Job description
Job #
039708
Department Code
20640-5435
Department
SU Libraries
Job Title
Director Special Collections Research Center
Location
Syracuse, NY
Pay Range
Commensurate with Experience
Staff Level
00
FLSA Status
Exempt
Hours
Standard University business hours
8:30am – 5:00pm (academic year)
8:00am – 4:30pm (summer)
8:30am – 5:00pm (academic year)
8:00am – 4:30pm (summer)
Hours may vary based on operational needs.
Job Type
Full-time
Campus
Syracuse, NY
Unionized Position Code
Not Applicable
Job Description
Reporting to the Dean of the Libraries, the Director of the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) provides leadership, strategic vision, and direct administration for Special Collections, the University Archives and the Belfer Audio Archive. The Director heads an active and highly reputed center that collects, preserves, and provides access to rare and unique materials collectively worth over 250 million dollars.
In consultation with the dean, the Director plans, organizes, and manages SCRC operations, including the oversight of a complex budget and direct/indirect personnel management of full-time staff and student assistants. The Director is responsible for strategic planning for the department as well as setting priorities for collection development, preservation, grants/fundraising and digital initiatives, in line with broader university and library goals. The Director fosters a flexible collaborative work environment and demonstrates a commitment to justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and reparative archives initiatives. This is a highly collaborative position, working regularly with Libraries and University leadership, faculty, students, staff, and other partners.
In consultation with the dean, the Director plans, organizes, and manages SCRC operations, including the oversight of a complex budget and direct/indirect personnel management of full-time staff and student assistants. The Director is responsible for strategic planning for the department as well as setting priorities for collection development, preservation, grants/fundraising and digital initiatives, in line with broader university and library goals. The Director fosters a flexible collaborative work environment and demonstrates a commitment to justice, equity, diversity, inclusion, and reparative archives initiatives. This is a highly collaborative position, working regularly with Libraries and University leadership, faculty, students, staff, and other partners.
Qualifications
Required:
- Accredited MLS with a focus on special collections and archives, and/or an advanced degree in a relevant discipline or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Multiple years of progressively responsible management experience in a special collections or archives setting.
- Knowledge and understanding of key issues and trends in special collections and archives within large academic research libraries.
- Demonstrated commitment to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives relating to special collections and outreach to the campus and local communities.
Job Specific Qualifications
The successful candidate will have:
- A strong understanding of scholarship, including the role of primary source materials in research, teaching, and learning.
- Demonstrated experience working effectively with faculty, students, and library colleagues, and a commitment to a high level of service.
- An enthusiasm for and experience in fundraising, grant writing, and cultivating donors.
- A commitment to and experience in building and preserving primary source collections in a variety of formats.
- The proven ability to provide leadership in a complex organization, including budget management, staff supervision, and planning experience.
- Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
- A demonstrated ability to manage budgets and projects.
- Passion for learning, fostering innovation, and collaborating with faculty, scholars and colleagues.
- Demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility.
Responsibilities
Leadership & Management:
- Provide leadership, strategic planning, and a unified voice for the Special Collections Research Center, which includes the University Archives, Special Collections, and the Belfer Audio Archive.
- Align and balance SCRC¿s operational and strategic plans and decisions with the Libraries¿ and University goals.
- Plan, organize, administer, and manage the SCRC’s annual operating budget, restricted funds including gifts and endowments, and annual grant and fellowship programs.
- Directly supervise management-level professional librarians and the SCRC Administrative Coordinator.
- Advance diversity, inclusion, and reparative archives work among staff, collection development, access, and outreach and foster a collaborative work environment.
- Provide leadership for university-wide initiatives that showcase special collections and the research use of such collections across the campus and in the academic community.
Collection Development & Fundraising:
- Working closely with the SCRC curatorial team, maintain and refine collection development policies.
- Working closely with the Dean of the Libraries and Advancement staff, help solicit major gifts, cultivate donors, and identify fundraising opportunities. Identify grant opportunities and work to develop and submit proposals.
