Head of Systems and Services

London

£43,000 - £50,000

35 hours per week

ASAP Start

About the company

We are actively recruiting for a Head of Systems and Services for our global professional membership body client based in London. This is a permanent position starting ASAP and will report to the Library Director and the position will sit on the Library’s Senior Management Team whilst overseeing 16 Full Time and Part Time staff.

What you will be doing

The postholder will oversee the development and delivery of the Library’s resource discover and management systems. You will lead, develop and motivate public facing teams who are responsible for 5 key strands of the Library (Systems, Information Centre & Reading Room Services, Imaging Services, Publications Index and Book Cataloguing)

• Working collaboratively with the technology team, and other stakeholders, to ensure Library strategies support, and are integrated with, wider organisational goals

• Product ownership, strategic development and delivery of collection management and resource discovery systems, including an ILMS and DAMS, and ensuring smooth day-to-day operation

• Oversees the development and delivery of effective, user-friendly physical and remote information/enquiry services to 40,000+ members, clients and to the wider public

• Product ownership and strategic development of the Library’s income generating web shop including preservation, growth and promotion of a 100,000+ digital image database

• Oversees development and delivery of book cataloguing and The Architectural Periodicals Index, the latter one of the world’s leading abstracting & indexing services

• Champions excellent public-facing customer service and oversees service evaluation 

• With colleagues, develops strategies to enhance BAL metadata to enable and to maximise its exposure via national and international discovery services   

• Contributes actively and creatively to business planning & budgeting cycles as a member of the Library Senior Management Team and manages selected budgets

• Leads, develops and motivates multiple teams, ensuring staff are able, within prevailing resource constraints, to maximise their collective and individual potential through stretching but achievable objectives

• Tracks and evaluates emerging technologies, advising on their relevance and potential application within a Library and/or organisation-wide context. Actively participates in relevant professional networks and shares learning with the wider team

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Why you’ll be hired

• Postgraduate qualification recognised by Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals or the Archives & Records Association or proven equivalent experience

• Minimum of five years’ senior level experience, ideally in a library or archive setting within a cultural heritage or memory organisation and with multi-function responsibilities

• Proven senior level experience of managing and developing library and archive management systems, from both a back-office and public-facing perspective

• Demonstrable and broad experience of business planning and project management

• Strong and demonstrable experience of budget management/financial accountability and the ability to work within, and maximise, tight budgets

• Experience of managing/developing commercial imaging services, licensing and IPR is highly desirable as is practical experience of initiating and developing programmes of digitisation

• Sound knowledge of international data and exchange standards relating to description, administration and preservation of printed matter, archival and other special collection materials including but not restricted to MARC, RDA, Dublin Core, EAD, OAIS and IIIF

• Substantive experience working with users and staff (technical and non-technical) to gather user, business/technical requirements to develop/procure systems and services

• People person, with an active interest and experience in improving services and facilities for physical and virtual visitors and proven experience of service evaluation 

• Strong influencing skills with an ability to communicate complex concepts, verbally, in writing, and through presentations to wide-ranging stakeholders.

Why you should apply

This is a great opportunity for an exceptional candidate to work for this global professional membership body

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

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