Director, Learning Initiatives, Libraries

GENERAL PURPOSE: The River Campus Libraries (RCL) of University of Rochester (UR) seeks a creative, collaborative, and forward-looking leader to direct the dynamic portfolio of Learning Initiatives. Reporting to the Assistant Dean level, the incumbent is a member of the Leadership Team and has an organization-wide scope. The Director leads a highly-talented and increasingly diverse professional team of primarily humanities and social science librarians (a team of approximately 9) but also collaborates with and drives learning initiatives among instructional partners across RCL. The incumbent brings, and imparts to the team, a passion to understand and creatively address the needs of all those involved in UR's entire life cycle of learning-to-research (undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students, faculty, and those designing the learning platforms/environments and materials). They will ensure that RCL's teaching and learning programs, projects, and spaces are agile, flexible, sustainable, welcoming, and grounded in rich insights of faculty, researcher, and student academic needs. In close collaboration with RCL and UR colleagues, the Director designs and implements enriching teaching and learning programs and activities that engage the UR community to deepen support for user learning and research that enhance the university's profile and reputation. Areas of responsibility include: setting and implementing a forward-thinking and high-impact strategy for infusing current, emerging, and inclusive pedagogies into UR's teaching and learning landscape that engage users in a blend of information, data, and digital literacies; identifying, guiding, and championing opportunities for collaborative teaching across RCL departments, on campus, and in the greater community; working with the portfolio's Assistant Dean to scale experiential learning programs across the UR Libraries; serving as a key partner to Leadership Team peers to enhance and support a cohesive learning and service-delivery model across RCL; devising a system of continuous assessment that tracks both quantitative and qualitative impact within teaching, learning, and research; and contributing toward a departmental, portfolio, and library-wide culture of care, well-being, belonging, collaboration, communication, creativity, and innovation. RESPONSIBILITIES: Leading teaching and learning Initiatives Work with the Learning Initiatives Department and other RCL teams to establish and continuously improve RCL's learning service model, based on contemporary pedagogical practices, grounded in student and faculty academic needs, and aligned with RCL's strategies Lead staff in delivering the envisioned high-impact learning program, customized toward disciplinary, individual, and group-based needs Coach and assist the department's team, RCL's instructional partners, and users to navigate changes in the information and education landscape Develop a team-based strategy toward increasing competence in the convergence of information, data and digital literacies, including AI, anti-racist, and open scholarship via active, emerging, and inclusive pedagogies Nurture the development of innovative programs utilizing digital and physical spaces to support transdisciplinary, hybrid, and user-centered initiatives Foster the incorporation of emerging technology into programs and initiatives Remain current on trends and issues related to the scholarship of teaching and learning; emerging, digital, and inclusive pedagogies; assessment of learning; the convergence of information, data, and digital literacies; scholarly communications; and research impact Supporting a data-rich and evidence-based learning program Create workflows, data dashboards, and qualitative assessment strategies to measure and understand the impact of RCL's learning programs on UR's community of scholars Lead staff development initiatives to generate a unified and consistent approach to data tracking and qualitative assessment measures within learning programs Collaborate with Leadership Team instructional partners to develop RCL-wide assessment approaches Grow relationships with campus partners like the Teaching Center; Learning Center; Writing, Speaking, and Argument Program; Office of Minority Student Affairs; Disability Services; International Student Office; Office of IT/Blackboard; and the Office of Educational Effectiveness to coalesce complementary teaching and learning approaches and their data-informed impact on UR's community Streamlining learning initiatives programs Assess issues of staff workload, opportunities for collaboration, ultimate responsibility for skills training, reproducible and accessible content and practices, and high-touch approaches that lead to learner success to develop and implement sustainable teaching and learning strategies Identify opportunities to streamline the library's learning program and associated digital infrastructure Lead collaborations with liaison librarians and RCL's instructional partners to periodically review and execute course mapping approaches Collaborate with campus offices to find areas of common need and efficiencies Leadership & Management Develop high-impact departmental goals that directly support RCL's strategic aims and encourage robust cross-unit/library and