and internal wikis.
Assist in grant writing, fundraising efforts, or budget proposals that support archival projects, special collections, or community outreach programs.
Participate in professional networks, conferences, and working groups to represent the organization and bring back best practices or partnership opportunities.
Work with communications and marketing teams to develop digital exhibits, social media content, and promotional materials that showcase archival collections and support organizational branding.
Maintain and update inventories, accession registers, and finding aids to ensure transparency and discoverability for both internal stakeholders and external researchers.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Records management and retention schedule development and enforcement (records lifecycle management).
Archival description standards and metadata expertise (EAD, DACS, Dublin Core, PREMIS).
Digital preservation practices and familiarity with OAIS model, fixity checking, format migration, and storage strategies.
Hands-on experience with archival management systems, DAMs, RMS, and related platforms (e.g., Archivist’s Toolkit, ArchivesSpace, Preservica, CONTENTdm, SharePoint).
Digitization planning and QC: scanning specifications, image file formats (TIFF, JPEG2000), OCR workflows, and quality assurance protocols.
Legal and regulatory compliance for records (FOIA, GDPR, CCPA, industry-specific retention legislation).
Records and eDiscovery support: legal holds, collection, preservation, and production of electronically stored information (ESI).
Facility and collection preservation knowledge: environmental monitoring, integrated pest management, shelving and housing standards.
Conservation principles and ability to prioritize conservation treatments, or manage relationships with conservators and labs.
Metadata mapping, controlled vocabularies, authority control, and persistent identifier strategies (DOIs, ARKs).
Project management methodologies (Agile, waterfall) and tools for managing digitization and archive-related projects.
Data migration and systems integration skills, including APIs, batch ingest, and scripting familiarity (Python, Bash) preferred.
Budgeting, vendor management, procurement, and contract negotiation experience with vendors for offsite storage and digitization.
Familiarity with standards and best practices (ISO 15489, NARA, RIM frameworks).

Soft Skills

Exceptional attention to detail and commitment to accuracy when cataloging, preserving, and providing access to information.
Strong leadership and team management skills with experience mentoring staff, allocating resources, and driving performance.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills for policy drafting, stakeholder engagement, training, and public-facing reference support.
Proven stakeholder management and collaboration skills—ability to translate business needs into archives/records solutions and secure cross-functional buy-in.
Critical thinking and problem-solving aptitude to prioritize collections, balance preservation vs. access, and handle complex legal/privacy scenarios.
Customer service orientation and researcher-focused mindset to facilitate access and respond to reference requests efficiently.
Change management and facilitation skills to drive adoption of new systems, retention policies, and digitization workflows.
Project prioritization and time-management skills in a deadline-driven environment with competing requests.
Ethical judgment and discretion when handling confidential and sensitive records.
Continuous learning mindset to stay current with evolving archival technologies, standards, and legal requirements.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Library Science, History, Archival Studies, Information Science, Museum Studies, Records Management, or a closely related field.

Preferred Education:

Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) with an archival concentration or Master’s in Archival Studies / Records Management.
Professional certifications such as Certified Archivist (Academy of Certified Archivists), Certified Records Manager (CRM), IGP, or relevant data/privacy certifications (CIPP) are a plus.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Archival Science / Archival Studies
Library and Information Science (MLIS)
Records Management / Information Governance
History, Museum Studies, Cultural Heritage Management
Computer Science / Information Systems (for digital preservation emphasis)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–10 years in archives, records management, or related fields, with at least 2–3 years supervisory or project leadership experience.

Preferred:

7+ years of progressively responsible experience managing archival collections or enterprise records programs.
Demonstrated experience implementing digital preservation strategies, managing digitization programs, working with archival management systems, and supporting legal/regulatory demands.
Proven track record of building retention schedules, leading major transfers or digitization projects, and collaborating with IT and legal teams on preservation and compliance initiatives.