University of Stirling Hiring for Academic Liaison Librarian Job at Stirling, Scotland , UK Full Time

Full time
Open ended

The closing date for applications is midnight on Sunday 20 November 2022
Interviews are expected to take place on Friday 09 December 2022

There is an expectation that work will be undertaken in the UK.

For the purposes of sponsorship, this is a role under SOC code 2451.

The University of Stirling recognises that a diverse workforce benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers and welcome applications from those who would contribute to further diversification of our staff and ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion is woven into the substance of the role. We strongly encourage applications from people from diverse backgrounds including gender, identity, race, age, class, and ethnicity.

The Post

The Library and Information Support Team provides a range of services to staff and students, with liaison librarians providing support to faculties, delivered in a collaborative and peripatetic fashion. The team performs a relationship management function between IS and faculties in order to ensure that services are developed and delivered according to faculty requirements, that faculty staff are consistently satisfied with the services delivered, and to swiftly escalate and resolve any issues encountered between faculties and the wider IS department. The team plays a critical role in the implementation and future success of the new Digital Strategy and in delivering key services in support of teaching, learning and research.

The Academic Liaison Librarians work collectively to deliver key services to faculties, including, for example, the design and delivery of information and digital literacy education/instruction, managing and responding to enquiries, monitoring of performance data (including user satisfaction, service usage, etc.) and developing services, and taking a collaborative approach to agreeing priorities for expenditure on resources, balancing the needs of each faculty.

Faculties at the University of Stirling have a significant breadth of subjects and programmes; therefore, whilst each Academic Liaison member of the Library and Information Support Team is allocated one or more faculties to support, significant effort is made to cross-skill the Academic Liaison Librarians. This ensures the team is responsive to demand and conflicting priorities without being bound by silo working and helps to eliminate single points of failure.

Description of Duties

• Liaise with nominated faculties to identify their current and future learning and teaching ambitions, using this information to plan and deliver appropriate information and library services:
  • Ensure that research requirements at faculty level are fully understood, liaising with the other teams within the section and the wider research community to raise awareness of and fully exploit library resources and collections;
  • Support nominated faculties in their development of new or evolving modules and programmes by providing first-stage stakeholder advice and guidance in relation to potential requirements for IS support and resources.

• Coordinate and undertake the design, delivery and evaluation of information and digital literacy instruction sessions (face-to-face and online), including accompanying support materials for students, researchers and academic staff across all faculties:
  • Develop and deliver digital and information literacy instruction using a variety of approaches, including flipped classroom, blended learning, face-to-face, or through creative use of technology and/or social media;
  • Ensure that information and digital literacy activity reaches the full range of stakeholder groups by meeting their respective local and technological requirements, including support for internationalisation and research.

• Assess and make decisions on the acquisition, retention and preservation of collections (including printed, digital and heritage), ensuring that they meet faculty learning, teaching and research priorities:
  • Through consultation, provide advice to faculties and the research community on information provision, working to ensure requirements are met within the parameters of available resources and providing feedback on proposals for investment/disinvestment;
  • Work collaboratively with the team of librarians and team managers to ensure that the information provision policies and processes are transparent and aligned with the University Strategy;
  • Contribute to and support the development and implementation of an evidence-based approach to monitoring the on-going effectiveness and suitability of library resources.

• Develop and deliver an efficient enquiry service to staff, researchers and students, through a variety of approaches, including face-to-face and online, on a drop-in or bookable basis:
  • Provide consultations and guidance on the use of specialist information resources including referencing software, subject-specific resources, etc;
  • Manage enquiries through the Unidesk enquiry management system, ensuring a timely response to enquiries received and monitoring associated metrics;
  • Support the on-going development of a triage approach to enquiries, by providing support and training to frontline library assistants.

• Undertake proactive relationship management and liaison on behalf of the wider IS directorate through participation in working groups, faculty-level committees, consultative meetings, etc, via external professional groups and through general faculty liaison activity ensuring an effective two-way flow of information:
  • Act upon faculty requirements and/or feedback received from faculties, sharing this with relevant IS teams, taking a proactive approach to problem resolution and communicating action taken with the faculty;
  • ‘Manage the message’ between IS and faculties by ensuring technical responses are communicated in plain English suitable for the stakeholders in question. Strive to ensure wider recognition of the work undertaken by IS and its role as an enabler of change.

