Head, Data and Open Scholarship

UMass Amherst, the Commonwealth's flagship campus, is a nationally ranked public research university offering a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University sits on nearly 1,450-acres in the scenic Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts and offers a rich cultural environment in a bucolic setting close to major urban centers. In addition, the University is part of the Five Colleges (including Amherst College, Hampshire College, Mount Holyoke College, and Smith College), which adds to the intellectual energy of the region.

Job Summary

The Head of Data & Open Scholarship leads a dynamic and evolving team to develop and deliver forward-thinking and campus-aligned programming, resources, and services to support researchers across the research and data lifecycles; scaffold scalable education and outreach programming and support for students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty; and coordinate project support for innovative work in the realms of digital scholarship, research data, and scholarly publishing. The incumbent will achieve these goals through collaboration with the Associate Dean for Data, Digital Strategies and other units in the division. They will assist University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers in meeting the requirements of funding agencies and publishers and will prioritize the development of strong, collaborative relationships with library subject specialists across multiple disciplines and with relevant units across campus. The incumbent will manage a small team of specialists focused on data management, digital scholarship and digital humanities projects, copyright and information policy, open educational resources, open scholarship/scholarly publishing, research impact, and spatial data and GIS.

The position is responsible for leading, managing, innovating, goal setting, outreach, and assessing all functions of the department in partnership with other departments within the division of Data, Digital Strategies, and Scholarly Communication and across the Libraries. The Head of Data & Open Scholarship serves a critical role in ensuring the Libraries are poised to meet the research and student success goals outlined in the University's strategic plan.

Essential Functions

• Provides vision and direction for the Libraries’ Data & Open Scholarship department, working across all disciplines, including strengthening and promoting existing services and developing new services.
• In collaboration with the unit coordinators, assigns, supervises, and evaluates the work of the Data & Open Scholarship team, and provides mentorship for team members.
• Aligns departmental planning, priorities, goals, and services with the strategic initiatives of the Libraries and the University.
• Makes qualitative and quantitative data-driven decisions and reports on departmental progress regularly.
• Participates in division and library-wide assessment initiatives.
• Keeps apprised of key issues and trends in information and data literacy, research data management and curation, open access, open educational resources, digital scholarship, scholarly communication, copyright and information policy, digital humanities, data visualization, research impact, academic libraries, and higher education, and regularly incorporates this knowledge into planning and sharing of information with library colleagues and campus partners as relevant.
• Serves on internal and external committees as assigned; may be asked to represent the Libraries on campus committees, Five College Committees, Boston Library Consortium Committees, and/or at other selected professional meetings and conferences.
• Participates in professional development and continuing education activities, including service in professional and scholarly associations, and presenting and publishing on work-related topics.
• Works a flexible schedule, which includes some evening, weekend, and holiday hours.
• Performs other related duties as assigned or required to meet the goals of the department, Libraries, and University.

Other Functions

• Perform related duties as assigned or required to meet Department, Executive Area and University goals and objectives. Provide backup in the area of building oversight and some HR functions as needed.
• Serve on internal library committees as needed.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Graduate degree in librarianship (from a program accredited by the American Library Association), or combination of an advanced degree in a relevant subject area and experience in libraries, archives, museums, or similar institutions.
• Minimum of a combination of 4 years supervision and/or leadership experience in an academic library, along with the ability to articulate vision, set direction, and accomplish initiatives in a rapidly changing environment.
• In-depth knowledge of the data and research lifecycles across a range of data types and disciplines.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the evolving landscape of funder requirements for documentation and sharing of research data, articles, and other forms of scholarly output.
• Experience developing and supporting programming (e.g., workshops, invited talks, discussion groups, etc.) in an academic library.
• Background that demonstrates familiarity with tools for working in one or more of the following areas: data science, digital scholarship, digital humanities, open/scholarly publishing, open educational resources, copyright and/or information policy.
• Experience providing consultation or reference services for data and/or digital scholarship in an academic setting.
• Evidence of ability for ongoing professional development and contribution to the library profession.
• Experience building and maintaining cross-campus connections and initiatives.
• Strong organizational, project, and time management skills to lead or coordinate multiple projects and work with minimal supervision.
• Ability to communicate clearly and knowledgeably through a variety of media; ability to represent the Libraries to university and external audiences.

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

• Supervisory experience with professional and/or academic staff.
• Advanced degree in a related field.
• Experience in mentoring and promoting professional development for direct reports.
• Demonstrated interest in FAIR and/or CARE principles and the role of data in open knowledge production.
• Experience with working in an open publishing environment and/or with open access repositories.
• Experience supporting open educational resource production.
• Experience supporting academic engagement with and advocacy for open educational practices.
• Experience writing grants and/or collaboratively supporting faculty grants.
• Familiarity with bibliometrics.
• Familiarity with data visualization tools, trends, and techniques.
• Familiarity with geospatial data.
• Familiarity with generative AI tools and/or machine learning.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

• Typical office environment.

Additional Details

Reports to the Associate Dean, Data, Digital Strategies, & Scholarly Communication, who reviews performance for effectiveness in meeting organizational goals and conformance with established policies but has substantial independent responsibility without immediate supervision.

Work Schedule

• Monday - Friday, daytime hours.
• This position has the opportunity for a flexible work schedule, which is defined by the University as an arrangement where an employee’s work is regularly performed at a location other than the campus workspace for a portion of the week. As this position falls within the Massachusetts Society of Professors (MSP) Union, it is subject to the terms and conditions of the MSP collective bargaining agreement.

Salary Information

• Librarian III or IV.
• Librarian III salary floor: $69,500.
• Librarian IV salary floor: $78,900.
• Salary commensurate with experience.

Benefits

University benefits may differ based on collective bargaining agreements (unions). Please see below for the potential benefits MSP Librarians can be entitled to obtain: benefits for the Massachusetts Society of Professors (MSP) members and benefits for MSP Librarians positions:

• Human Resources: Faculty & Staff General Benefits
• Massachusetts Society of Professors (MSP) Benefits
• MSP Librarian Positions Benefits

Promotion

MSP Librarian positions are eligible for promotion, defined as a change in rank as a librarian from one rank to the next higher rank. The bargaining unit member who gets a promotion shall receive the base salary increase in line with the MSP collective bargaining agreement. You can view the MSP Collective Bargaining Agreement, particularly, article 20, to learn more about MSP Librarian Personnel Actions, including promotion, appointment, reappointment, and continuing appointment.

Special Instructions to Applicants

Along with the application, please submit a resume and cover letter. References will be checked at the finalist stage. Please be prepared to provide contact information for three (3) professional references. Applications will be reviewed on a continuous basis until the position is filled. Early submissions are encouraged.

UMass Amherst is committed to a policy of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, caste, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, disability, political belief or affiliation, pregnancy and pregnancy-related condition(s), veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, natural and protective hairstyle and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination in employment, admission to and participation in academic programs, activities, and services, and the selection of vendors who provide services or products to the University. To fulfill that policy, UMass Amherst is further committed to a program of affirmative action to eliminate or mitigate artificial barriers and to increase opportunities for the recruitment and advancement of qualified minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and covered veterans. It is the policy of UMass Amherst to comply with the applicable federal and state statutes, rules, and regulations concerning equal opportunity and affirmative action.