- Provide careful and ethical stewardship for existing gifts and awards, including the preparation of annual reports to major donors, foundations, and government agencies, as needed.
- Working closely with the Dean of the Libraries and advancement staff to provide support for special donor events.
Collaboration, Communication, Outreach & Visibility:
- Serve as a member of the Libraries Management Team and other senior-level committees and teams. Interact extensively with the other department and unit heads, managers, and library administrators.
- Work closely with the Head of the Digital Stewardship Department regarding projects, programs, and initiatives related to digitizing, preserving, describing, and providing access to said digitized materials within SCRC¿s collections.
- Work closely with library and university staff to provide welcoming, inclusive, and cutting-edge services and spaces to patrons; engage in new initiatives and programs; and advocating for necessary resources to make the collections accessible.
- Work closely with the SCRC’s Lead Curator, University Archivist, and the Director of Communications and External Relations to publicize SCRC’s collections, services, exhibitions, events, programs, and other activities.
Maintain awareness of professional developments, issues, and practices through research and activities that increase one’s knowledge and abilities, and that positively impact one’s performance and service contributions.
Engage in activities that contribute to the advancement of the Libraries, the university, and the library profession. Other duties as assigned.
Physical Requirements
Tools/Equipment
Application Instructions
In addition to completing an online application, please attach a resume and cover letter.
About Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private, international research university with distinctive academics, diversely unique offerings and an undeniable spirit. Located in the geographic heart of New York State, with a global footprint, and nearly 150 years of history, Syracuse University offers a quintessential college experience.
The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered through 13 schools and colleges; nearly 15,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit www.syracuse.edu.
The scope of Syracuse University is a testament to its strengths: a pioneering history dating back to 1870; a choice of more than 200 majors and 100 minors offered through 13 schools and colleges; nearly 15,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students; more than a quarter of a million alumni in 160 countries; and a student population from all 50 U.S. states and 123 countries. For more information, please visit www.syracuse.edu.
About the Syracuse area
Syracuse is a medium-sized city situated in the geographic center of New York State approximately 250 miles northwest of New York City. The metro-area population totals approximately 500,000. The area offers a low cost of living and provides many social, cultural, and recreational options, including parks, museums, festivals, professional regional theater, and premier shopping venues. Syracuse and Central New York present a wide range of seasonal recreation and attractions ranging from water skiing and snow skiing, hiking in the Adirondacks, touring the historic sites, visiting wineries along the Finger Lakes, and biking on trails along the Erie Canal.
EEO Statement
Syracuse University is an equal-opportunity, affirmative-action institution. The University prohibits discrimination and harassment based on race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender, national origin, citizenship, ethnicity, marital status, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law to the extent prohibited by law. This nondiscrimination policy covers admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in University programs, services, and activities.
Commitment to Supporting and Hiring Veterans
Syracuse University has a long history of engaging veterans and the military-connected community through its educational programs, community outreach, and employment programs. After World War II, Syracuse University welcomed more than 10,000 returning veterans to our campus, and those veterans literally transformed Syracuse University into the national research institution it is today. The University’s contemporary commitment to veterans builds on this historical legacy, and extends to both class-leading initiatives focused on making an SU degree accessible and affordable to the post-9/11 generation of veterans, and also programs designed to position Syracuse University as the employer of choice for military veterans, members of the Guard and Reserve, and military family members.
Commitment to a Diverse and Inclusive Campus Community
Syracuse University maintains an inclusive learning environment in which students, faculty, administrators, staff, curriculum, social activities, governance, and all other aspects of campus life reflect a diverse, multi-cultural, and international worldview. The University community recognizes and values the many similarities and differences among individuals and groups. At Syracuse, we are committed to preparing students to understand, live among, appreciate, and work in an inherently diverse country and world made up of people with different ethnic and racial backgrounds, military backgrounds, religious beliefs, socio-economic status, cultural traditions, abilities, sexual orientations and gender identities. To do so, we commit ourselves to promoting a community that celebrates and models the principles of diversity and inclusivity.
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