Job Listing
 🔗Archives Intern – 800 hours

  • Internship
  • NCPE Internship
  • Charles Town, WV
  • $18.50 USD / Hour
  • Applications have closed
  • Department: Harpers Ferry Center - NPS History Collection
  • Job Reference #: 4170
  • Job Qualifications:

    Must be a current student or recent graduate of a graduate-level program in archives, Masters in Library or Information Science, or a closely related degree. Attention to detail required. Able to communicate in a clear, concise manner. Experience with using computer software (e.g., word processing, excel, adobe suite, and database programs) required.

    This is an in-person internship; limited situational telework is available to accommodate doctor’s appointments, inclement weather, etc. if needed.

  • How to Apply:

    Click on the application button at this listing and follow the instructions to apply online.

  • Job benefits: Paid Time Off (PTO); Public Lands Corps Federal Hiring Authority
  • Physical Demands / Work Environment: Work involves prolonged sedentary periods during research which can be relieved to some degree with available standing desks. Preventive conservation tasks involve bending, climbing ladders, and spending extended periods working in museum storage areas. Use carts or other means to move boxes weighing between 5 and 40 lbs. within the facility.
  • Application Email: manager@preservenet.org

Website National Park Service/NCPE Internship Program

The NPS History Collection at Harpers Ferry Center is the bureau museum collection. It exists because the NPS is more than the sum of its parks; it is an idea and an ideal, a mission and a model for the world. The 3.5 million objects and archival materials collectively Servicewide stories to preserve and share the history of the NPS.

The National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE)’s Internship Program is a partnership with the National Park Service and other Federal agencies responsible for cultural resource protection and public land management. The purpose is to accomplish needed and important work on federally protected lands while providing program participants with professional experience in their chosen fields. Interns work under the guidance of agency staff who are subject area experts to carry out the mission of the park.

To be eligible, applicants must be between 18 and 30 years old (or 35 if a veteran) when starting the internship, a post-secondary student (certificate program, 2-year, 4-year, or graduate level), or a recent graduate (within the past 12 months at the time of application), and a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.  

The successful candidate will work with National Park Service (NPS) History Collection archivists to process, arrange, and describe archival collections. The intern will assist with research requests, including scanning materials and embedding metadata per standard operating procedures. Additional duties include conducting environmental monitoring, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and museum housekeeping in archives storage areas. The intern will be part of a team that assists each other as needed to help everyone succeed. Training will be provided in the use of the Museum Collections Management System (MCMS) and the Department of the Interior’s collections management database system.

Housing is not provided but may be found in the local area. Public transportation in the area is limited (see https://www.eptawv.com/ for services and routes).

The work schedule is Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A full-time (40 hours per week) schedule is preferred; part-time may be considered. All NCPE interns accrue 4 hours of paid time off (PTO) for every 80 hours worked. A background security investigation may be required prior to the start date.

Qualified NCPE interns who complete their internships may count their position towards earning a Public Land Corps (PLC) Non-Competitive Hiring Authority certificate.  Once earned, the PLC certificate may be used to apply for eligible Federal permanent, temporary, or term positions. Visit https://preservenet.org/ncpe-internships/ for details about this benefit. Successful completion of the internship does not guarantee Federal employment.