Job Posting Title:

Assistant Director of Research Support & Digital Initiatives, UT Libraries

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Hiring Department:

UT Libraries

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Position Open To:

All Applicants

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Weekly Scheduled Hours:

40

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FLSA Status:

Exempt

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Earliest Start Date:

Aug 01, 2024

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Position Duration:

Expected to Continue

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Location:

UT MAIN CAMPUS

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Job Details:

General Notes

The University of Texas Libraries advances teaching, catalyzes research, and democratizes learning in order to develop critical thinkers and global citizens. As an essential campus partner in building a rich research and learning ecosystem, we are committed to creating and sustaining a community that welcomes and respects all individuals, celebrates different perspectives and experiences, and fosters belonging. To learn more about UT Libraries, please visit our website: https://www.lib.utexas.edu/

Purpose

The University of Texas Libraries seeks a forward-thinking leader, innovative collaborator, and motivational manager for the key leadership position of Assistant Director of Research Support & Digital Initiatives (RSDI). Reporting to the Director of Academic Engagement, the AD of RSDI identifies and implements strategic directions for services and programs to support academic research across all disciplines and in multiple modalities, including reference, research consultation, teaching, liaison work, research data services, open science practices, collection development, curation, and digital scholarship. Engaging directly with faculty, students, and researchers, this position works with resourceful and creative Library staff to innovate, design, pilot, implement, promote, and assess user-focused services that respond to a rapidly changing scholarly environment in support of the Library's mission, vision, and values.

The AD of RSDI leads a department consisting of four teams: Two Engagement Teams of Subject Liaison Librarians are focused on innovative research lifecycle support, digital project work and initiatives, data management planning, and related skill building. The Digital Scholarship Team provides consultation and learning opportunities associated with Digital Humanities and Digital Scholarship and oversees the Scholars Commons and Scholars Lab, physical spaces and programmatic initiatives central to facilitating and showcasing digital project work, supporting all facets of the research lifecycle, and nurturing interdisciplinary community. Research Data Services is the fourth team and they coordinate training and support for data management, GIS, the Texas Data Repository, and engagement with the UT Open Source Program Office (OSPO).

Responsibilities

• Oversee and coordinate research lifecycle support activities and digital initiatives, encompassing analog as well as digital project work to enhance collections and their use, via a department comprised of two teams of domain experts and two teams of subject liaisons. Manage four direct reports made up of two Engagement Team Leads, the Head of Digital Scholarship Services, and the Head of Research Data Services. Work collaboratively with UTL partners and leaders to formulate innovative approaches to engaged involvement in UT Austin's research enterprise.

• Support Academic Engagement projects and initiatives; grow, enhance, and manage a suite of tools and services that promote sustainable and scalable research lifecycle collaboration and digital scholarship support; and facilitate departmental, AE, and UTL-wide teamwork and community in pursuit of stronger internal working relationships and collaboration; and promote AE initiatives.

• Work with Digital Scholarship and Research Data Services Team Leads, and others within UTL, to support research in its many forms, including emerging and established open scholarship methods and digital scholarship/digital humanities, managing digital exhibit proposals and various workflows for digitization and portal or repository ingest, and otherwise support scholarship, open data initiatives, and open science practices within and beyond UTL.

• Serve as a member of the UTL Leadership Council by working in a collaborative and participatory environment to shape strategic directions for the Libraries work in close collaboration with other Libraries staff, faculty, and campus partners to assess, create, and share knowledge. Contribute to general leadership initiatives. Actively partner with UTL administration, other staff, cross-functional teams, and working groups to advance Libraries strategic goals.

• Enhance individual professional skills; participate in training and staff development activities; participate in professional activities on organizational, institutional, and national levels. Maintain active contacts with colleagues in the field. Contribute to professional discussion through presentations, publications, etc.

• Other related functions as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• MLS/MLIS, or equivalent.

• At least five years of significant and progressively responsible management and leadership experience in an academic library.

• At least five years of relevant experience working with the research lifecycle in higher education, including experience providing research services as a liaison librarian, user/access services, instruction in libraries, academia, or similar research settings or other user-centered service initiatives in a library setting.

• Strengths in successfully establishing and maintaining effective and positive working relationships internally and externally and coordinating collaborative efforts across library departments and campus.

• Ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment, embrace organizational change, and lead departmental consensus around strategic objectives.

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills with a focus on diplomacy, transparency, and collaboration.

• Excellent judgment and decision-making in curating and benchmarking priority-aligned strategic goals within the realities of various team skill sets, capacities and annual workflows.

• Project management experience with strengths in strategic thinking, impeccable organizational skills, and connecting varying priorities toward a common goal.

• Ability to effectively supervise, mentor, and support professional growth among library staff.

• Ability to promote and sustain a positive and ethical workplace culture where belonging is centered and the contributions and development of all individuals are valued.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with new information technologies, evolving models of scholarship, including, open access, open data, evidence synthesis, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) with the ability to articulate how these influence teaching, learning, and scholarship.

• Experience in developing and implementing strategic plans and projects.

• Knowledge of assessment techniques and trends in academic libraries.

• Grant writing and/or grant project implementation experience.

• Experience administering and assessing digital library and unique collection initiatives and/or other programs and services relevant to position responsibilities.

• Experience participating in a library fundraising and development program, engaging with new and ongoing donors, and providing stewardship information to major donors.

• Experience managing a branch library or library department.

We want to emphasize that the preferred qualifications are not required and that we are committed to helping our future colleagues develop these preferred skills.

Salary Range

$100,000 depending on qualifications

Working Conditions

• May work around standard office and library conditions.

• Weekend and evening work may be occasionally required.

Work Shift

Monday - Friday between the hours of 7am and 6pm, as arranged with manager. Flexible Work Arrangements available.

Required Materials

• Resume/CV

• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor

• Letter of interest

During your application, you will be asked the following questions:

• How do you ensure clear, consistent, and transparent communication across different teams and the organization?

• Please describe your approach to building relationships internally and externally.

• Please tell us about your leadership strengths and management style. How has it led to developing strong teams that value different perspectives?

• Please tell us how you stay organized and ensure deadlines are met when managing multiple projects.

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure thatALLRequired Materials have been uploaded. Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questionspresented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.

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Employment Eligibility:

Regular staff who have been employed in their current position for the last six continuous months are eligible for openings being recruited for through University-Wide or Open Recruiting, to include both promotional opportunities and lateral transfers. Staff who are promotion/transfer eligible may apply for positions without supervisor approval.

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Retirement Plan Eligibility:

The retirement plan for this position is Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS), subject to the position being at least 20 hours per week and at least 135 days in length.

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Background Checks:

A criminal history background check will be required for finalist(s) under consideration for this position.

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Equal Opportunity Employer:

The University of Texas at Austin, as an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer,complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. The University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all persons and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, religion, or veteran status in employment, educational programs and activities, and admissions.

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Pay Transparency:

The University of Texas at Austin will not discharge or in any other manner discriminate against employees or applicants because they have inquired about, discussed, or disclosed their own pay or the pay of another employee or applicant. However, employees who have access to the compensation information of other employees or applicants as a part of their essential job functions cannot disclose the pay of other employees or applicants to individuals who do not otherwise have access to compensation information, unless the disclosure is (a) in response to a formal complaint or charge, (b) in furtherance of an investigation, proceeding, hearing, or action, including an investigation conducted by the employer, or (c) consistent with the contractor's legal duty to furnish information.

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Employment Eligibility Verification:

If hired, you will be required to complete the federal Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form. You will be required to present acceptable and original documents to prove your identity and authorization to work in the United States. Documents need to be presented no later than the third day of employment. Failure to do so will result in loss of employment at the university.

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E-Verify:

The University of Texas at Austin use E-Verify to check the work authorization of all new hires effective May 2015. The university's company ID number for purposes of E-Verify is 854197. For more information about E-Verify, please see the following:

• E-Verify Poster (English) [PDF]
• E-Verify Poster (Spanish) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (English) [PDF]
• Right To Work Poster (Spanish) [PDF]

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Compliance:

Employees may be required to report violations of law under Title IX and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). If this position is identified a Campus Security Authority (Clery Act), you will be notified and provided resources for reporting. Responsible employees under Title IX are defined and outlined in HOP-3031.

The Clery Act requires all prospective employees be notified of the availability of the Annual Security and Fire Safety report. You may access the most recent report here or obtain a copy at University Compliance Services, 1616 Guadalupe Street, UTA 2.206, Austin, Texas 78701.