Licensing and Rights Officer

About this role

About the National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA) is Australia’s audiovisual archive, telling the national story by collecting, preserving and sharing audiovisual media, the cultural experience platforms of our time. The collection itself dates back to 1935, making it one of the world’s oldest audiovisual collections. It is also one of the country’s most used cultural collections, with around 125 million views of collection content each year. The NFSA is in a period of significant change. Following increased Government investment, the institution is in a process of digital transformation, establishing the NFSA as Australia’s most dynamic and valued cultural organisation. We are rebuilding our curatorial workforce and developing the NFSA’s capacity to digitise our collection at scale – to preserve it for the future, to make sure it can be discovered, and to share it with all Australians. We continue to work on developing a stable, secure and future-proof workforce across our four physical sites based in Canberra and Mitchell in the ACT as well as in Sydney and Melbourne. We are also undergoing a program of business improvement for many of our corporate systems to improve efficiency and reduce manual handling. We are an ambitious organisation, and we aim to be an employer of choice within the Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums (GLAM) sector, providing exciting and challenging work, as well as favourable employment conditions and unique development opportunities for our staff. Cultural Values We are an equal opportunity employer, embracing a diverse range of applicants such as veterans, and people who identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, LGBTQIA community members, individuals with disabilities and/or health conditions, as well as those from varied faith and cultural backgrounds. At the NFSA we prioritise the development of a safe, inclusive, and high-performance culture through shared actions and behaviours that align with our strategy and direction. This empowers our employees to effectively contribute to our goals. The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia is committed to ensuring a child-safe and child-friendly environment. All employees are expected to demonstrate a commitment to, and support for these principles in theory and practice. About the Team The Rights and Distribution team is part of the NFSA Enterprises section, that provides professional access to the national collection through footage sales, theatrical screening loans, and distribution partnerships. The Enterprises section also supports internal teams with rights advice and licensing for projects and partnerships. The Rights and Distribution team is continually looking to improve the efficiency of rights management, to enable greater use of the collection. The Enterprises section is an energetic team committed to providing excellent service to our clients and are based in Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra. The Opportunity The Licensing and Rights Officer will support the work of the Rights and Distribution team regarding copyright arrangements of NFSA’s collections. The position plays a key role in the NFSA Digitisation Strategy by ensuring collection databases and other systems are updated with clear, accurate and current information about copyright and other related arrangement to support access. The role will also support the NFSA’s collection distribution and licensing work, the verification of the rights status of NFSA titles, including from its Film Australia Collection, and assist with the licensing of NFSA-verified content. The Licensing and Rights Officer will work within a busy and dynamic team, working across all areas of the NFSA, including Enterprises, Curatorial, and Marketing & Communications, to assist in clearing material published on the NFSA’s websites and used in exhibitions and other engagement activities. The position requires understanding of the film, sound, broadcast, or digital publishing industries and experience working with copyright material, particularly audio-visual materials. The Licensing and Rights Officer will continue to maintain professional relationships that NFSA has established with its external stakeholders. The Licensing and Rights Officer will apply their ability to work confidently in an information management environment using applications such as Office 365, Content Manager, and media asset databases. In addition, they will be able to identify and navigate a range of database and online resources for research and rights records management. “Please note: This recruitment process is intended to fill both current and future vacancies. While the position on offer is ongoing, a merit pool of suitable applicants may be established to fill similar ongoing or non-ongoing positions within the next 18 months.” Under general direction, this position is responsible for delivering the following functions: • Assist in providing informed advice about licensing and copyright to the NFSA’s Internal teams, including Editorial, Marketing and Curatorial teams. • Investigate the copyright status of titles within the NFSA collection, as well as material sourced from our content partners for NFSA projects and programs. • Undertake straightforward rights clearances for content in NFSA projects, products, and online platforms, including film and television clips, stills and audio material, ensuring systems and rights documentation are maintained. • Research, update and maintain rights information and agreements in the collections database and digital rights management systems and provide reporting on key findings. • Build and maintain positive professional relationships within the NFSA and with industry, rights holders and partner stakeholders and content providers. • Support the development, drafting and implementation of NFSA policies, procedures and guidelines on copyright and licensing issues including initiatives that improve rights awareness at the NFSA, increasing the accessibility of NFSA’s collection while complying with our legal and other obligations. Selection Criteria The successful candidate will demonstrate their capacity against the following: • Demonstrated skills and experience working in, and knowledge of, copyright and licensing in audio-visual content in either a cultural heritage setting or an equivalent sector. • Sound knowledge and understanding of rights ownership in the Australian screen and sound industries, including key producing entities, collecting societies, archives, and government organisations. • Strong research and analytical skills and a demonstrated ability to apply these skills to copyright and rights-based frameworks for audio-visual content, including licensing and other arrangements. • Sound written and verbal communication skills with a demonstrated ability to liaise and communicate concisely and effectively with team members and with relevant stakeholders. • Demonstrated ability to problem solve and to apply judgement and initiative.