Digital Archivist
Preserves and provides access to born-digital and digitised records. Manages digital preservation systems, develops metadata standards and ensures long-term access to government, institutional and cultural records.
- AI exposure
- 64 of 100, moderate exposure
- Hiring trend
- Rising
- Hiring rate
- 38%
The role
What the work is, what it pays, and what it costs you.
At a glance
- Remote friendly
- Yes
- Freelance potential
- Medium
- Time to senior
- 7 years
- Adaptation level
- Moderate
A day in the role
Runs automated format identification on a batch of legacy files, creates preservation metadata records, tests a format migration workflow, and updates access policies for a newly digitised collection.
What it pays
Kenyan market, per month- Entry
- KES 65,000-95,000
- Mid
- KES 120,000-190,000
- Senior
- KES 230,000-380,000
Exposure
How much of this a machine can already do, and how that was worked out.
Where this rating sits
1,516 rated careersRated above 85% of the 1,516 careers in the catalogue, which averages 43. Inside arts & humanities the mean is 50, across 84 careers.
What the rating is made of
Share of recorded tasks- Machine does it
- 20%Software can already complete this work end to end.
- Machine assists
- 40%A person still decides, but the drafting is done for them.
- Person does it
- 40%Judgement, relationships and accountability that do not transfer.
Named task by task
Already automated
- Automated file format identification
- Generating metadata from document content
- Batch OCR of scanned documents
- Detecting duplicate records
Still human
- Developing digital preservation policies
- Designing metadata schemas
- Managing access and rights frameworks
- Curating digital collections
- Ensuring long-term format migration
Getting in
The routes into the role and what each one asks for.
What to study
8 courses- Diploma in Church MusicKsh 54,000a year
- Bachelor of Biblical StudiesKsh 57,600a year
- Bachelor of Biblical TheologyKsh 57,600a year
- Bachelor in Interactive Media TechnologyKsh 79,000a year
- Diploma in Journalism and Media StudiesKsh 96,000a year
- Diploma in Information ManagementKsh 100,330a year
- Diploma in Records Management and Information TechnologyKsh 100,330a year
- Diploma in Library and Information StudiesKsh 107,000a year
How people get in
Library science or history degree
4 yearsHigh cost
BA from UoN, KU or Kenyatta University
Archival studies certification
1-2 yearsMedium cost
SAA certification or equivalent
Who hires
- Kenya National Archives
- National Museums of Kenya
- University of Nairobi Library
- Parliament of Kenya
- ICRC Kenya
Common misconceptions
Digital archives are just cloud storage
Digital preservation involves format migration, metadata standards, access management and long-term sustainability planning.
Once digitised, records are safe
Digital files degrade — format obsolescence and bit rot require active preservation strategies.
What happens next
How the role changes from here, and where it leads.
Supply and demand
- Demand
- 38
- Supply pressure
- 10
- Balance
- High demand
What to learn
- Digital preservation standards
- Metadata schemas
- File format migration
Related careers
Kenyan market notes
Kenya National Archives and university libraries are digitising collections. Government records management is moving digital, creating demand for archivists who understand digital preservation.
Further reading
This role is rated 64 out of 100 today. Save it and the app keeps that number, then tells you by how much it has moved when the record is next reviewed.