Assistant Manager, Frontline Services, Tisch Library, Medford, MA

Posted January 29, 2021

Description:

Tisch Library is searching for our first Assistant Manager of Frontline Services. We are seeking a candidate who embraces change and innovation, who is eager to welcome a challenge and who would like to place their own stamp on this brand-new position.

The ideal candidate will be a skilled change agent with experience in library public services. Recommendations from a Spring 2020 external program reviews of the Access Services department has provided us with expert field advice to help guide the direction and strategies for this most critical, user-centered unit. The Assistant Manager will have the chance to:

• Build a strong, effective integrated service model
• Foster a collaborative culture and shape an agile, responsive team, with a mix of veteran staff and new hires
• Lead a sizeable cohort of Tufts undergraduate and graduate student staff
• Implement new ways of providing services, both for our current “COVID-adjusted” on-campus semester, and beyond

Tisch Library is a student-centered research library, dedicated to the support of teaching, learning, and scholarship in Tufts’ School of Arts & Sciences and School of Engineering.  We provide collections, subject expertise, and technology-rich research and learning environments, with a variety of services and programs to meet the information needs of our students, faculty, and staff. We provide a welcoming, inclusive environment for our patrons, with collaborative staff committed to teamwork. The Access Services Department ensures timely and effective access to library collections, facilities and services, managing circulation, reserves, basic reference, interlibrary loan, stack management, printing and scanning. We seek experienced candidates who are excited to work with a community of students and faculty who are diverse in every way.
Reporting to the Head of Access Services, the Assistant Manager for Frontline Services will be responsible for providing leadership and management of the Information Desk – the primary service point in Tisch Library – with a consistent commitment to ensuring a superior user experience. The successful candidate will sustain collaborative relationships with colleagues across the Tufts Libraries to provide seamless frontline library services to the university community.

The successful candidate will:

• Drive the continued evolution of an integrated service model at the Information Desk, emphasizing a user-centered approach, especially for users who have been historically marginalized.
• Supervise staff responsible for:
  • facilitating access to physical collections (books and other physical media)
  • first-tier in-person reference, virtual reference, and referrals to next-level consultation
  • circulating equipment, including inventory management
  • shelving stacks materials, including shifting collections when needed
  • assisting with public computers and printers, engaging tech support when needed
  • monitoring and reporting facility issues; building security
  • billing
• In collaboration with colleagues across the library, build an effective, culturally-sensitive training and development program for frontline student staff.
  • Oversee hiring, scheduling, evaluation
  • Ensure efficient integration of staff and student responsibilities
• Oversee Information Desk data collection and assist with analysis.
• Maintain up-to-date documentation of policies and procedures.
• Assist the department head and library administration with planning and budgeting.
• Serve on library task forces and teams; be active in Boston Library Consortium and industry groups such as ELUNA (Ex Libris system users).
• Serve as leader in the absence of the department head.
  
  

Qualifications:

Basic Requirements:

• Bachelor’s Degree
• At least three years’ library experience in a user-facing role
• Established success in a customer service environment
• Strong service orientation and commitment to creating an inclusive environment in a diverse community
• Excellent oral and written communication skills and problem-solving ability
• Demonstrated facility with library technology, including library integrated management systems and discovery platforms, statistics and scheduling software tools, and office productivity software
• Successful supervisory experience     

Preferred Qualifications:

• MLIS from an ALA-accredited institution
• Work experience in an academic research library
• Project management experience
• Familiarity with Ex Libris’ Alma and Primo

We are open to a broad range of ways and contexts in which candidates might demonstrate how they meet these qualifications. For example, while candidates might document their demonstrated commitment, experience, and knowledge through work activities—including in positions outside of libraries—they might also speak to coursework, community service, participation in cultural or other organizations, and involvement with student groups, among other possibilities. Cover letters must also include a description from the applicant that speaks to how their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion could be integrated into this position.

How to Apply:

The original job posting with full description can be found here. Apply using the job portal found there.

An employee in this position must complete all appropriate background checks at the time of hire, promotion, or transfer. Equal Opportunity Employer – minority/females/veterans/disability/sexual orientation/gender identity.