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Job Details:

Purpose

The Associate Director for Library Services provides strategic leadership for the Ransom Center’s library services portfolio, including Metadata & Discovery, Collection Management, Technology & Database Administration, Digital Projects, Digital Imaging, Reference, and Public Services.

This role is responsible for setting vision, priorities, and long-term direction for how collections are described, accessed, and stored—ensuring that library programs and services are aligned with institutional goals, sustainable over time, and responsive to evolving research and public needs.

The Associate Director primarily leads at the portfolio level, with day-to-day operations led by the Heads of each unit.

Responsibilities

• Strategic leadership and portfolio direction
  • Establishes the vision and long-term strategy for library services across physical and digital environments.
  • Defines department-wide and portfolio-level priorities and outcomes in alignment with the Ransom Center’s strategic plan.
  • Ensures that collection stewardship, access, and service models reflect best practices in archives, libraries, and special collections.
  • Leads the development of multi-year roadmaps for each unit.
• Program and portfolio oversight
  • Determines the portfolio of programs and initiatives across the seven units, including which initiatives are launched, continued, paused, or concluded.
  • Ensures alignment and coordination across units.
  • Establishes success measures and performance indicators for the overall portfolio.
  • Monitors progress toward strategic outcomes and addresses portfolio-level risks and dependencies.
• Organizational capacity and resource strategy
  • Leads staffing and capacity planning for the library services portfolio in partnership with the Executive Director and senior leadership team
  • Makes resource and investment recommendations related to staffing models, skills development, tools, infrastructure, and facilities.
  • Ensures that resources are aligned with the Ransom Center’s highest priorities.
• Stewardship, risk, and sustainability
  • Oversees institutional risk related to library services.
  • Ensures appropriate policies and frameworks are in place for collection stewardship, access, and use.
  • Leads long-term planning for all units.
• Leadership of unit Heads
  • Provides strategic direction, coaching, and performance leadership to the Heads of units.
  • Reviews and approves division-level program plans and annual priorities.
  • Supports Heads in translating strategy into executable programs while maintaining clear accountability boundaries between strategy and delivery.
• Institutional and cross-divisional leadership
  • Serves as a senior member of the organization’s leadership team and contributes to institution-wide strategy and planning.
  • Leads cross-divisional initiatives that intersect with library services.
  • Represents library services in internal and external partnerships, professional networks, and institutional collaborations.

• Advanced degree in library and information science, archival studies, museum studies, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Significant senior-level leadership experience in a research library and archive
• Demonstrated experience leading complex portfolios that include collections, access and reader services, and digital programs.
• Strong record of strategic planning, organizational leadership, and change management.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence, build trust across disciplines, and navigate highly specialized professional environments.

Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

• Experience working in an institution with strong public engagement, research, and teaching missions.

$100k+, depending on qualifications

• Resume/CV

• 3 work references with their contact information; at least one reference should be from a supervisor
• Letter of interest

Important for applicants who are NOT current university employees or contingent workers: You will be prompted to submit your resume the first time you apply, then you will be provided an option to upload a new Resume for subsequent applications. Any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) will be uploaded in the Application Questions section; you will be able to multi-select additional files. Before submitting your online job application, ensure that ALL Required Materials have been uploaded.  Once your job application has been submitted, you cannot make changes.

Important for Current university employees and contingent workers: As a current university employee or contingent worker, you MUST apply within Workday by searching for Find UT Jobs. If you are a current University employee, log-in to Workday, navigate to your Worker Profile, click the Career link in the left hand navigation menu and then update the sections in your Professional Profile before you apply. This information will be pulled in to your application. The application is one page and you will be prompted to upload your resume. In addition, you must respond to the application questions presented to upload any additional Required Materials (letter of interest, references, etc.) that were noted above.