Job Description

About Us

The King’s community is dedicated to the service of society. King’s Strategic Vision 2029 sets out our vision for the future, shaped around five priority areas: educate to inspire and improve; research to inform and innovate; serve to shape and transform; a civic university at the heart of London; and an international community that services the world. Our ambitious Education Strategy sets out the actions that we must take to transform how we teach, how and where our students learn and how we support them during their time with us.

Libraries & Collections comprises four departments: Education & Learning, Research & Impact, Service Design & Delivery, along with Business Operations. We are part of the Students & Education Directorate, which manages the student lifecycle from application to graduation and beyond.

This role is based in the Systems & Service Development team within the Service Design & Delivery department and is responsible for the implementation and oversight of supporting library systems and the development of services for our community.

About the Role

The Library Solutions Manager role enables Libraries & Collections to develop, improve and maintain modern and responsive systems and services that enhance the experience of users from across the King’s community.

This is an exciting opportunity for candidates looking to manage and grow their knowledge of essential supporting library systems and service development methods. This is an opportunity to grow your skills in their skills and expertise in project management, service management or service development by implementing meaningful change in an academic library.

We encourage applications from candidates who have experience from both within and outside of the Higher Education sector where they can demonstrate the skills needed to succeed in this role.

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract.

This is a full-time post, but we welcome applications from candidates seeking a flexible work pattern within our necessary service operating hours: 9am – 5pm.

This is currently a hybrid working role with both work from home and on campus. The role will be based in our department, currently on the Strand campus. 

You will be required to participate in frontline services as required, including contributing towards a rota for evening and weekend working. 

Key Responsibilities

• Collaborate with other grade 6 colleagues in Libraries & Collections to prioritise, plan and share accountability for delivering on our aims
• Manage people or a team, through project or line management, in order to deliver high quality services
• Provide focused and dedicated systems and service management for the key stakeholder groups within Libraries & Collections, including service definition reviews to support the service excellence initiative
• Maintain day to day oversight of library systems, technologies and supplier relationships to ensure their quality and reliability
• Manage projects and service improvements, developing documentation to progress through King’s project governance structures e.g. business cases and requirements
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with key stakeholders within Libraries & Collections as well as with other internal stakeholders and external suppliers

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience

Please clearly address how you meet the essential criteria in your application, and where possible how you meet the desirable criteria as well.

Essential criteria

1. Relevant work experience and/or education: We think a wide range of different work and educational experiences could support you to be successful in this role. Relevant work experience might include work in project management, or IT. Relevant educational experiences should include being educated to first degree level and/or professionally accredited Information Technology qualification
2. Excellent oral and written communication skills, including the ability to present information to a range of different audiences
3. Experience of supervising or managing projects and/or service development
4. Experience of managing and motivating staff for high performance
5. Experience of implementing change and supporting others through the process, balancing day-to-day operational activities with developing the service
6. Ability to work independently in a fast-changing environment and the adaptability to meet challenging deadlines
7. Ability to work effectively and proactively with other teams and stakeholders to provide a high-quality service
8. Commitment to equity, equality, diversity and inclusivity in your own learning and ways of working

Desirable criteria

1. Recognised project management qualification
2. Understanding of the current and future challenges facing academic libraries in research-intensive universities
3. High IT literacy and technical understanding of a range of library systems and technologies

Further Information

Please submit a personal statement when applying for this vacancy, clearly setting out how you meet the essential criteria, as this is how we shortlist applications. Learn more about how we recruit, including tips on writing your application and supporting statement on our website:   https://jobs.kcl.ac.uk/gb/en/applying

If you are a student or alumni of King’s there are resources from King’s Careers & Employability to support you in your application and interview.

Interviews will be held in person and will consist of competency-based questions linked closely to the essential and desirable criteria mentioned here.

Although we have made improvements over the last number of years, our team is still under-represented in terms of staff from global majority ethnicities, LGBTQ+ identities, and from people with disabilities. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities.

Interviews are scheduled to take place on week commencing 10th April.