Digital Services Librarian

at  University of Derby

JOB DETAILS

Department
Learning and Teaching
Responsible to
Content & Digital Services Manager
Location
Kedleston Road, Derby Campus
Salary
£36,725 to £39,800 per annum (For exceptional performers, there is scope for further progression up to £50,600 per annum).
Closing date
Sunday 15 September 2024
Contract type
Permanent
Post type
Full-time
Adaptive working type
Hybrid
This role will be based on site, primarily in the named location with the opportunity to work remotely available in line with our Adaptive Working Framework.
Reference
0370-24
About the University
We have one simple promise – to make a positive impact. Through our ground-breaking research, teaching excellence and commitment to sustainable living, we are changing lives for the better.
The University of Derby is a modern university with a modern outlook. Everything we do is driven by delivering excellence and opportunities for our students, our staff and our region.
We have some of the best university facilities in the UK and achieve outstanding results for our teaching and research and have been awarded Gold in the prestigious Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) 2023 – making it one of the top universities in the country recognised for its outstanding student experience and student outcomes.
Financially strong and seriously ambitious we offer our employees an inclusive culture that centres itself around staff wellbeing, where you can be confident you will receive all the help and encouragement you need to build a rewarding career with lots of opportunities to enhance your skills.
About the College/Department
Our Library is one that supports our communities to realise their ambitions by opening up new areas of knowledge & understanding and through fostering applied creative thinking.

At the centre of our approach is a high-quality student experience, outstanding student outcomes and supporting an excellent research environment. With this in mind, our teams deliver against three core strategic themes:

• Community - The original missions of libraries were not about repositories of books or as gatekeepers to knowledge, but about fostering communities of scholars. With that in mind, our focus is on how the Library supports the wide range of communities we have, fostering connection and empowering academic culture.
• Confidence - There is a fundamental role for the Library to ensure all students become confident, independent learners and researchers. We shall support students to develop confidence and applied creative thinking through our academic skills provision and an industry relevant skills offer that enhances performance whilst at university as well as into their chosen future.
• Content - Exploration and access to scholarly content is critical to the process of learning, teaching, research, and knowledge exchange. The Library plays a significant role provisioning scholarly content, working with our academic colleagues and students. We shall work to ensure that relevant content is delivered in a sustainable way and that we leverage technology and metadata expertise that enables our students and academics to explore and access the scholarly record

About the role
As the Digital Services Librarian you will take responsibility for the operational management and delivery of activity in support of the Library’s content and digital services, contributing to and delivering against the Library’s Content and Digital Services operational plan. You will utilise specialist knowledge to configure library platforms, maintain access to library content and work collaboratively to resolve technical issues with the Library’s digital environments.
About You
To be successful in this role you will be self-motivated and able to work collaboratively. You’ll leverage your experience in managing and delivering user-focussed services, delivering successful projects, and your ability to manage and motivate people to deliver services that align with the University’s strategic priorities.

Principal accountabilities

• Working collaboratively, develop and manage operational support for the Library’s digital environments, delivering against operational plans and placing strong focus on continuous improvement to align with university priorities.
• Manage the configuration of the Library’s digital environments and tools, ensuring workflows facilitate the management, discovery and access of the Library’s content and information.
• Manage authentication to library content resources, in-line with relevant contractual agreements.
• Manage the investigation and resolution of technical issues associated with the Library’s digital environment, working in cooperation with relevant university colleagues and suppliers.
• Ensure the Library’s digital environment platforms comply with relevant legal and regulatory requirements, including, but not limited to, accessibility.
• Maintain current awareness and knowledge of digital services and products, in the context of existing and emerging needs, to support the Library’s overarching digital environment, synthesising this understanding to optimise service.
• Build positive and effective relationships with colleagues across the University, to promote and support access, discovery and the Library’s overarching digital environment.
• Capture, collate, analyse and report data in respect of the Library’s digital environment, in accordance with defined measures and benchmarks.
• Contribute towards the design of the Library’s digital environment, working in partnership with students and academic colleagues, and manage the delivery of agreed designs, as appropriate, to ensure an excellent user experience for education and research.
• Work collaboratively with external suppliers and colleagues across the University to translate business needs associated with the Library’s digital environment into functional requirements and ensure agreed enhancements are progressed.
• Working collaboratively across the University, lead on the testing of new or amended platform functionality associated with the Library’s digital environment.
• Working with colleagues across the Library, undertake regular user experience and usability testing and utilise learnings derived to plan, implement and monitor any required changes to continuously improve user experience of the Library’s digital environment.
• Lead on creating and maintaining documentation associated with the configuration and procedures associated with the Library’s digital platforms and access to the Library’s digital content resources, providing relevant training across the Library where required.
• Actively participate as a member of working groups across the Library and, where relevant, the wider University to develop and implement policies and procedures, contribute towards decision-making, resolve issues and implement assigned projects.
• Contribute towards the development and implementation of operational plans associated with content discovery, delivery and the Library’s digital environments.
• Provide line management to reporting colleagues as appropriate, defining agreed objectives, securing effective performance management and fostering inclusive approaches to service development.
• Actively promote and support inclusion through operational activities undertaken through the role.
• Undertake continuous personal and professional development in support of the role.
• Be flexible with working pattern and in working at different University sites and supporting other library teams, as required.
• Ensure compliance with relevant University policies and procedures.

