(Taxonomy) Librarian, National Public Radio, Washington DC

A thriving, mission-driven multimedia organization, NPR produces award-winning news, information, and music programming in partnership with hundreds of independent public radio stations across the nation. NPR listeners value information, creativity, curiosity, and social responsibility – our employees do too. We are innovators and leaders in diverse fields, from journalism and digital media to IT and development. Every day, our employees and member stations touch the lives of millions worldwide. 

NPR is looking for a talented, forward-thinking librarian to join our award-winning team of knowledge managers, product owners, researchers, and digital thinkers.  The successful candidate will work in a hybrid setting that blends traditional information skill areas (information evaluation, presentation, indexing, taxonomy, content management, reference interview) with the digital demands of a cutting edge media organization. 

We are looking for a professional who:

• Has experience developing and maintaining taxonomies.
• Has experience maintaining, tuning, and optimizing auto-categorization rules.
• Is approachable and focused on creating partnerships – builds rapport easily.
• Is comfortable taking an active and visible role representing the Library team to diverse constituencies.
• Has a passion for metadata and how to leverage it.
• Is curious and flexible.
• Is a collaborator at heart, who can work with a minimum of supervision.
• Takes initiative to make things better.

• Cultivates productive relationships with users from across the organization, resulting in improvements to Library products and services including NPR taxonomies.  Example business partners include News, Digital Media, Communications, Development, Diversity, and Ombudsman.
• Optimizes automated methods of content categorization via taxonomies and associated classification algorithms.
• Represents Library team in a variety of settings from product management activities to delivering research on deadline. 
• Expert in wielding the power of metadata.  Creates original metadata and dynamic custom reports in response to business needs.  Applies best practices in content management.
• Expert in selection, retrieval, and presentation of information via a variety of platforms.  Is user-focused and allows client need to drive outcomes.
• Develops and leads regular training sessions.  Is comfortable leading tours and speaking to larger groups.
•  Contributes ideas to improve Library products and services.

Education

Master’s Degree from an ALA-accredited program strongly preferred.  Equivalent work experience may be considered.

Required Skills:

• Experience working on a team to improve a product or process.
• Ability to switch gears as organizational priorities shift.
• Experience with taxonomy standards and taxonomy management approaches.
• Ability to translate feedback from stakeholders into actions that deliver value.
• Digitally engaged – consume information on a variety of platforms; comfortable in a continually “digitally disrupted” environment.
• Demonstrated success in prioritizing among multiple competing assignments or projects.
• Ability to work as a member of a team where part of all of the team is virtual.
• Ability to work quickly and efficiently under deadline pressure.
• Ability to think journalistically.
• Ability to communicate effectively in person, in writing, over the phone and by other virtual means, to internal and external constituencies.  
• Experience creating metadata in a non-MARC setting.
• Experience facilitating reference interactions and delivering information on demand.
• Familiarity with basic database principles.
• Sound judgment and discretion when evaluating information; demonstrates sensitivity to context and privacy.
• Conduct consistent with applicable NPR ethical guidelines.
• Ability and willingness to work varied shifts.
• Passion for current events and popular culture.

Preferred Skills:

• Familiarity with the programming languages of the web (PHP, CSS, HTML5).
• Familiarity with information dissemination platforms, content management systems.
• Marketing savvy.  Successful experience leading a marketing campaign.
• Familiarity with digital audio file formats and preservation challenges.
• Experience curating, managing, or migrating digital collections.
• Experience working with a digital preservation repository.

The salary range for this SAG-AFTRA position is $65,000 – $73,000.

Does this sound like you? If so, we want to hear from you.  All applications must include a resume and cover letter to be considered.

If you apply for this job, here’s what you can expect in our interview process. If you’re checking out technical or digital roles, here are some additional things you should consider about what you’ll experience at NPR.