Knowledge Organization & Discovery Taxonomist Senior Associate
Knowledge and Learning Division - Felipe Herrera Library
The IDB Group is a community of diverse, versatile, and passionate people who come together on a journey to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Our people find purpose and do what they love in an inclusive, collaborative, agile, and rewarding environment.
About this position
We are looking for a dynamic, data-minded, seasoned taxonomist with deep knowledge of ontological structures, linked data architecture, data flows, and digital discovery practices to join the Felipe Herrera Library team. As Knowledge and Learning Senior Associate, you will be challenged to use your technical knowledge of controlled vocabulary design to increase the discoverability of our knowledge products and accelerate the impact of our knowledge graph. You’ll also be challenged to use your soft skills to clearly communicate your ideas to your team and to coordinate projects and processes with collaborators throughout the institution.
You will join the Felipe Herrera Library team (FHL) within the Knowledge and Learning Division (KLD) of the Vice Presidency for Sectors and Knowledge (VPS). This team is responsible for supporting the creation and publishing of the IDB’s knowledge products, including publications and datasets; providing library services to all personnel, including physical and digital acquisitions of books, journals, specialized databases, and news sources; the creation, maintenance, and improvement of the IDB Knowledge Taxonomy and its schemas used for applying metadata to IDB knowledge products internally in Bank systems, externally in the Institutional Knowledge Repositories, and as the ontological foundation for our Knowledge Graph; and the design, delivery, and improvement of methodologies and systems that enhance access to IDB knowledge such as the Publications catalog (publications.iadb.org), the Open Data catalog (data.iadb.org), the PoolParty ontology management platform, the OCLC federated search application for the library collections, and more. This position will also work closely with members of the Knowledge Management team within KLD.
What you’ll do:
- Use your client service skills to act as responsible focal point for the IDB’s Knowledge Taxonomy, which aims to serve as the backbone knowledge organization system for our open knowledge products and other knowledge assets.
- Use your leadership abilities to coordinate with the knowledge graph and institutional repository teams to optimize and improve the quality of metadata workflows, to lead initiatives for semantic enrichment, and support enhancements to the knowledge graph.
- Apply your knowledge of linked data strategies to improve the discoverability and interoperability of our open knowledge products, and to advocate for taxonomy-driven improvements in search, navigation, and user experience.
- Flex your knowledge of quality assurance strategies to develop and implement taxonomy evaluation processes, including the analysis of term utilization, identifying inconsistencies and potential issues, recurring consultations with subject matter experts in relevant term areas, and via troubleshooting, user feedback, and testing as needed.
- Harness your passion for taxonomy to design, implement, and oversee taxonomy workflows, including ticketing processes, in-line with established internal guidelines and identified good practices and provide recommendations.
- Develop and maintain guidelines for managing metadata and taxonomies to ensure their efficient use throughout their lifecycle.
- Leverage your knowledge of modern technology to identify opportunities to automate recurring processes related to taxonomy management to increase efficiency, reliability, and quality.
- Participate in the scientific dialogue related to discovery and access tools and trends, and keep current in the field through regular participation in professional communities, readings, etc.
- Provide support and guidance on integrating the taxonomy with various systems via APIs, ensuring seamless interoperability and efficient data exchange.
- Coordinate server upgrades and maintenance to ensure the infrastructure supporting the taxonomy system remains robust, secure, and up to date.
What you'll need
Education:
- Master’s Degree or equivalent in Library & Information Science, Data Science/Engineering, Computer Science/Engineering, or other related field with a focus on metadata, taxonomies, ontologies, or other knowledge organization systems.
- Equivalent experience in a highly relevant technical domain may be considered in lieu of an advanced degree.
Experience:
- At least 3 years of relevant experience in each of the following areas:
- designing, developing, documenting and maintaining taxonomies, ontologies, and controlled vocabularies, preferably within digital library, publishing, or research environments, and preferably in multilingual settings.
- familiarity with relevant international standards and schemas such as SKOS, RDF, OWL, Dublin Core, DCAT, schema.org, MARC, BIBFRAME, etc.
- hands-on experience with the PoolParty Semantic Suite platform or other ontology management tools.
- strong experience in linked data applications, data modeling, and knowledge graph development.
- familiarity with graph databases and platforms (e.g. Neo4j, Stardog, GraphDB, etc.)
- strong understanding of linked data principles, semantic web technologies, and knowledge graph architectures.
- experience with semantic search and discovery platforms.
- experience integrating taxonomies and ontologies into digital publishing workflows.
- database query skills in SPARQL and other query languages, as well as the ability to query APIs in a variety of contexts to consume and manage taxonomies and ontologies.
- experience coordinating tasks with product vendors, external partners, and internal stakeholders.
- Previous professional experience in special libraries or academic publishing is desirable, but not required.
- Understanding of core NLP concepts and their benefits for taxonomy management.
- Familiarity with Python and/or other programming languages used for working with data and text, is desirable
Skills:
- Friendly and competent customer service disposition. (Focus on clients)
- Great ability to synthesize and communicate ideas, and to clearly communicate technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. (Communicate and influence)
- Strong project management skills, as well as the ability to work independently, manage your own time effectively, and deliver on schedule.
- Passion for improving knowledge discovery and impact.
- Learn continuously
- Collaborate and share knowledge
- Innovate and try new things
Languages:
- Proficiency in Spanish and English, both spoken and written, is required.
- Additional knowledge of French and/or Portuguese is beneficial.
Do you feel that you don’t completely meet every single one of these requirements but come close? Go ahead and apply and we will evaluate your application.
Requirements
- Citizenship: You are a citizen of one of our 48-member countries. We may offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your eligible dependents.
- Consanguinity: You have no family members (up to the fourth degree of consanguinity and second degree of affinity, including spouse) working at the IDB, IDB Invest, or IDB Lab.
- COVID-19 considerations: the health and safety of our employees are our number one priority. As a condition of employment, IDB/IDB Invest requires all new hires to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Type of contract and duration
- International staff contract, 36 months initially, renewable upon mutual agreement.
What we offer
The IDB group provides benefits that respond to the different needs and moments of an employee’s life. These benefits include:
- A competitive compensation package
- Leave and vacation: 24 days of paid time off + 8 personal days + sick leave + gender- neutral parental leave
- Health Insurance: IDB Group provides employees and eligible dependents with a robust medical benefits program which covers medical, dental, vision, preventive care, and prescription drugs.
- Pension plan: pre-defined pension plan that provides financial security and support employees in planning for their future.
- We offer assistance with relocation and visa applications for you and your family, when it applies
- Hybrid and flexible work schedules
- Health and wellbeing: Access to our Health Services Center which provides preventive care and health education for employees.
- Development support: We offer tools to boost your professional profile such as mentoring, 1:1 professional counseling, training, and learning opportunities, language classes, mobility options, among others.
- Other perks: Lactation Room, Daycare Center, Gym, Bike Racks, Parking, Spouse Career Program, and others.
Our culture
At the IDB Group we work so everyone brings their best and authentic selves to work, willing to try new approaches without fear, and where they are accountable and rewarded for their actions.
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) are at the center of our organization. We celebrate all dimensions of diversity and encourage women, LGBTQ+ people, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply.
We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job interview process. If you are a qualified candidate with a disability, please e-mail us at diversity@iadb.org to request reasonable accommodation to complete this application.
Our Human Resources Team reviews carefully every application.
About the IDB Group
The IDB Group, composed of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, and the IDB Lab offers flexible financing solutions to its member countries to finance economic and social development through lending and grants to public and private entities in Latin America and the Caribbean.
About IDB
The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance, and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.
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