Head of Special Collections and Archives - Grade 8 Liverpool, England
Job description
This is an incredibly exciting time to join the University of Liverpool. The Libraries, Museums, and Galleries (LMG) have a central role in delivering on the university's regional, national, and global ambitions. With our internationally significant collections, expert staff, and strong track record of research and learning services, we are well positioned to meet the changing needs of our users.
LMG offer comprehensive Heritage Services with mixed media collections that support teaching, research and public engagement. Collections range from internationally significant science fiction, modern poetry archives, distinctive rare book collections, and the University institutional archive to major deposited collections including the Cunard archive. The Institute of Popular Music and the Garstang museum of archaeology represent important partnerships with academic departments. The University Art Collection, and the University museum collections of natural history, history of medicine and technology complement holdings across the City Region.
We have ambitions to move from being a largely analogue collection to offering comprehensive and innovative digital services in collaboration with University services, faculties, external cultural partners and community groups. We are embarking on this roadmap in parallel to addressing legacies of colonialism and bias in collecting practices, taking an anti-racist stance and working in close cooperation and collaboration with communities in the region. This is an exciting time to join a growing team, creating new partnerships for the co-production and co-curation of knowledge across the City Region and looking to develop relationships internationally.
We are seeking to appoint a highly skilled and motivated individual to join the LMG as Head of Special Collections and Archives. This position reports directly to the Deputy Director of Libraries, Museums and Galleries. It is one of two Grade 8 positions across the Heritage portfolio (the second being Head of Museums and Galleries). LMG is going through an ambitious and significant period of change and functional responsibilities across the Heritage portfolio will be evolving based on team strengths, areas of growing priority and University strategy.
As Head of Special Collections and Archives you will be directly responsible for staff in librarian, archivist and curatorial roles, as well digital and technical roles. You may be required to supervise collaborative PhD candidates and Research Associates. You will be responsible for the strategic development of collections and services, increasing visibility and reuse in physical and digital environments. You will broaden audiences and devise collaborations with communities, building lasting partnerships locally and internationally.
You will have a degree, or equivalent qualification, or relevant professional experience.
Responsibilities:
Lead the Heritage Services Team in a holistic approach to collections management across disciplines, developing skills and team experience
Encourage and embed a dynamic research culture across all aspects of Heritage services and staff
Lead and develop innovative documentation strategies in respect of established and emerging international standards, addressing inappropriate language in description, adopting FAIR Principles, and embedding digital preservation and access
Maintain and develop stakeholder relationships and partnerships to aid the development of collections, to maximise funding opportunities and enhance the impact of our work
Collaborate with academics and cultural partners, developing innovative approaches for the creation and reuse of digital content in teaching, research and public engagement
Develop creative partnerships with communities to reinterpret collections through co-curation and co-production
Lead successful accreditations for Archives, and associated accreditation schemes as appropriate, improving standards
The University has the right to close the vacancy early if it is deemed that there have been enough applications received
