Head of Digital Initiatives

Description

The University of Miami Libraries seeks nominations and applications for a collaborative, innovative, service-oriented professional to serve as Head of Digital Initiatives. The Head of Digital Initiatives will lead the growth and evolution of digital services in support of the teaching, learning, and scholarship needs of the university. Reporting to the Associate Dean for Digital Strategies, the Head of Digital Initiatives will manage digital services to achieve maximum visibility and use of digital collections and will leverage team expertise and technologies to expand capacity of on-demand digital services to meet faculty at their point of need. Additionally, the person in this role will identify and test digital tools and technologies to advance teaching and scholarship with digitized primary and secondary source materials. The Head of Digital Initiatives will also hold primary responsibility for coordinating library stakeholders to further develop the Libraries’ digital preservation program to ensure long-term access to institutionally created digital content and research assets. Key partners in these endeavors include the members of the Digital Initiatives team and other units within the Digital Strategies division, which includes Web & Applications Development, Digital Library Architecture, and Digital Scholarship. The Head of Digital Initiatives will also work closely with colleagues in Distinctive Collections, Learning & Research Services, Metadata & Discovery Services, Preservation Strategies, and Library Technology.

Key duties and responsibilities for this position will include:

Performance
- Provide leadership, strategic planning, and direction for the Digital Initiatives department in alignment with evolving library and university priorities;
- Build digital services that are responsive and adaptable;
- Transform digitization services to meet on-demand requests for faculty teaching and interdisciplinary research;
- Work with colleagues from Distinctive Collections and Learning & Research Services (subject librarians and the Learning Commons) to support teaching and scholarship with primary source materials in online environments;
- Lead planning for new digital initiatives and projects with relevant stakeholders;
- Build and foster campus and cross-institutional partnerships to connect available resources, leverage digital expertise, and build collaborative digital initiatives;
- Collaborate with library and campus colleagues, such as members of the Academic Learning Innovation & Faculty Engagement (LIFE) team, to identify and implement emerging technologies that advance teaching, learning, and scholarship in online environments;
- Coordinate library and unit-level management of institutionally created digital content;
- With the Libraries’ Preservation Strategies department, coordinate the development of a cohesive digital preservation program;
- With the Libraries’ Preservation Strategies department, develop policies and design workflows that make the digitization and digital preservation of content a transparent and collaborative process;
- Collaborate with relevant colleagues to develop grant proposals;
- Advise on issues of copyright and intellectual property rights for archives and cultural heritage materials in online environments;
- Manage and foster the growth and professional development of a team which includes a digital projects librarian, digital production manager, audio/video media manager, and digitization technician;
- Stay abreast of developments in digital libraries, digital pedagogy, and digital preservation in order to effectively communicate their implications to library and campus stakeholders;
- In pursuit of the Libraries’ and University’s strategic objectives, model the University’s “DIRECCT” values (diversity, integrity, responsibility, excellence, compassion, creativity, and teamwork).

Service
- Network, collaborate, and actively participate in local, regional, national, or international organizations focused on digital libraries, digital initiatives, digital pedagogy, and digital preservation;
- Represent and promote the University of Miami Libraries in local, state-wide, regional, national, or international organizations as appropriate;
- Serve/participate in University organizations, committees, task forces, and teams as appropriate;
- Lead library-level committees, task-forces, and/or special projects.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required:
- ALA-accredited MLS/MLIS degree or relevant advanced degree;
- Minimum of three years professional experience in managing digital initiatives, digital collections, or digital preservation initiatives for an academic library, archive, or cultural heritage institution;
- Demonstrated success with initiating, leading, and completing collaborative digital projects or initiatives;
- Demonstrated experience using digital collection platforms, technologies, and standards;
- Demonstrated knowledge of the standards and technological frameworks for digital preservation;
- Knowledge of metadata standards in libraries and archives;
- Experience supervising a team;
- Excellent written and oral communications skills;
- Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills;
- Demonstrated commitment to diversifying the cultural record available in online environments.

Preferred Qualifications:
- Experience with budgeting, planning, assessment, and outreach;
- Demonstrated ability to identify, test, and evaluate new technologies;
- Understanding of and experience with best practices in digital pedagogy;
- Solid understanding of copyright and intellectual property rights for cultural heritage materials;
- Familiarity with the International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF);
- Record of promoting equity, inclusion, and awareness of diversity by including individuals of diverse identities and perspectives in research, teaching, and other initiatives.