Archive Media Manager

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty seeks an Archives Media Manager to regulate and manage life cycles of media files for archiving in its Prague headquarters.

The Archives Media Manager will report to the Manager of the RFE/RL Digital News Library and will play a key role in daily processing and preparation of files selected for long-term preservation according to RFERL Archive policies.

The Archives Media Manager will participate with the Prague Archive team in building, maintaining, and providing access to the RFERL Archives. 

The Archives Media Manager will monitor and control file creation and purging on regular schedules to maintain the operating health of Prague Production Storage, Archive’s Media Asset Management system and delivery environments.

The Archives Media Manager will also coordinate closely with Archives Librarians to create archive master files based on their selections and approval.

The selected Candidate for the Archives Media Manager will join the RFE/RL Archives team in a transition period, as the company will soon adopt a centralized Newsroom Production System and many of our workflows and responsibilities will be transformed over the next six months by new software, systems, and increased responsibilities overall for media management and archives.

Candidates for this position should have knowledge and experience in file QA and QC, troubleshooting media files, and assessing quality and integrity of files using various production and analysis tools.

Candidates for this position should show an active interest in technological solutions that can increase productivity and efficiencies for archive workflows, and should be knowledgeable about video codecs, media encoding, file storage and transfer technologies, as well as general data security practices as related to asset transfer and storage.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Compiles and prepares video files chosen by Archives Librarians for archive. Concatenates multiple camera-originals, prepares designated files for ingest to the archive system. Provides QA/QC, normalizing, and transcoding on these files as needed. With the Archives Librarians, creates schedules of review, compilation and deletion of files from the Production Storage for archiving. Troubleshoots and repairs files where possible.

• Coordinates with the Senior Media Manager for Bureaus to schedule and receive file deliveries from the field and from bureaus. Educates Prague based Production Teams on the policies and procedures for accessing files in designated locations on Prague Production Storage.

• Collaborates with Prague Engineering and/or IT to regulate permissions and access to Prague Production Storage Network Attached Storage.

• With the Senior Media Manager for Bureaus, documents and communicates required Standard Operating Procedures related to Archive selection, encoding, ingest, and file transfer. The successful candidate should be comfortable creating documentation for the Archive unit and should be knowledgeable about compiling and presenting statistics related to media management processes.

• The Media Manager will provide support in video research requests. This will include searching the MAM and other storage locations, executing file restores from Archive storage, moving Archive files to designated watch folders.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education:

Bachelor’s Degree [or equivalent] preferred in a related field or subject area: Video/Audio Production, Engineering, or Telecommunications.

Work Experience:

Experience in broadcast or digital media distribution environment (1-2 years minimum).

Competencies:

Demonstrated experience with the following technologies or practices:

• File delivery and linear and digital distribution workflows and software.

• Transcoding and encoding software.

• File analysis and QC tools.

• Video formats, framerates, codecs and containers; audio file formats.

• Familiarity with Media/Digital Asset Management systems.

• Experience working in a video news organization (broadcast or online) is desirable.

• Experience with storage (SAN and NAS) management.

• Basic video editing skills, knowledge of video editing software.

• DNG/ENG field recording and video delivery workflows.

• Ability to assess solution outcomes and apply critical thinking in decision making.

• Ability to quickly anticipate, trouble-shoot and resolve problems.

• Keen attention to detail and highly organized.

• Ability to effectively communicate, carry out directives, and professionally maintain client-customer relationships in a diverse, inclusive, multi-lingual work environment.

• Ability to work under deadline pressure. Willingness to work flexible hours as needed.

Languages:

English language, advanced (mandatory).

Russian language, advanced; or proficiency in another of RFERL’s service languages (strongly preferred).