Photo Database Volunteer

Official Title: Photo Database Volunteer

WCS Canada Internal Title: Photo Database Volunteer
Position Level: 4

Position Type: Term, Part-time volunteer

Office/Program: Finance and Operations

Position Location: Remote in Canada

Date Written/Revised: March 27, 2026

Reports To:
Eric Schwab, Digital Asset Manager

Supervises (Direct supervision only): N/A

Term: April 27,2026 to September 7, 2026

Vacancy: Currently Open

Salary: N/A

Start date: April 27, 2026

Position Contact: Eric Schwab, Digital Asset Manager

Benefits: N/A

Application Closing Date: April 13th, 2026 at 6PM ET.

Position Summary

The Photo Database Volunteer supports Wildlife Conservation Society Canada by helping to organize, enrich, and maintain its growing collection of digital media assets. Working closely with the Digital Asset Manager, the volunteer adds and refines metadata for photos and videos, applies standardized keywords, and ensures assets meet organizational quality and accessibility standards.

This role contributes to strengthening WCS Canada’s digital media infrastructure, enabling staff across communications, science, fundraising, and partnerships to efficiently locate and use visual materials. This opportunity is well suited to detail-oriented individuals interested in conservation, digital asset management, or metadata work. The position offers flexible, remote, hands-on experience with professional digital asset workflows while contributing directly to conservation outcomes.

Position Objectives:

• Enhance Metadata Quality and Consistency
  Improve the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of digital media metadata by adding essential information such as titles, dates, creators, and locations, while ensuring alignment with WCS Canada metadata standards and style guidelines.

• Strengthen Searchability of Digital Assets
  Apply standardized keywords and controlled vocabulary terms to photos and videos to improve search functionality, support efficient asset retrieval, and increase the long term value of the media library.

• Improve AI-Assisted Tagging Outputs
  Review, refine, and correct AI generated image descriptions and keyword suggestions to ensure accuracy, accessibility, and relevance for internal communications, scientific reporting, and public outreach.

• Supply Digital Asset Integrity and Organization
  Identify and flag duplicate files, low quality items, or assets with incomplete metadata for review, contributing to a more reliable and usable digital asset collection.

• Build and Apply Digital Asset Management Skills
  Develop practical experience with metadata standards, including Dublin Core, controlled vocabularies, and DAM workflows while supporting continuous improvement of WCS Canada’s digital media systems.

Principal Responsibilities:

• Add and maintain core metadata for photos and videos, including titles, dates, creators, and locations, ensuring accuracy and completeness.
• Review, correct, and enhance AI generated descriptions, captions, and keywords to meet WCS Canada’s communication and scientific requirements.
• Apply approved keyword lists and controlled vocabulary terms to improve consistency and searchability across the digital media library.
• Identify assets requiring follow up, including duplicate files, low quality images, or incomplete metadata, and flag them for review.
• Contribute to the long-term organization, accessibility, and preservation of WCS Canada’s visual media assets.

Required Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• Strong attention to detail and an interest in organizing information.
• Comfort learning new software tools and curiosity about AI assisted workflows.
• Interest in wildlife conservation or environmental science.
• Ability to work independently and meet commitments.
• Basic computer skills. No advanced technical background is required.
• Strong problem-solving skills and a resourceful mindset.

Preferred Qualifications, Skills and Experience

• Experience with metadata, libraries, archives, or digital asset management systems.

Technical Requirements

• Reliable internet connection.
• A computer capable of running a current web browser such as Chrome or Firefox to access browser-based DAM platforms.

How to apply

Please submit your resume with a cover letter explaining your interest in this position and relevant skills and experience.

For questions regarding the position, please contact Eric Schwab at eschwab@wcs.org

For questions regarding the application process, please contact Okechukwu Ezibe at oezibe@wcs.org

Application closing date: April 13th, 2026 at 6PM ET.

WCS Canada does not use AI to screen, assess or select applicants.

Accessibility and Inclusivity

WCS Canada is committed to creating an inclusive and accessible work environment. We are dedicated to providing accommodations throughout the hiring process, in accordance with applicable accessibility and human rights legislation.

If you require accommodations at any stage of the recruitment or selection process, please contact us via email at wcscanadacomms@wcs.org or by phone at 437-770-2776. We will work with you to meet your needs in a timely and respectful manner.

We recognize that strong candidates may hesitate to apply if they do not meet every listed qualification. If you are enthusiastic about this opportunity and believe you have relevant experience and skills, we encourage you to apply.

Office Safety Plan Compliance

WCS Canada is committed to providing and maintaining a safe environment for our employees, contractors, and partners. As part of this unwavering commitment to safety, it is a condition of employment that Office-based WCS Canada employees be compliant with the respective Office Safety Plan, which includes being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a COVID-19 vaccine series approved by Health Canada or the World Health Organization. This condition is subject to the requirements of applicable human rights legislation.

About WCS Canada

WCS Canada (www.wcscanada.org) was established as a Canadian conservation organization in July 2004. We are committed to championing accessibility, diversity, and equal opportunity. Our mission is to save wildlife and wild places by improving our understanding of and seeking solutions to critical problems that threaten key species and large wild ecosystems throughout Canada. We implement and support comprehensive field studies that gather information on wildlife needs and then seek to resolve key conservation problems by working with a broad array of actors. WCS Canada has a track record of our science being recognized as relevant, credible and legitimate by researchers, NGOs and agencies. WCS Canada is independently registered and managed, while retaining a strong collaborative working relationship with sister Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) programs in more than 60 countries.

Diversity and inclusion are core WCS Canada values. We value the diversity of the people we employ and work with and we strive to provide an inclusive and equitable workplace in which we recognize the unique characteristics, skills and experiences of all employees. We are committed to engaging our employees in our diversity, equity and inclusion work and together we aim to create a workplace where all staff feel they belong and can grow.

WCS Canada’s programs occur on the homelands of Indigenous Peoples whose relationships various governments are described in historic Treaties, modern land claim agreements, and negotiations around unceded lands. We recognize and support Indigenous Peoples in Indigenous-led conservation initiatives as well as the international ecological and social commitments and responsibilities to Indigenous Peoples that Canada has signed, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Our commitment to collaboration with Indigenous Peoples ranges from provision of scientific advice to co-creation of research and conservation priorities. We respect Indigenous knowledge systems and include Indigenous ways of knowing in research and conservation programs. We engage in land use planning and impact assessment processes that affect Indigenous Peoples, seeking ways to advance conservation as well as opportunities to sustain the livelihoods and cultures of Indigenous communities. We seek to motivate positive conservation outcomes by supporting effective governance and decision-making processes by Indigenous communities, particularly by supporting Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas.

WCS Canada is committed to contributing to the field of conservation science and the professional development of its employees. Employees are encouraged to participate in professional societies and present their research at conferences and meetings, as well as participate in relevant workshops and training opportunities. Employees are likewise encouraged to mentor graduate students, participate in relevant graduate student committees, and pursue adjunct status with universities as appropriate.