Director of Library and Academic Support Services

Position Description Summary

The Director of Library and Academic Support Services at Henry Ford College provides administrative vision and leadership to ensure the college meets the information and educational needs of its learning community. This role includes leading a diverse team of faculty, staff, and student workers, overseeing operations, strategic planning, budgeting and purchasing, technology, and resource management for both the Library and Learning Lab.

About the Role

The Director plays a crucial role in advocating for and representing the Eshleman Library and the Learning Lab within and beyond the College’s learning community. They collaborate with the Learning Lab Coordinator and faculty to maintain, manage, support, and expand tutoring and other academic support services to meet student needs.

Responsibilities

• Serves as a member of the Academic Affairs Leadership Council as well as other College committees and professional organizations as relevant and necessary.
• Works collaboratively to create and maintain an inviting atmosphere conducive to student learning, providing management and vision regarding space design and usage, collection development, information access, technology, and furnishings.
• Exercises data-informed, evidence-based decision-making to oversee operations and services, budgeting and purchasing, technology and resource management for both the Library and Learning Lab in alignment with accreditation standards, benchmarks, user needs, and funding sources.
• Implements library policies and procedures to meet the College’s strategic goals.
• Manages a diverse team of faculty, staff, and student workers across various bargaining units and classifications.
• Partners with academic departments, program faculty, and Student Affairs to grow and improve academic support services that improve student success and enhance learning beyond the classroom.
• Fosters a collaborative environment that promotes employee growth, supporting and facilitating professional development opportunities for Library and Learning Lab staff.
• Involved with the Faculty Library Committee and the Learning Lab Advisory Committee in regular reporting updates as well as current innovations and initiatives related to the Library and the Learning Lab.
• Prepares, analyzes, and submits assessment data and reports as required by federal and state government, professional organizations, the college and the learning community, working cooperatively with Institutional Effectiveness and other departments at the college as necessary.

Qualifications

• Master of Library Science (or equivalent) from an American Library Association (ALA) accredited institution.
• Minimum of seven (7) years of progressively responsible leadership in a library, including management of resources and supervision of personnel (full- or part-time).
• Demonstrated knowledge of library operations and the ability to evaluate, implement, and manage multiple departments to ensure optimal library user access and efficient management of resources.
• Demonstrated understanding of information literacy, critical thinking, and the national frameworks that guide academic library services.
• Demonstrated experience with and/or commitment to the improvement of student success through the development of accessible and effective academic support services.

Core Competencies

• Planning and Evaluating: Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.
• Strategic Thinking: Formulates effective strategies consistent with the business and competitive strategy of the organization in a global economy; examines policy issues and strategic planning with a long-term perspective; determines objectives and sets priorities; anticipates potential threats or opportunities.
• Creative Thinking: Uses imagination to develop new insights into situations and apply innovative solutions to problems; designs new methods where established methods and procedures are inapplicable or are unavailable.
• Leading People: Leads people toward meeting the organization's vision, mission, and goals while providing an inclusive workplace that fosters the development of others, facilitates cooperation and teamwork, and supports constructive resolution of conflicts.
• Decision Making: Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals.
• Managing Resources: Selects, acquires, stores, and distributes resources such as materials, equipment, or money.
• Identifying Emerging Trends: Identifies emerging trends and forms strategic plans to address them.