For a full list of duties please see the attached Job Description.

Essential Criteria

Qualifications

• Degree or post-graduate qualification in library or information studies; or a degree in a relevant discipline with significant library experience

Knowledge & Experience

• Significant experience of librarianship and working in a library environment;
• Demonstrable knowledge of how to develop and manage library resources, both in print and digital formats. Knowledge and/or experience of resources and support for business management and related subjects is especially sought;
• Proven experience of translating user requirements into effective and efficient
  
  support services;
• Experience of providing enquiry support services using a range of channels;
• Excellent understanding of technologies to support learning and teaching support;
• Experience delivering training, teaching or instruction, preferably in the fields of information literacy, digital literacy, or technology;
• Demonstrable experience of producing support materials and documentation in a range of formats;
• A current (and evolving) awareness of new technologies and how to apply these to Learning & Teaching Support.

Skills & Attributes

• A customer-oriented approach to service design, delivery and evaluation;
• Excellent interpersonal and advocacy skills;
• Highly organised approach to managing services and workload, with the ability to work calmly and systematically in a busy environment, prioritising work as required in order to meet agreed deadlines;
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to communicate appropriately and effectively with a wide range of stakeholders;
• Ability to investigate, gather, collate and analyse information;
• Excellent IT skills, including advanced familiarity with common applications and relevant databases, systems and online services;
• Demonstrable ability to work both independently and collaboratively as part of a
  
  team.

Desirable Criteria

Qualifications

• CILIP Chartership (or Fellowship) or willing to work towards;
• A teaching qualification (for example, a Certificate or Diploma in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education).

Knowledge & Experience

• Experience of librarianship in academic liaison; or relationship management;
• Experience of performance management and continuous service improvement;
• A good awareness of the issues facing HE and how learning and teaching support is affected by them;
• Experience of supporting research, including, for example, research skills, reference management software, etc;
• Experience of promotions, marketing and social media.

Behaviours and Competencies

The role holder will be required to evidence that they can meet the qualities associated with the following behavioural competencies, as detailed within the AUA Competency Framework.

About Us

Information Services delivers the library, IT, digital learning technology and other information needs and services to enable all students and staff of the University of Stirling to learn, research and work here. Our mission is to equip and empower our users and ourselves to function and achieve successful outcomes in the digital age. We strive to achieving excellent customer service and always aim to exceed our users’ expectations.

The University

The University of Stirling is committed to providing education with a purpose and carrying out research which has a positive impact on communities across the globe – addressing real issues, providing solutions and helping to shape society. Stirling is 4th in Scotland and 43rd in the UK for research impact, with 87% of its research having an outstanding or very considerable impact on society – and more than 80% rated either world leading or internationally excellent (Research Excellence Framework 2021). Interdisciplinary in its approach, Stirling’s research informs its teaching curriculum and facilitates opportunities for knowledge exchange and collaboration between staff, students, industry partners and the wider community.

The University of Stirling is ranked among the top 30 UK universities for student satisfaction (National Student Survey) and top 10 in the UK for postgraduate student experience (Postgraduate Taught Experience Survey), and has an overall five-star rating in the QS Stars University Ratings.

More than 17,000 students study with the University of Stirling globally, with over 120 nationalities represented on its scenic central Scotland campus alone. The campus – also home to 1,700 staff – has its own loch and castle, and a recent multi-million-pound redevelopment has delivered modern, flexible, and digitally connected study and social spaces at the heart of campus, including enhanced student support and retail and catering outlets.

The University has twice been recognised with a Queen’s Anniversary Prize – the first for its Institute for Social Marketing and Health (2014) and the second for its Institute of Aquaculture (2019). Stirling is Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence and its recently redeveloped world-class facilities provide the perfect training environment for the University’s sports scholars – many of whom compete at the highest level, including at the Olympics and Commonwealth Games – and for students, staff, and the wider community.

As a signatory to the £214 million Stirling and Clackmannanshire City Region Deal, the University is driving productivity and inclusive growth across the Forth Valley, and beyond. Through pioneering collaborative solutions to global challenges, researchers are putting innovation, skills, and partnership at the heart of a sustainable economic recovery.
www.stir.ac.uk @stiruni

Job Reference: SERV01583