Documentary Assistant Jobs in Virginia (NOW HIRING)

The Center for Digital Editing seeks a collaborative and detail-oriented professional to support its documentary editing and digital publishing initiatives. Working across multiple scholarly projects, this position contributes to the preparation, publication, and preservation of historical documentary editions through a combination of editorial, technical, and metadata-related responsibilities. The role supports the creation and dissemination of scholarly resources by performing editorial research, document preparation, metadata development, XML encoding, and digital publication activities, while collaborating with technical staff to enhance publishing infrastructure and workflows.
Key Responsibilities
• Catalog, transcribe, proofread, and prepare historical documents for publication.
• Conduct data entry, quality control, and editorial review activities to ensure accuracy and consistency across project datasets.
• Research, draft, and revise annotations and other scholarly editorial content.
• Generate and maintain descriptive, administrative, and technical metadata at both project and cross-project levels to support discovery, interoperability, and long-term preservation.
• Perform XML encoding and volume-to-XML conversion activities in accordance with established editorial and technical standards.
• Assist in the development, testing, maintenance, and enhancement of digital publication workflows and systems.
• Collaborate with project developers to customize and manage Drupal-based publishing environments and related digital infrastructure.
• Participate in the planning and implementation of editorial and technical standards, procedures, and best practices.
• Consult with historians, archivists, librarians, and other stakeholders to identify emerging scholarly and community needs and inform future development efforts.
• Contribute to documentation, training materials, and workflow improvement initiatives.
• Support the Center's broader research, publication, and digital humanities activities as assigned.
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
• Demonstrated ability to conduct detailed editorial work with a high degree of accuracy.
• Experience with research methodologies, historical documents, and scholarly publishing.
• Familiarity with metadata standards, XML technologies, and digital humanities methodologies.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a collaborative environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
This position will remain open until filled. This is an exempt level, benefited position. The University will perform background checks on all hires (if required) prior to employment. Applicants must be currently authorized to work in the United States. For this role, the University will not sponsor or consider candidates requiring sponsorship for employment visas now or in the future. This is a Restricted position.
Please apply online , and search for R0084880. Complete an application online with the following documents:

• Resume
• Cover letter

Upload all materials into the resume submission field; multiple documents can be submitted into this one field. Alternatively, merge all documents into one PDF for submission. Applications that do not contain all required documents will not receive full consideration.
Internal applicants: Search and apply for jobs on the UVA Internal Careers website .
• Ability to work effectively with interdisciplinary teams, including scholars, librarians, archivists, and technical staff.
• Strong analytical, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience with documentary editing, scholarly publishing, or digital humanities projects.
• Familiarity with XML encoding standards (e.g., TEI) and metadata frameworks.
• Experience with Drupal or other content management systems.
• Knowledge of historical research methods and archival resources.
• Experience working with digital publication platforms and workflows.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:
Education: Bachelor's degree required.
Experience: 3+ years of relevant experience required.
Licensure: None.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
This is primarily a sedentary job involving extensive use of desktop computers. The job does occasionally require traveling some distance to attend meetings, and programs.
The University of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer. All interested persons are encouraged to apply, including veterans and individuals with disabilities. Learn more about UVA's commitment to non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment .