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Head of Student Services

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Position description

Head of Student Services
Library of the University of California, Davis

Overview of Position

The Library of the University of California, Davis, seeks an innovative, dynamic, and collaborative change agent as Head of Student Services to provide leadership in providing information research and life-long learning skills to undergraduate and professional school students. The position reports to the Associate University Librarian for Research and Learning and will shape and lead a team of professionals to work collaboratively to develop, implement, and maintain library information services for students of UC Davis.

UC Davis and UC Davis Library

The University of California, Davis, is a global community of individuals united to better humanity and our natural world while seeking solutions to some of our most pressing challenges. Located near Sacramento, California’s capital, UC Davis has more than 38,000 students, the full-time equivalent of 4,100 faculty and other academics and researchers, and 17,400 other personnel. The university has an annual research budget of over $785 million, includes a major academic health system, and over two dozen specialized research centers. Recognized as one of the top 10 public universities in the US and the number one university in the world for agricultural research and veterinary medicine, UC Davis offers interdisciplinary graduate study and more than 100 undergraduate majors in four colleges - Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and Letters and Science. It also houses six professional schools - Education, Law, Management, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, and Nursing.

The UC Davis Library is ranked among the top academic research libraries in North America and belongs to the Association of Research Libraries and other organizations that position it to collaborate with other top organizations. The Library is building a team of intensely collaborative, forward-thinking colleagues dedicated to providing excellent services to our students, researchers, faculty, and community members in a rapidly evolving information environment. The successful candidate will be immersed in information literacy concepts, pedagogy and teaching best practices, committed to problem-solving in collaborative and significant ways for the Library and library users, and able to develop innovative solutions to complex problems.
Position Responsibilities

Under the general supervision of the Associate University Librarian for Research and Learning, the incumbent:

Provides leadership as a department head within the Library:
• Recruit, supervise, train, and mentor departmental personnel as individuals and as part of a team. Work with employees to develop job-related development plans and monitor professional training opportunities to ensure personnel have the skills and tools necessary for supporting 21st-century library services in a rapidly changing environment.
• Empower employees to make independent decisions at appropriate operational levels and hold them accountable for successful completion of assignments. Establish workloads and procedures, provide guidance and direction, monitor and evaluate performance, and provide coaching and counseling as needed.
• Align departmental planning, priorities, goals, objectives, and services with strategic goals of the Library and the University.
• Lead the development of services and programs that are user centered and responsive to current and evolving campus needs using human design centered principles to create seamless and responsive services.
• Use data and assessment techniques to support evidence-based changes to services and programs to improve the user experience. Develop and implement ongoing assessment of services and resources; oversee data collection and analysis of statistics to evaluate services and their impact continually.
• Formulate, revise, and implement policies and procedures in response to evolving operational needs. Interpret such policies and procedures for students, faculty, and staff as necessary.
• Help set priorities and lead strategic planning, policy formulation, and personnel, budget, and funding plans and requests under the general direction of the Associate University Librarian for Research and Learning.
• Work creatively, collaboratively, and effectively to promote teamwork, diversity, equality, and inclusiveness within the UC Davis Library and on campus.
• Participate in library-wide planning and governance, and serve as a member of the Library Management Council and other library committees and working groups.
• Represent the Library through participation in campus, local, regional, and national cooperative, outreach, and professional activities.
• Participate in professional development activities as appropriate to meet both personal needs as well as departmental goals and objectives.
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned.
• As an academic appointee engages actively in pertinent ongoing research, scholarship, or creative activity and/or teaching.

Leads and manages the Student Services department:
● Provide innovative leadership within the Library to redefine the future roles and responsibilities of the department, transitioning from a discipline-based focus to include a user community model to prioritize undergraduate and professional student engagement.
● Provide leadership on campus and build partnerships with faculty, university administration, and other campus units to develop, launch and improve the Library’s broadly defined information literacy instruction programs and services for students.
● Provide overall direction for a diverse group of employees to assess and improve an information research instruction program that includes, but is not limited to, developing and refining a research topic, gathering evidence for research through the use of research sources, writing and presenting students’ work, and preserving and sharing student research.
● Develop, launch and improve the library’s support for upper division undergraduate students as they transition from information consumer to information creator.
● Serve as an advocate and collaborator for the Library’s education and information research services by building partnerships with faculty, administration, and other campus units to promote the Library as an academic hub of the University.
● Ascertain information and research needs of undergraduate and professional students; effectively develop and deliver services, resources, and outreach activities that advance the Library’s mission.
● Help design services and resources using current and evolving technologies that align with known and changing classroom delivery methods.
● Maintain knowledge of current and emerging trends and developments in instructional theory to advance teaching methods and assessment of student learning.
● Integrate pedagogy with knowledge of current and emerging trends in library instruction and information literacy in order to develop and deliver high impact instruction.
● Collaborate with other Library programs and units to design targeted outreach programming for groups beyond the Davis campus including community college and high school students.
● Develop new initiatives and strengthen existing campus partnerships to further student success in degree completion and for lifelong learning.

Required Qualifications for the Position

● Graduate degree in library or information science from an ALA-accredited institution, or equivalent, or advanced degree in a related field.
● Five or more years of experience exercising progressively more demanding management and supervisory skills and abilities in librarianship or a related field OR five or more years of experience and demonstrated achievement in outreach, research support, or educational services in an academic, clinical, or research library.
● Demonstrated strong and effective managerial and organizational skills with an ability to lead and motivate library professional and paraprofessionals and other library personnel; communicating with personnel, articulating vision, setting goals, managing time, promoting teamwork, meeting deadlines and resolving conflicts.
● Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively with multiple constituencies in a complex and rapidly changing, matrix-based environment; excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to work successfully in an intensely collaborative environment with complex workgroups comprising a broad range of people from culturally diverse backgrounds including colleagues, administrators, students, faculty, donors, and alumni.
● Demonstrated ability to use data and assessment techniques to support evidence-based changes to improve the effectiveness of services and programs, especially library instruction.
● Demonstrated expertise in developing effective services to support the research and learning needs of undergraduate and professional students.
● Significant experience in collaboratively developing and implementing innovative library instruction and information literacy services in an academic research library.
● Experience with relevant academic and instructional design technologies, such as Camtasia and Adobe Captivate, and the application of new technologies in instruction.
● Experience with the design and implementation of online learning materials.
● Experience with Canvas or other Learning Management Systems.
● Demonstrated knowledge of library instruction and pedagogical theory and instructional methods as well as knowledge of current and emerging trends in instructional and research support services for undergraduate and professional students.
● Significant experience with curriculum mapping or other program-level assessment initiatives.
● Demonstrated commitment to professional development. Record of accomplishment in research, scholarship, or creative activity and/or teaching consonant with an academic appointment.

Preferred Qualifications for the Position

• Experience with first-year experience courses and/or delivering library services to traditionally underserved students.
• Experience managing in a collective bargaining setting.
• Experience with recruiting or managing a diverse staff.
• Strong record of ongoing and sustained professional engagement, such as service in library organizations, presentations at conferences, or peer-reviewed publication.
• Record of accomplishment in research, scholarship, or creative activity and/or teaching consonant with an academic appointment

Salary and Benefits

Salary: Associate Librarian to Librarian $64,395 to $123,327. (Appointment rank and salary based on qualifications and experience.)

This position is not covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

Benefits: The University of California is one of the largest employers in California, and offers outstanding health and retirement benefits to its employees and their families. Librarians are academic appointees and earn 24 days of vacation and 12 days of sick leave per year. In addition, there are 13 university holidays.
http://ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu/compensation-and-benefits/index.html

Application Information

Applications must be submitted via the UC Davis RECRUIT website: https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF02750

Please include a letter of interest addressing qualifications and experience related to the position, a Curriculum Vitae, and names and contact information for at least four references.

Applicants are also required to complete the Statement of Contributions to Diversity. Please visit http://academicaffairs.ucdavis.edu/diversity/equity_inclusion/index.html for information about why diversity statements are requested and guidelines for writing a diversity statement.

Candidates applying by April 15, 2019 will receive first consideration. The position will remain open until filled.

This position is a critical position and subject to a background check. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of background investigation including criminal history and identity checks.

The University of California is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer.

UC Davis is a smoke- and tobacco-free campus effective January 1, 2014.

Application Requirements

Document requirements
  • Curriculum Vitae - Your most recently updated C.V.

  • Cover Letter - Please include a letter of interest addressing qualifications and experience related to the position

  • Statement of Contributions to Diversity - Diversity contributions documented in the application file will be used to evaluate applicants. Visit https://academicaffairs.ucdavis.edu/faculty-equity-and-inclusion for guidelines about writing a diversity statement and why one is requested.

Reference requirements
  • 4-6 required (contact information only)
2023 Forbes Award: Best Employers for Diversity 2023 Forbes Award: Best Employers for Women

Job location

Davis, CA