Associate Dean for Collections, Systems and Digital Strategies

The Associate Dean is also responsible for the administration and oversight of library systems and information technology and plays a key role in ensuring that students and faculty are connected to information and information technologies critical to their learning, teaching and research. This position is responsible and accountable for directing, administering, and executing the operational aspects of the Collections, Systems and Digital Strategies department. 

The Associate Dean plays a significant role in all aspects of library-wide planning, budgeting, personnel planning and management, operations, communications, and policy development, and is a key member of the Library Management Team. The Associate Dean represents the library in matters related to enterprise systems, technology and digital initiatives and is the Dean’s primary representative and liaison with other campus units and divisions such as central IT services, the Division of Research, and Academic Technologies. In a highly collaborative environment, this position works with a wide variety of library and campus partners including Colleges, Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, and campus administrative offices to enrich the faculty and student experience.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• A minimum of six years of professional experience in an academic or research library, including at least three years of progressively responsible experience including leadership, management and direct supervisory experience, or comparable experience in a higher education environment.
• Demonstrated ability to independently manage and lead complex projects and initiatives; set goals; manage operating and project budgets and resources; design, implement, analyze, and report on measures of individual and unit performance and effectiveness; and lead/coordinate project resources across organizational lines.
• Experience in providing scholarly resources, data, and/or digital collections in support of teaching, learning, scholarship, and student success. Experience with assessment of scholarly resources and services and with evidence-informed collection development and management strategies. Experience with leveraging resource sharing networks and consortia partnerships.
• Record of research, publication, and scholarly achievement sufficient to meet the qualifications of the rank of Associate Librarian with tenure as specified in the Library Faculty handbook.
• Successful record of supervising and mentoring librarians through tenure track or continuing appointment personnel actions.
• Demonstrated commitment to developing culturally competent teams and to working successfully with a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff. Demonstrated commitment to fostering an inclusive and equitable work environment. Ability to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, and productive work atmosphere.
• Demonstrated experience with personnel management. Comprehensive knowledge of effective personnel management practices and supervisory skills, including motivation, training, professional development, conflict resolution, and progressive discipline, with the demonstrated ability to effectively model appropriate professional behavior.
• Ability to lead in a shared governance and collective bargaining environment.
• Demonstrated knowledge of current issues, trends and opportunities in academic libraries. Knowledge of issues and trends in library technology, scholarly and scientific communications, including trends in publishing across disciplines.
• Demonstrated expertise in one or more areas of the position’s general responsibilities, e.g.: collection development and management, cataloging, electronic resource management, resource acquisitions or licensing, library systems, or digital initiatives. Demonstrated leadership experience and evidence of past initiatives implemented at an academic or research library.
• Demonstrated experience managing a budget including experience with negotiating licenses, and balancing expenses across multiple competing priorities.
• Knowledge and/or experience with issues of inclusivity and equity in collections and cataloging.
• Ability to initiate, establish, and foster communication and teamwork by maintaining a positive, cooperative, and productive work atmosphere. Demonstrated commitment to developing culturally competent teams and to working successfully with a diverse community of students, faculty, and staff. Demonstrated commitment to fostering an inclusive and equitable work environment.
• Demonstrated ability to review and act upon complex individual and organizational problems and make recommendations to influence change in library policies. Ability to provide solutions that are imaginative, thorough, and practical.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain high quality/standards of work, leadership, initiative, ethics, cultural competence, and professional responsibility and judgment. Demonstrated ability to represent the university in a professional and conscientious manner.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently with little instruction; take initiative, anticipate problems, and solve issues in a timely manner.
• Demonstrated ability to exercise tact, sound judgment, diplomacy, and discretion in appropriately handling confidential information and data, interpreting and applying rules, regulations, policies and procedures and/or recommending new policies and procedures.  Demonstrated ability to maintain a high degree of confidentiality.
• Excellent time management, planning, and organizational skills and ability to multi-task, while attending to detail, and meet the demands of multiple deadlines. Ability to manage multiple concurrent tasks with major impact on critical operations of the organization. Ability to adapt to organizational, procedural, policy, and technological changes.
• Ability to assess opportunities for and integrate technology into work environments to increase effectiveness, efficiency, communication, and accessibility.
• Excellent computer skills and proficiency with a wide range of library specific systems, software and applications.
• Working knowledge of or ability to quickly learn University infrastructure, policies and procedures.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

1. A second advanced academic degree.
2. Experience participating in fund-raising and/or grant-writing activities.
3. Experience assessing and negotiating licenses for online resources.
4. Demonstrated success promoting use and awareness of library resources and services. Current experience with web-based communication technologies and with social media.
5. Demonstrated success fostering innovation in library programs or services.
6. Knowledge of and demonstrated experience integrating information technologies in teaching/learning and research environments, and library services and operations.
7. Knowledge of Ex Libris Alma library management system.
8. Demonstrated knowledge in user experience (UX) design and assessment, including the ability to lead initiatives that enhance the overall user journey across both physical and digital library services.
9. Demonstrated skills in an institutional/educational environment utilizing a user/service-centered attitude.
10. Bilingual or knowledge of Spanish or other languages.

How to Apply:

To see the full job description and to apply visit https://jobs.calpoly.edu/en-us/job/544129/associate-dean-for-collections-systems-and-digital-strategies

Position open until filled.