Research Data Librarian (Assistant or Associate Librarian)

Description

Are you passionate about data and open science initiatives, and wish to work at an R1 university with high impact research? If so, come join us at the J. Willard Marriott Library as a research data librarian and help shape the future of research data services program at University of Utah. We seek to recruit 2 tenure-track research data librarians with broad knowledge and experience in data-intensive research, including managing or analyzing data in at least one field of academic research, such as engineering, social science or humanities. The data librarians will develop and maintain workflows in support of data lifecycle, will engage researchers to develop an understanding of their needs for the reproducibility of their work, and provide technically-focused advice to improve data management practices and enable Open Science and FAIR data (including working with regulated data, compliance needs, research data management and sharing plans, and data use agreements). Working collaboratively with other research focused units on campus, they will help coordinate data and metadata management for research projects, contribute to research proposals, and collaborate on research data service design.
 

Relocation to the Salt Lake City, Utah area is required and will be financially supported by house hunting and moving allowances. This position is currently designed as a hybrid of on-campus and remote work. Specific telecommuting arrangements will be based on the needs of the position and authorized at the discretion of the department head.
 

We seek qualified applicants who bring perspectives and experiences that will enrich and strengthen our organization and enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts on our campus. We invite applications from candidates who may not have followed a traditional educational or professional path.
 

All candidates should be prepared to discuss how they see themselves contributing to the University’s equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts. The library serves an increasingly diverse constituency of patrons, and our employees, services, collections, and policies should honor and reflect this diversity. We are therefore interested in identifying and interviewing candidates who have experience with underserved or marginalized communities and who are committed to advancing our mission to provide equitable access to information resources.
 

To learn about the position or to share a nomination, please reach out to Melanie Hawks, Assistant Dean for DEI and Director of Library Human Resources, at melanie.hawks@utah.edu. Additional information about the application process can be found at
https://lib.utah.edu/faculty-faq.php
 

Responsibilities

The responsibilities, qualifications, and preferences listed in this posting are intended to give applicants an understanding of the role we are seeking to fill and the types of skills, experience, and education that may have prepared someone to be effective in this role. We do not expect any candidate to be a perfect match for this list or to perform all of the duties with equal proficiency on day one. In your resume and cover letter, please highlight the most relevant qualifications you would bring to this position based on the posting, and tell us how your background, perspective, and experience will help us fulfill our mission and meet our goals.
 

• Develop and provide consultation services for faculty and students on data-related issues, including data discovery, analysis, visualization, and management.
• Develop instructional programming and documentation to support scholars’ work in this area.
• Collaborate with research support divisions across the university to explore and pilot base-line services in curation practices and techniques with an outcome of developing an integrated set of data services supporting researchers and research teams.
• Develop and maintain workflows to support research data lifecycle in partnership with library and campus stakeholders.
• Engage researchers to develop an understanding of their needs for data-intensive research support and reproducibility of their work, including data management planning, funder/publisher data requirements, publication/citing data and code and locating relevant datasets, as well as provide technically-focused advice to enable Open Science.
• Maintain awareness and engagement with national and international trends in data management, curation practices and scholarly communication.
• Participate in professional, university, and public service to further open science, data and scholarly communications initiatives.

Required Qualifications

• ALA-accredited MLS/MLIS or the equivalent combination of a relevant advanced degree and experience.
• Demonstrated knowledge of or direct experience working with or managing research data.
• Knowledge of data management across the research lifecycle, including creating, processing, analysis, preservation, access and reuse of research data.
• Knowledge of technologies for data management and curation, and familiarity with data preservation principles and practices.
• Knowledge of best practices for sharing data, funder data management plan requirements, and data services needs across the research lifecycle.
• Familiarity with open science efforts both nationally and worldwide
• A commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and interest in working with broadly diverse communities in data related work including equitable data sharing efforts.

To be eligible for appointment to our faculty, you will need to demonstrate evidence of active participation and involvement in professional and scholarly associations or a record of scholarly engagement. Appointment at the Associate Librarian rank will require sufficient experience and professional accomplishment to qualify for tenure at time of appointment. The successful completion of a criminal background check is required by Utah state law (http://www.regulations.utah.edu/humanResources/5-130.html).
 

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in identifying researcher information needs and in creating effective services to meet those needs.
• Understanding the role of metadata in facilitating reproducible research.
• Familiarity with digital repository, content management systems or electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) such as LabArchives.
• Experience in and/or willingness to learn about programming languages for research such as Python, and text data mining (TDM) tools such as OpenRefine, Voyant, MALLET.
• Proficiency with one or more data visualization applications (e.g. Tableau, Power BI, RAWGraphs, Scalar)
• Experience with grants/external funding, working with faculty, principal investigators, and research teams

Compensation
Appointment is anticipated at the Assistant Librarian or Associate Librarian rank, depending on qualifications. The salary range for this position is $60,000 to $78,000. Salary at the higher end of the range will typically reflect qualifications that make a candidate eligible for appointment at the Associate rank. Excellent benefits include a 14.2% retirement contribution to TIAA-CREF/Fidelity, medical and dental coverage, and generous paid sick and vacation time.

EEO/Non-Discrimination Information

The University of Utah values candidates who have experience working in settings with students, staff, faculty and patients from diverse backgrounds and possess a strong commitment to improving access to higher education, employment opportunities, and quality healthcare for historically underrepresented groups.

Individuals from historically underrepresented groups, such as minorities, women, qualified persons with disabilities and protected veterans are encouraged to apply. Veterans’ preference is extended to qualified applicants, upon request and consistent with University policy and Utah state law. Upon request, reasonable accommodations in the application process will be provided to individuals with disabilities.

The University of Utah is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer and does not discriminate based upon race, ethnicity, color, religion, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, or protected veteran’s status. The University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the education program or activity that it operates, as required by Title IX and 34 CFR part 106. The requirement not to discriminate in education programs or activities extends to admission and employment. Inquiries about the application of Title IX and its regulations may be referred to the Title IX Coordinator, to the Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights, or both.