Coordinator for Human Dignity Program

Submitted: 08/02/2024
Submitted By: Sabrina Sholts
Department: Anthropology
Institution: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Job type: Temporary
Apply by: 08/16/2024
Application Email: sholtss@si.edu
Application URL:

The Smithsonian Institution (SI) is seeking a Coordinator for its new Human Dignity Program (HDP), a program at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) dedicated to returning non-Native American human remains. The staff of the HDP will be separate from the staff of the NMNH’s Repatriation Office (RO), which repatriates human remains subject to the National Museum of the American Indian Act, and the staff who implement the SI’s Shared Steward and Ethical Returns (SSER) policy, which addresses items in SI collections – but not human remains – that might have been acquired through unethical means or circumstances. However, the work of these three programs is intertwined, requiring close coordination and regular communication. The Coordinator would facilitate this work by coordinating HDP activities with the RO and the SSER programs. The HDP is co-led by NMNH staff Sabrina Sholts (Curator of Biological Anthropology) and Jim Wood (Communications Director) while the process to hire a permanent manager for the HDP is underway, and the Coordinator would work closely with Sholts, Wood, and the Program Manager, as well as liaise between the Office of the Registrar, the RO, the SSER program, and the Anthropology Department at NMNH.

This is a one-year contract with options for two 6-month extensions. Applicants should submit their quote, CV, and other requested information to Sabrina Sholts at sholtss@si.edu by Friday, August 16, as detailed in the Request for Quote found here: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/research/contract_opportunities