Assistant Director of Digital Strategies, Houston Public Library, Houston, TX
Posted November 3, 2014
Link to a world of opportunities by joining the Houston Public Library (http://www.houstonlibrary.org/home) as the new Assistant Director of Digital Strategies (ADDS). Houston Public Library seeks a visionary and transformational leader with executive level skills and a commitment to customer service, creativity and innovation. The ADDS will play an essential role in helping to shape and lead HPL’s future direction as a vital community partner delivering stellar technologies, materials, services and programs to Houston’s residents.
The Houston Public Library serves 2.1 million citizens over 634 square miles through a network of 44 unique facilities. In 2012, the library staff circulated just under 7 million items to 4.2 million visitors. The award-winning Houston Public Library (HPL) is the largest public library system in the state of Texas and the seventh largest public library system in the United States. Through its multiple locations, outreach services, and virtual resources, HPL serves over 20,000 users a day and provides an impressive array of innovative services and programs for a diverse service population. HPL’s 44 locations include 31 Neighborhood Libraries, four Regional Libraries, three Special Collection Libraries, four Express Libraries, one mobile unit (HPL Mobile Express), and a satellite library located in the Children’s Museum of Houston.
Alive with energy and rich in diversity, Houston is a dynamic mix of imagination, innovation, talent and first-class attractions that make it a world-class city. Long noted for excellence in healthcare systems and top ranked hospitals, Houston is home to The Texas Medical Center, the world’s largest medical complex. Living in America’s fourth largest city has its perks. Houston’s Theater District is second only to New York City, giving Houstonians access to more than 500 cultural, performing and visual arts venues. Boasting the second lowest cost-of-living among American cities, Houston has a winning combination of low cost-of-living and high quality-of-life. With the most affordable housing of the nation’s 10 most populated metropolitan areas, Houston offers a variety of choices. Houston’s diverse population speaks more than 90 languages. This rich diversity not only fuels the city’s vast cultural experiences but also more than satisfies the population’s multiple international palates. With more than 11,000 award-winning restaurants, a wide variety of foods are offered from around the world. With all that Houston has to offer, it’s no wonder that Houston topped Forbes Magazine’s 2012 list of “America’s Coolest Cities to Live.” For additional information on the Library and the City, see Houston Links (http://www.gossagesager.com/Houstonlinks.htm).
Responsibilities. Reporting to the Library Director, the Assistant Director of Digital Strategies provides overall vision, innovation, and leadership for HPL’s Digital Services Team (DST); serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Team; implements team building and development opportunities for DST to facilitate innovation and to ensure continuous delivery of effective, efficient, leading edge technology services; establishes and directs the strategic and tactical goals, policies and procedures for the division; identifies and addresses user needs and resolves problems in a timely manner; and develops and implements a system to continuously analyze and improve technology standards, procedures and policies across the library to gain efficiencies and improve processes. The ADDS works in partnership with the City of Houston Information Technology Services Department (HITS) to ensure HPL’s compliance with city-wide technology standards, ensure optimal support for HPL’s technology operations and provide general oversight for the Houston Area Library Automated Network (HALAN). HALAN is a consortium of libraries served by a common integrated library system (ILS) through contract with the City of Houston housed at HPL. (The HALAN Division Chief reports to the ADDS). See Assistant Director of Digital Strategies, http://agency.governmentjobs.com/houston/job_bulletin.cfm?JobID=802912, for the complete job description, responsibilities and required skills and abilities.
Qualifications. Qualified candidates will have a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology or a closely related field and seven or more years of professional experience. Experience must include at least three years in a managerial capacity. Additional qualifications include: a solid knowledge of current and future trends in technology; superior communication skills; demonstrated creativity and innovation in applying technological solutions; experience working in an ethnically and culturally diverse environment; ability to communicate and work collaboratively on all levels of the organization; and the ability to build and nurture community partnerships with agencies and organizations. A Master’s Degree in Library Science or a related field and significant experience working with technology in a library environment are highly desirable.
Compensation. Salary range of $100,000.00 – $112,000.00 annually and an excellent fringe benefits package.
If you are a visionary and transformational leader with executive level skills and a commitment to customer service, creativity and innovation, Houston Public Library may be your next great opportunity. Contact Bradbury Associates/Gossage Sager Associates, http://www.gossagesager.com/, via email or telephone for additional information. To start the application process, send a meaningful cover letter and your résumé as Word or pdf attachments to Dan Bradbury, [email protected], or Jobeth Bradbury, [email protected], and apply online on or before the closing date of December 14, 2014.