INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES
Director of the International Tracing Service (ITS)
The International Tracing Service (ITS) was established by the Allies at Bad Arolsen in Germany following the end of the Second World War for the purpose of tracing missing persons who had suffered persecution by the Nazis. The ITS was also given the task of collecting, classifying, preserving and rendering accessible to governments and interested individuals, including survivors and/or the families of Nazi victims, the documents relating to persons persecuted by the National Socialists in concentration camps and other sites of internment and persecution or as forced labourers to non-Germans who were displaced as a result of the war. The ITS today holds over 30 million documents pertaining to 17.5 million persons.
The ITS comes under the authority of the International Commission for the International Tracing Service (IC-ITS) which is comprised of eleven states: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom and United States of America. Between 1955 and 2012 the International Commission managed the ITS through the good offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, which then also provided the Director. The government of the Federal Republic of Germany has funded the work of the ITS since 1955.
In 2007 the International Commission decided to open up the archives for public research. While continuing the preservation and tracing work of the ITS, the intention was to facilitate an expansion of its activities to include the development of the ITS into a center for documentation, information and research, which will ensure that the fates of those who fell victim to National Socialism and of the survivors continue to be studied for the enlightenment of future generations.
The new mission of the ITS is expressed in the following terms:
To preserve, conserve and open up the ITS archives to public access; to modernise and make more effective its services to Nazi victims and Holocaust survivors and those who seek to trace the fate of family members persecuted by the Nazis and their allies; and to integrate the ITS into the European and international network of research and educational institutions focused on Nazi persecution, the Holocaust, forced labour and displaced persons.
The Director is recruited and appointed directly by the International Commission. The Director, who also serves as the Secretary of the International Commission, is responsible for directing and administering the ITS and for implementing the policy decisions taken by the International Commission. The Director will be accountable to the International Commission in accordance with the terms of the new ITS Berlin Agreement, which replaced the 1955 Bonn Accords and came into effect on 1 January 2013. The Director is responsible for leading and administering an organization of some 270 people, mostly local German citizens. The tracing and other humanitarian work of the ITS remains one of the central tasks of the operation and will continue to generate decisions that require political, legal, archival and human sensitivity. The growing research and educational activities of the ITS have however taken on increased prominence and require a responsiveness to international, academic and archival concerns. The ITS, now a participant in the EHRI (European Holocaust Research Infrastructure) II program and one of seven permanent international partners of IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance), must continue to develop close relations with other bodies working in the field, whether they be archives, research institutions or places of commemoration.
The Director will work closely with member states, especially the host country with special responsibilities for financial management, and with those states which have themselves taken digital copies of the Bad Arolsen archives. The Director will also work together with the Institutional Partner, currently the Federal Archives of the Federal Republic of Germany, with which the International Commission has entered into a Partnership Agreement. The Institutional Partner advises on the implementation of policy in fields such as human resource management; conservation and preservation; cataloguing and indexing; and budgeting and auditing.
Personal Characteristics
The International Commission is looking for a new Director with proven administrative skills and a capacity to inspire and lead the ITS to achieve the humanitarian, curatorial, educational and research goals established by the International Commission. Candidates may be of any nationality, but an ability to speak and write English and German fluently is essential given the composition of the staff, the nature of the archives and the complexion of the International Commission; and a facility with other languages, in particular a working knowledge of French, will be a distinct advantage.
The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the National Socialist era from 1933 to 1945, the Holocaust, the history of National Socialist persecution as well as the historical experiences of the Second World War and its aftermath. He or she must understand the sufferings of the various victims and survivors of the National Socialist regime and sensitivities towards the expectations of those using the tracing service to learn of the experiences and fate of their family members.
While good leadership and administrative skills are paramount, the new Director will be required to show an understanding of the political, research, educational and humanitarian significance of the archives and a readiness to facilitate improved public access to the archives with respect for privacy considerations laid down by the International Commission. S/he will advance educational initiatives and research based on ITS archives and documents.
Professional Experience
Academic Background:
Candidates should have an advanced university degree (Master or equivalent or greater academic qualification).
Management
: Candidates should have a demonstrated track record of successful and skilful leadership in a similarly complex institution, based on evidence of increasingly responsible, substantive experience as a manager of people, processes, and budgets.
Leadership
: Leadership style needs to be collaborative and collegial, with a significant dose of political and international savvy. Candidates should be able to show an ability to work together productively with the institutional partner designated by the International Commission, the national repositories of digital copies of the ITS archives in member states of the IC-ITS, the multiple current and potential constituencies of the ITS, and the various institutions with which ITS may undertake special projects and initiatives. Candidates must show the readiness and ability to identify issues of gender equality and to act in awareness of gender equality.
Vision
: Candidates must present evidence in the ability to think and plan strategically. Administrative experience should reflect talent for articulating vision, achieving the definition of short- and long-term goals in a consensus-driven situation, and, through delegation and in cooperation with senior staff, confidently overseeing the timely implementation of goals.
Decision-making
: Candidates must present evidence of an ability to make decisions that are thoughtful, well-founded and convincing, and which balance and reflect the multiple interests of the many parties and interest groups involved.
Financial management skills
: Candidates must have an aptitude for budget development and resource management, and experience in aligning resources with strategic institutional goals.
Presence and Relationship-building:
Candidates must have the personal and professional presence to establish effective relationships with the senior leadership of the Institutional Partner and officials of the German Government; with representatives of the member states; and with international institutions and individuals that take an interest in the work of the ITS.
Communications
: Candidates must show good listening and speaking skills with which to promote and communicate the work of the ITS.
Terms of Appointment
The ITS will offer a contract and remuneration appropriate to the international significance of the appointment. Remuneration will include a monthly pre-tax salary of at least � 7000 plus allowances as applicable. Further details will be available for short-listed candidates.
The appointment, which will start on 1 January 2016, will be for a period of five years, renewable for up to another five years subject to a probationary period of six months, satisfactory performance and the approval of the International Commission.
As stated in the new ITS Agreement, "the Director of the International Tracing Service shall enjoy mutatis mutandis the same privileges and immunities as career consular officers according to Articles 40 to 47 and 52 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations in the Federal Republic of Germany, unless he is a national of or permanently resident in the
Federal Republic of Germany. In the latter case, he shall enjoy immunity from jurisdiction and personal inviolability only in respect to official acts performed in the exercise of his functions."
Equal Opportunities
We promote equal professional opportunities for men and women. That is why we invite in particular women to apply for the position. If suitability, capability and professional performance are equivalent, women will be given consideration pursuant to the German law on equality; persons with serious disabilities will be considered pursuant to Statute Book IX of the German social law.
Application Process
Applicants are invited to complete the attached Candidate Application Form, to be submitted electronically at http://nomination.its-arolsen.org in English, together with a CV/resume and a cover letter explaining their interest in and qualification for the appointment as Director of the ITS at Bad Arolsen by 14 May 2015. Short-listing of candidates will occur in June with final selection interviews held in July. An appointment is expected to be announced by the end of July.
The email address for inquiries is: directorate@its-arolsen.org
