Head of Library Services

Middlesex

£55,000 - £60,000

Permanent Position

35 hours per week

Aug / Sept Start

About the company

We are actively recruiting for a Head of Library Services for our Higher Education client based in Middlesex. This is a permanent position and will be replacing the current interim employee who will be leaving in September. The role reports to the Chief Information Officer and will be accountable for all Library Staff.

What you will be doing

The postholder will provide strategic direction, professional leadership and managerial support for all Library Services to meet the needs of the organisation and will provide general leadership within Information Services as a member of the Information Services leadership team. This role also provides support for teaching and research within the broad remit of library and information services and scholarly communications. The post holder will have responsibility for the financial management of the service and for ensuring that quality standards are achieved.

The role encompasses the strategic development, management and delivery of a Library service to the organisations community across teaching and research. The post holder will deliver a high quality and cost-effective service encompassing physical and virtual resources within a 24/7 delivery model. In addition, the Library provides support for scholarly communications and information literacy.

Main Duties

Line management role

• Provide overall leadership and operational management for the Library Service, including  customer services; academic services; collection management, and scholarly communications
• Direct, motivate and develop the teams to contribute to the strategic goals of Information Services department
• Manage all staff within the Library
• Maintain a development plan for the Library and initiate development projects accordingly
• Continuously develop the Library’s services and processes to meet customer needs
• Ensure transparent communication within the Library and between the Library and other relevant parties including other units in Information Services, in the organisation and external stakeholders
• Manage the Library’s financial and other resources according to the University processes
• Contribute to extended hours’ operation of the services, and manage people and resources accordingly

Matrix management role

• To take responsibility for the strategic development of the Library service in the context of the organisations Strategic Plan.
• Provide professional leadership of the Library Service and manage the delivery of quality services
• Ensure that the Library meets KPIs
• Define standards and measures for quality across the Library service: monitoring and reporting on these
• To allocate and manage the library budget and ensure clear understanding and agreement of the allocation process
• Ensure value for money in the Library Service
• To ensure effective communication, both within the service and with service users, regarding service developments and quality standards
• To recruit, develop, motivate and manage the performance of the staff within Library Services, ensuring their potential is maximised
• Contribute to the wider library community through professional groups, membership of appropriate committees and networking
• Support the scholarly communication agenda including the Open Access agenda: scholarly publications and research data management
• Lead and/or participate, as required, in projects within Information Services
• Contribute to the Business Continuity plans and help managing Information Services through any such incidents

Senior leadership role

• Ensure, with others, that Information Services provide quality services that are responsive to the needs of its customers and offer value for money
• Support the strategic development of Information Services and, in particular, its project and application aspects
• Provide and contribute to the overall management reporting of Information Services
• Provide support for the Freedom of Information, Data Protection and Complaints Process and any other similar processes
• Act as a role model for the expected behaviour in Information Services

Additional Duties

• Keep abreast of University policies related to the area of responsibility
• Keep abreast and understand related legislation and policies for Library Services, Copyright,  IT and Higher Education
• Maintain knowledge in areas relevant for the role

Why you’ll be hired

• Educated to degree level
• Professional qualification and chartership or demonstrable equivalent experience in Library or Information Management or related discipline
• Experience in and knowledge of the management of libraries
• Knowledge of current trends in pedagogy, research processes, scholarly communications, and the academic publishing and content provider landscape;
• An understanding of the UK Higher Education system, its opportunities and challenges for the library service
• Experience in service performance monitoring and management, including the use of relevant KPIs
• Demonstrable line management experience
• Strong communications and interpersonal skills
• Ability to engage with senior management and / or stakeholders on both operational and strategic topics
• Demonstrable problem-solving skills
• Experience of holding and managing significant budgets.

Why you should apply

This is a great opportunity for an exceptional candidate to work for this higher education client

If you are interested in learning more information about the role.  

Please get in touch on 020 7378 5459 or daniel.rose@suehill.com