Job Description
The University of London
The University of London is a leading UK provider of distance and digital education internationally, offering programmes to 45,000 students in 190 countries around the world. Although proudly rooted in London, our community and impact are global.
We are a national leader in the humanities, and we promote their value to society and the economy through knowledge creation and exchange.
We are also a federation of 17 world class higher education institutions, with collaboration at the heart of our ethos. The University of London federation is a collective community of more than 240,000 learners and 50,000 staff, delivering world-leading research across all disciplines.
Our passion for increasing access to education and mobilising the collective power and expertise of the federation is central to our ability to transform lives around the world and address the global challenges of the future.
Senate House Library
Senate House Library is the central library for the University of London and the School of Advanced Study. Also serving the wider national scholarly community, it is one of the UK’s largest academic libraries for arts, humanities & social sciences with over 2 million books, 50 special collections and 1,800 archival collections. The Library and its collections have been continuously developed since the 1870s and include many unique and rare treasures.
This is a significant moment in the Library’s history and an exciting time to work with us. In February 2023 we embarked on an ambitious programme of investment and change, the Library Transformation Programme, which will increase the visibility of the Library and its unique collections to the international scholarly community.
A critical component of the Programme is to strengthen our digital offer of tools, resources, materials and collections. We aim to establish the foundations of a digital infrastructure and to create the conditions for digital and information innovation and experimentation, delivering a seamless digital experience for all our users, including distance and online learners, and to promote and increase digital access to our collections.
The Role - Interim Deputy Director, Digital Curation, Access & Engagement
To shape, advise, and build capability and capacity in this area, we have created a temporary leadership position within the Library. This is a senior, high-profile role that will work with colleagues across the University, reporting to the Librarian and Programme Director and with an indirect reporting line to the Chief Information and Digital Officer.
Key responsibilities are to:
- provide strategic direction for digital curation, access and engagement in Senate House Library to ensure it is at the forefront of innovation and development in this area
- own and lead all business aspects required to deliver the digital workstream of the Library Transformation Programme, working closely with Information Technology and Digital Services to specify, select and implement technology solutions
- lead and manage relevant functions, teams and resources and participate fully as a member of the Library’s senior leadership team
The successful candidate will be a strong leader with significant experience and expertise in digital content, its creation, curation, provision, access and discoverability. With experience of defining and leading large-scale projects with multiple stakeholders they will have highly developed communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence, negotiate and network at a senior level.
For a full role profile, please refer to the job description below.
Further information
To be considered for this opportunity, please submit your application and CV (by clicking ‘apply for job’ at the bottom of this page) before the closing date at midnight on 1st May 2024.
The University currently operates a Hybrid Working framework involving a mix of working remotely and in the office. Typically, the majority of employees will be able to agree to work remotely for up to 60% of their working week, role dependent, however will be required to attend on specific days for training or team meetings.
The University of London is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive working environment where we can all be ourselves and succeed. We particularly encourage applications from members of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities as this group is currently under-represented at all levels within the University. All appointments will be made on merit, based on the criteria identified in the job description.
For an informal conversation about the role, please contact Catriona Cannon: catriona.cannon@london.ac.uk
Pursuing excellence in education and equal opportunities.