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Web Product Manager & User Experience Specialist, Technology Planning, Integration, and Experience (TPIE), MIT Libraries, Cambridge, MA

Posted September 1, 2015

The MIT Libraries seek an experienced and enthusiastic web and user experience professional to join the newly created TPIE department, working to deliver on the promise technology holds for the future of library services and spaces through project and portfolio management, user experience, IT governance, service design and development and space planning.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The Web Product Manager & User Experience Specialist provides daily oversight of the Libraries web presence, and is responsible for creating, improving, and maintaining web sites, web pages, and user interfaces. They work closely with a team of product managers, web services and software development staff, content creators, and product and service vendors to create and maintain a portfolio of web sites and applications. They also lead usability testing activities using a variety of methods, analyze results, and collaborate with other library staff to create intuitive, integrated, and consistent user experiences across library services, collections, and online or physical spaces. Additional responsibilities include:

  • Serving as a project lead for developing and improving web content and interface designs.
  • Guiding development of user interfaces for discovery and fulfillment systems
  • Advancing and advocating for use of User Experience techniques across the organization.
  • Keeping abreast of new techniques and methods, and maintaining a working relationship with MIT IS&T, including the Usability & Accessibility Team and the Mobile Team.
  • Uses evidence-based decision-making, including web analytics, usability studies, focus groups, surveys, interviews, and observation to inform current and future library systems and services, in alignment with the mission and priorities of MIT and the Libraries.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required – Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years experience in web management, web user experience, and usability and UI testing. In-depth knowledge of user-centered design principles, interaction design guidelines and patterns, usability testing methodologies, web industry standards and trends, platform standards, and the prototyping and software development process. Information architecture and visual design skills, experience creating wireframes and sitemaps. Familiarity with HTML5, CSS3 and other relevant web standards or languages. Experience working with content management systems. Experience with web product management and operations. Working knowledge of responsive design methodologies. Ability to work independently and in a team environment in a culturally diverse user community. A collaborative approach to problem-solving and working across organizational boundaries. Familiarity with qualitative user research methodologies and analysis techniques, ability to translate insights into actionable design recommendations. Excellent project management, time management, and prioritization skills. Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including ability to communicate with technical and non-technical audiences. Evidence of willingness and ability to quickly learn new technologies. Ability to analyze problems, gather and evaluate data, and make independent decisions in a dynamic, iterative environment. Ability to creatively and implement innovative solutions. Demonstrated strong customer service focus.

Preferred – Advanced degree. WordPress and Drupal development and/or administration experience. Experience implementing web accessibility improvements. Experience creating and using web analytics. Experience with social media integration into web design. Knowledge of Agile/Scrum project management methodologies and tools.

SALARY AND BENEFITS: Salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. MIT offers excellent benefits including a choice of health and retirement plans, a dental plan, and tuition assistance. The MIT Libraries afford a flexible and collegial working environment and foster professional growth of staff with management training and travel funding for professional meetings.

Apply online at: http://hrweb.mit.edu/staffing/. Applications should include cover letter and resume. Review of applications will begin immediately; position open until filled. MIT is strongly and actively committed to diversity within its community and particularly encourages applications from qualified women and minority candidates.

The MIT Libraries support the Institute’s programs of research and study with holdings of more than 2.9 million print volumes and 3.1 million special format items, and terabytes of MIT-owned digital content. In addition, rare special collections, Institute records, historical documents, and papers of noted faculty are held in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. Library resources and services are accessible to students and researchers through the Libraries’ website (http://libraries.mit.edu/), and library spaces are widely available for both collaborative work and quiet study. Library resources are supplemented by innovative services for bioinformatics, GIS, metadata, social science and other research data. Through a culture that encourages innovation and collaboration, the MIT Libraries are redefining the role of the 21st century library – making collections more accessible than ever before, and shaping the future of scholarly research. Library staff, at all levels, contribute to this spirit of innovation and to the mission of promoting learning, discovery and the advancement of knowledge at MIT and beyond.

The Libraries maintain memberships and affiliations in ArchivesSpace, arXiv, Association of Research Libraries, the BorrowDirect, Boston Library Consortium, DDI Alliance, DuraSpace, HathiTrust, CLIR/Digital Library Federation, Coalition of Networked Information, Coalition of Open Access Policy Institutions, EDUCAUSE, National Digital Stewardship Alliance, NISO, North East Research Libraries, OCLC Research Library Partnership, and ORCID. The Libraries utilize Ex Libris’ Aleph for its integrated library system and have recently deployed EBSCO’s Discovery Service. DSpace@MIT, a digital repository developed over the past ten years by the MIT Libraries, serves to capture, preserve and communicate the intellectual output of MIT’s faculty and research community. Other MIT repositories include: Dome, a second DSpace instance, providing access to a sizable image collection and other digital collections owned by the MIT Libraries; the MIT Geodata Repository for a diverse collection of GIS Data; and MIT’s DataVerse for licensed social science datasets.

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