About Us

At The Huntington, we believe that having a team of diverse backgrounds and voices working together will enable us to support and promote the appreciation of the humanities, the arts, and botanical science. The Huntington is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, disability, sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by local, state or federal law.

The Huntington

Founded in 1919, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens is a collections-based research and educational institution open to the public, housing world-class library, art, and botanical collections. Its mission is to support research and promote education in the arts, humanities, and botanical science and to display and interpret its extraordinary resources for diverse audiences.

The Culture

Here we are committed to the highest of standards in all that we do – from preserving and protecting the collections, to exhibitions, educational and scholarly programming, visitor and reader services, and beyond. Achieving excellence across these pursuits requires a diversity of perspectives, expertise, experience, and methodologies. We are better together. We believe an explicit commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion directly impacts and improves staff and audience engagement and experience.

Job Description

About the Role

The Preservation Assistant works with environmental monitoring, integrated pest management (IPM), housing collections, and other administrative duties supporting the Preservation Department. This position works under the supervision of the Head of Preservation and Conservation and joins a dedicated team of nine staff in the Preservation Department. The Preservation Department works to preserve and support the accessibility of the Huntington’s book, paper and paintings collections. S/he/they will demonstrate a background of working directly with people from diverse racial, ethnic, geographic and socioeconomic backgrounds, using a welcoming, inclusive, and accessible approach.

Essential Duties

• Works with environmental monitoring and Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Reviews daily the Hanwell environmental monitoring system and sends reports. Maintains the Hanwell system. Working with the IPM team, collaborates on IPM collection and analysis efforts. Sets pest traps, logs, and analyzes data.

• Participates in the Library collections housing program including ordering housing supplies, maintaining inventory, analyzing usage trends.

• Maintains department documentation and records as needed. Records may include data from low temperature environmental equipment (freezers and cold vault), Safety Data Sheets (SDS), and data entry of past treatment reports.

• Assists in preparing agreements for contract conservators. Gathers relevant documents, completes forms.

• Assists with laboratory safety and Cal/OSHA compliance. Assists with annual chemical inventory, compiles SDS binders in proprietary software, and maintains shower and eye wash stations.

• Assists department head with department budget analysis and tracking.

• May assist with housekeeping, surveys, and administrative aspects of interns.

• Participates in collections emergency planning and response.

• Organizes and places department purchase orders.

• Participates in a team-oriented environment where collaboration and shared ideas are the norm.

• Other duties or special projects as assigned.

Candidate Requirements and Experience

Knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Associate of Arts degree or equivalent experience.

• Demonstrated computer and related technology skills. Intermediate to advanced knowledge of a standard suite of Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, and Outlook email and calendar programs; FileMaker pro.

• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively on complex tasks with little supervision; efficient in time management; excellent organizational skills.

• Excellent verbal communication skills.

• Experience in general clerical/office work, preferably in a library/museum, or as a library paraprofessional preferred.

Physical Requirements and Work Environment:

• Walking, stooping, bending, standing, pushing/pulling, climbing (ladders) and reaching above the shoulders and lifting and transporting of items of varying weight.

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer.

• Indoor office, storage areas and gallery settings.

• Pay Range: $22- $24/hr. Commensurate on experience.

• Medical, Dental, Vision

• 403(b) retirement plan and matching retirement plan with an outstanding employer match

• Hybrid remote work schedule available for applicable positions

• Considerable paid time off, including annual leave, sick leave, and holidays

• Discounts for staff in The Huntington Store and restaurants

• Free admission to various museums and cultural institutions

• Free passes each month to welcome family and friends to visit the grounds

EEO IS THE LAW

EEO IS THE LAW - SPANISH