cross-functional work Provide coaching, mentorship, and performance management for staff, including formal performance reviews Ensure staff have access to ongoing and relevant leadership and skill development opportunities Nurture and grow the department's agile, high-trust, and strategically-focused culture Ensure that team member workloads are balanced in relation to input from other directors with system-wide responsibilities, including collections, research, and digital endeavors Miscellaneous Duties Participate in RCL-wide initiatives that advance the library's mission toward customer service, research, learning, and collections Maintain professional collaborations with River Campus Libraries colleagues and other campus constituencies Contribute to the profession on a regional and national level through active participation in conferences, associations, research, writing, etc. Perform other duties as assigned QUALIFICATIONS: Post-graduate degree in library and information science from an A.L.A.-accredited (or equivalent) institution required 7+ years job-related experience in an academic or research library required Facilitation, training, or teaching experience, particularly in information, data, and/or digital literacies required Demonstrated commitment to teamwork/collaboration and ability to work effectively with a diverse campus community required 2+ years management experience, including leading projects and teams preferred Experience developing and cultivating relationships and partnerships preferred Experience collaborating across disciplines/fields preferred Experience delivering high-impact initiatives and programs preferred Knowledge Familiarity with ACRL's information literacy framework required Ability to see and leverage the connections between research, collections, and teaching/learning required Ability to remain current in best practices related to the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education and libraries required Quantitative and qualitative assessment methods, coupled with data analysis techniques and tools preferred Ability to look past one's own assigned discipline to find connections across disciplines preferred Working knowledge of digital tools and methodologies that enhance the researcher/learner experience preferred Familiarity with instructional design principles preferred Familiarity with critical, anti-racist, and/or feminist pedagogies preferred Skills Communication and relationship-building skills, including the ability to negotiate and speak thoughtfully to specific needs/concerns required Outstanding verbal, written, and presentation skills Experience developing andmanaging projects across the entire project lifecycle Experience working in a variety of subject areas or the delivery of programs to faculty and students in these disciplines preferred Experience in overseeing learning spaces preferred Familiarity with project management tools, methods and/or workflows preferred Conflict resolution and engaging in difficult conversations preferred Emotional intelligence preferred Abilities Ability to create an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment required Cultural humility, recognizing users as unique individuals with personalized experiences required Demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion required Demonstrated ability to discover, and quickly become competent using assessment strategies, data analysis, new technologies, software, and devices preferred Willingness to explore the use of innovative technologies and emerging pedagogies with a high tolerance for risk, ambiguity, and failure preferred Ability to form strong, collaborative connections preferred Self-starter who is flexible, creative, and open to new challenges preferred Committed to life-long learning - for themselves and for their users preferred The University of Rochester is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving a culture of equity, diversity, and inclusion to advance the University's mission to Learn, Discover, Heal, Create - and Make the World Ever Better. In support of our values and those of our society, the University is committed to not discriminating on the basis of age, color, disability, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, military/veteran status, national origin, race, religion/creed, sex, sexual orientation, citizenship status, or any other status protected by law. This commitment extends to the administration of our policies, admissions, employment, access, and recruitment of candidates from underrepresented populations, veterans, and persons with disabilities consistent with these values and government contractor Affirmative Action obligations. How To Apply All applicants must apply online. EOE Minorities/Females/Protected Veterans/Disabled Pay Range Pay Range: $77,216 - $115,824 Annually The referenced pay range represents the minimum and maximum compensation for this job. Individual annual salaries/hourly rates will be set within the job's compensation range, and will be determined by considering factors including, but not limited to, market data, education, experience, qualifications, expertise of the individual, and internal equity considerations. Apply for Job Careers Sign In New User Location: Central Administration Full/Part Time: Full-Time Opening:

Created: 2024-10-23