Person specification

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s Degree qualification or equivalent relevant professional experience.

EXPERIENCE

• Experience of managing and delivering user-focussed services with an emphasis on continuous quality improvement.
• Experience of configuring and maintaining resource discovery systems and/or Library Management Systems.
• Experience of analysing and translating business needs into functional requirements.
• Experience of building positive relationships and working productively in collaboration with a wide range of colleagues.
• Experience of managing and delivering successful projects in a professional context.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & ABILITIES

• Commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion with the ability to role model, adhere to and advocate the University’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.
• Current knowledge of the technical models related to the discovery and access of digital library content, for example, authentication protocols and OpenURL link resolving.
• An understanding of user experience research techniques to formulate conclusions for service improvements.
• An understanding of metadata and how it applies to discovery and access of library content resources.
• Current knowledge of web accessibility standards and legislation.
• Evidence of high levels of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Ability to resolve unexpected issues, escalating where required.
• Ability to plan, prioritise and organise work and people to achieve objectives on time.
• Confident in approaching new technologies and flexible approach to change.

BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to work across all University sites, as required.
• Ability to be flexible within the working pattern to meet the business needs, including working evenings, weekends, or extended hours.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Postgraduate or additional relevant professional qualification.
• Membership of relevant professional bodies.

EXPERIENCE

• Experience of working within an academic library.
• Experience of web design.

SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE & ABILITIES

• Knowledge of SQL, HTML, XML and CSS.
• Knowledge and understanding of the post-16 education environment.

Benefits

• Generous annual leave entitlement of 38 days inclusive of bank holidays and concessionary days (pro rata)
• Local Government Pension Scheme
• Suite of holistic wellbeing benefits and support including family-friendly policies, generous sick pay provision and comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to a variety of staff discounts at high street retailers
• Discounted onsite gym
• Discounted access to Devonshire Spa
• Holiday trading
• Cycle to Work scheme
• A flexible working environment
• A commitment to personal and professional development

Find out more about rewards and benefitsFind out more about rewards and benefits
Key contact
For further information and informal enquiries regarding the role, please contact Adam Robinson, Content and Digital Services Manager via a.robinson@derby.ac.uk
For enquiries regarding your application and for sponsorship eligibility, please contact the recruitment team via recruitment@derby.ac.uk.
Apply today to invest in your career with University of Derby

• Working collaboratively, develop and manage operational support for the Library’s digital environments, delivering against operational plans and placing strong focus on continuous improvement to align with university priorities.
• Manage the configuration of the Library’s digital environments and tools, ensuring workflows facilitate the management, discovery and access of the Library’s content and information.
• Manage authentication to library content resources, in-line with relevant contractual agreements.
• Manage the investigation and resolution of technical issues associated with the Library’s digital environment, working in cooperation with relevant university colleagues and suppliers.
• Ensure the Library’s digital environment platforms comply with relevant legal and regulatory requirements, including, but not limited to, accessibility.
• Maintain current awareness and knowledge of digital services and products, in the context of existing and emerging needs, to support the Library’s overarching digital environment, synthesising this understanding to optimise service.
• Build positive and effective relationships with colleagues across the University, to promote and support access, discovery and the Library’s overarching digital environment.
• Capture, collate, analyse and report data in respect of the Library’s digital environment, in accordance with defined measures and benchmarks.
• Contribute towards the design of the Library’s digital environment, working in partnership with students and academic colleagues, and manage the delivery of agreed designs, as appropriate, to ensure an excellent user experience for education and research.
• Work collaboratively with external suppliers and colleagues across the University to translate business needs associated with the Library’s digital environment into functional requirements and ensure agreed enhancements are progressed.
• Working collaboratively across the University, lead on the testing of new or amended platform functionality associated with the Library’s digital environment.
• Working with colleagues across the Library, undertake regular user experience and usability testing and utilise learnings derived to plan, implement and monitor any required changes to continuously improve user experience of the Library’s digital environment.
• Lead on creating and maintaining documentation associated with the configuration and procedures associated with the Library’s digital platforms and access to the Library’s digital content resources, providing relevant training across the Library where required.
• Actively participate as a member of working groups across the Library and, where relevant, the wider University to develop and implement policies and procedures, contribute towards decision-making, resolve issues and implement assigned projects.
• Contribute towards the development and implementation of operational plans associated with content discovery, delivery and the Library’s digital environments.
• Provide line management to reporting colleagues as appropriate, defining agreed objectives, securing effective performance management and fostering inclusive approaches to service development.
• Actively promote and support inclusion through operational activities undertaken through the role.
• Undertake continuous personal and professional development in support of the role.
• Be flexible with working pattern and in working at different University sites and supporting other library teams, as required.
• Ensure compliance with relevant University policies and procedures