Associate Director, Digital Scholarship Group

Description

About the Opportunity

The Digital Scholarship Group (DSG) in the Northeastern University Library is excited to open a search for an Associate Director. Working within a warm, collaborative, and collegial environment dedicated to social justice, this position has broad responsibility for coordinating the research and development effort of the DSG group, building and maintaining relationships with collaborative partners, and overseeing DSG’s outreach and pedagogical initiatives. This position is based in Boston but is eligible for a hybrid work arrangement, and specific arrangements can be negotiated at the time of hire. This position is situated at a leading R1 institution committed to intensive research and meaningful educational experiences for students at all levels. The University Library is a vital partner in learning, teaching, and community-engaged research for a diverse campus community centered on experiential learning.

Responsibilities

The Associate Director has responsibility for guiding DSG’s research and development projects in ways that balance external funding requirements, the pace of our collaborative partners, and our own internal balance of activities and responsibilities. This position oversees the work of DSG’s developers and analysts on design and implementation of digital research projects, and ensures strong communication and documentation practices within the group. Working closely with other DSG and library staff, faculty collaborators, and students, this position leads the creation and use of digital archives and exhibits using our WordPress-based publication platform and the array of resources it draws upon including Wikipedia, Wikidata, Knightlab tools, and digital repositories within and beyond Northeastern. The AD also plays an important role in developing policies and practices within the group to enact our commitment to digital approaches that consider the ethical, social, pedagogical, and research implications of digital tools, methods, and data. The AD may serve as PI or project director on external grants and will contribute to grant-funded and internal projects such as the Boston Research Center, the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice project, and others. They may also contribute directly to project design and development based on specific areas of expertise.

Within the Northeastern University Library, the DSG Associate Director also works closely with staff from Research Data Services, Digital Production Services, and University Archives and Special Collections, as well as external partners such as the Boston Public Library, to coordinate effort on shared projects such as the Boston Research Center. This position also has opportunities to contribute to DSG’s pedagogical activities in areas like high-performance computing, digital collections, and Wikipedia/Wikidata, and to support faculty and students in expert use of structured data formats and effective digital workflows.

We warmly invite people with various skills and levels of expertise to apply to this position. Candidates who meet some, but not all, of the qualifications listed below are strongly encouraged to apply. We seek colleagues who are committed to building an inclusive and diverse working environment and who have been and remain underrepresented or marginalized in the field of librarianship – including but not limited to people of color, LGBTQ+ people, individuals with disabilities and applicants from lower-income and first-generation library or academic backgrounds. We expect this position to be an ongoing learning experience and are committed to supporting professional development.

Qualifications

We realize that this is a lengthy list of activities and qualifications. There are multiple paths toward success in this position, depending on the successful candidate’s interests and experience. The following qualifications are fundamental to the position:
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree or similar training in a humanities, information science, data science, or other relevant discipline preferred
• Experience working in a position of leadership in a digital humanities/digital scholarship context; experience supervising staff and/or students.
• Demonstrated history of experience and skill with project management; experience supervising technical development activities would be a strong plus
• Experience working with historical and cultural heritage data or digitized materials
• Commitment to thoughtful, adaptive engagement with the needs of community collaborators
• Ability to work on multiple concurrent projects and adapt to the evolving landscape of digital humanities
• Demonstrated commitment to progressing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and practices
• Collaborative problem-solving skills and the ability to research and recommend solutions as part of a participatory design process
• Strong oral and written skills, ability to communicate across expertise levels and prepare project documentation
• Enthusiasm for growing skills and developing new technical competencies

The following skills are valuable to the position in the long term, but are not all essential for applicants to possess at the outset; we can provide training:
• Familiarity with key digital humanities platforms and information standards (such as TEI, Omeka, Zotero, databases, GIS, Knightlab tools, or linked open data)
• Familiarity with open-source development practices and workflows, preferably within an academic or non-profit environment
• Experience with developing and leading workshops and with classroom teaching
• Experience working with structured data formats (for instance, XML, RDF, JSON, CSV, relational databases) and with data conversion, data enhancement, and data analysis

Salary Grade: $93,300 to $149,285

About the Digital Scholarship Group

A recognized leader in the field, the Digital Scholarship Group supports digital modes of research, publication, and collaboration through applied research, systems and tools development, and consultative services. The DSG offers a friendly and closely collaborative work environment, and actively fosters the professional and intellectual development of all of our colleagues and collaborators, including training opportunities and mentorship.

Our team engages with faculty in the digital humanities and quantitative social sciences from across the university to develop digital research and teaching projects, organize events, plan grant-funded initiatives and provide training and mentorship. We also work in close partnership with Northeastern’s Archives and Special Collections, the NULab for Maps, Texts, and Networks, and with cultural heritage partners in Boston including the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Boston Public Library.

We develop tools and platforms for working with digital artifacts and data, for querying and publishing them. We also provide workshops, mentorship opportunities, and pedagogical frameworks to the Northeastern community. Some of our major projects include the Boston Research Center, the Civil Rights and Restorative Justice Project, and the Digital Archive of Indigenous Language Persistence, as well as a number of digital archiving projects from the Library’s Archives and Special Collections. In all of our projects, we are attentive to inclusive and anti-racist approaches to data modeling, platform development, and collaborative working processes.

About the Library

The Northeastern University Library supports the mission of the University by working in partnership with the University community to develop and disseminate new scholarship. The Library fosters intellectual and professional growth, enriches the research, teaching, and learning environment, and promotes the effective use of knowledge by managing and delivering information resources and services to library users.

Northeastern University is an equal opportunity employer, seeking to recruit and support a broadly diverse community of faculty and staff. Northeastern values and celebrates diversity in all its forms and strives to foster an inclusive culture built on respect that affirms inter-group relations and builds cohesion.

All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply and will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, disability status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.To learn more about Northeastern University’s commitment and support of diversity and inclusion, please see https://library.northeastern.edu/administration/diversity-equity-inclusion/