Research Data Manager

Description

Posted by: Columbia University Libraries

New York, NY, US

Reporting to the Director of the Center for Digital Research and Scholarship (CDRS) (http://cdrs.columbia.edu/), a division of the Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, the Research Data Manager will work closely with the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research, staff within CDRS (particularly the Digital Repository Manager and the Head of the Scholarly Communication Program), data librarians and librarian subject specialists, and others within the Columbia University community on planning, outreach, and policy development to address the data life cycle needs of researchers at Columbia University and its affiliates. S/he will also work closely with the Libraries Digital Program Division staff and the Metadata Librarian on implementation of best practices in data curation, storage, archiving, and preservation.

• Works as an active member of CDRS in a senior role, contributing to the Center’s initiatives and leading specific projects.
• Works with library divisions and appropriate campus units (Executive Vice President for Research, CUIT, Research Computing Executive Committee, etc.) to plan, implement, and evaluate sustainable services for data-intensive research across the university.
• Works with library colleagues to acquire original research data and to provide training and outreach relating to research data.
• Promotes the use of repositories, including Academic Commons (http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/), for data management, public access, and preservation.
• Works with faculty, graduate and post-doctoral students, academic and administrative units, and research centers to enable them to better manage, describe, archive, preserve, and make available university research data.
• Advises and trains faculty, graduate and post-doctoral students, and administrators in writing data management plans.
• Participates in campus initiatives, committees, and task forces related to data management and storage and in developing policies for data management as part of the campus research community.
• Monitors developments in data standards and best practices and participates in discussions regarding cooperative data curation and data life cycle management activities and services on the local, regional, national, and international level.
• Oversees interns interested in working on research data issues.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (preferably in Computer Science, Information Systems, Management Information Systems, Information and Communications Technology, or related degree) or equivalent experience; advanced degree preferred.
• 4-6 years of related experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of issues and technical challenges related to the management, curation, and archiving of digital data.
• Familiarity with entire research data life cycle.
• Experience with institutional, data, or subject repository systems.
• Proven ability in and desire for doing outreach and training across campus.
• Demonstrated ability to work collegially and cooperatively within and across organizations.
• Demonstrated record of managing projects and bringing them to a conclusion in a timely fashion.
• Familiarity with common metadata standards, e.g., DDI; understanding of ontology and semantic relationships highly preferred.
• Excellent analytical, organizational, management, oral and written communications, and interpersonal skills.

Preferred Qualifications

• Master’s degree in library or information science or in computer science, information systems, or related technical field.
• Track record of working collegially inside and outside of a library organization to innovate and deliver new services in a research environment.
• Experience working with projects involving various data and metadata standards (e.g., Dublin Core, EAD, TEI, DDI, METS, MODS, PREMIS).