The ISAC Data Research Center (DRC) at The University of Chicago is seeking a Director to provide strategic, operational, and financial leadership for its research support units, advancing the integration of digital research practices and ensuring access to exceptional services, tools, collections, and platforms for researchers, students, and the public.
Requirements
- Advanced training or experience in library and information science, digital humanities, or scholarly infrastructure.
- Demonstrated expertise in project management, database administration, metadata and digitization, and leading interdisciplinary teams in a university or research institution.
- Extensive expertise in academic research, digital scholarship, data management, database administration, metadata standards, information science, and web-based applications in humanities.
- Expertise in bibliographic systems, archival metadata standards (e.g., MARC, EAD), and collection management platforms.
- Deep familiarity with AI-assisted discovery and enrichment tools for digital collections and research support.
- Ability to unify services and strategy across digital and analog domains.
- Knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.
Responsibilities
- Develop and implement best practices for integrating analog and digital archival content into ISAC’s research ecosystem.
- Lead the planning, execution, and monitoring of DRC, library, and archives projects, including digitization projects, repository development, and implementation of AI-assisted discovery tools, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with strategic objectives.
- Oversee interdisciplinary and grant-funded projects involving textual, archaeological, geospatial, and archival data.
- Oversee daily operations of the DRC, Research Archives, and Archives, including managing personnel, workflows, facilities, and user services, ensuring compliance with University policies and procedures.
- Supervises the building and expansion of library collections, consults in a specialty field, and plans one or more primary library programs.
- Manages the building and expansion of library collections, consults in a specialty field, and manages one or more primary library programs.
- Develops and sustains digital scholarship, infrastructure, and interdisciplinary research.
Other
- Develop and implement a unified strategic vision for the DRC and Research Archives that aligns with ISAC’s academic mission in collaboration with the ISAC Director and advisory committee, aligning with the University's mission and goals.
- Anticipate evolving needs in research services, digital infrastructure, and scholarly communication.
- Provide senior leadership for the DRC, Research Archives, and Archives, including oversight of physical and digital collections, collection development, cataloging, metadata creation, digital preservation, and reading room services.
- Foster collaborations across the University of Chicago and with national and international research institutions, museums, and digital consortia.
- Represent ISAC in academic conferences, grant networks, and scholarly infrastructure initiatives.
- Manage the DRC’s budget inclusive of Research Archives, Archives, and Data Services, secure funding through fundraising efforts in partnership with ISAC Development, and ensure fiscal responsibility.
- Directly supervise 3+ professional staff members, including librarian, archivist, and web application developer, as well as 10+ part-time staff members, providing guidance, support, and professional development opportunities to enhance team performance.
- Foster staff development and a culture of innovation and service.
- Interviews, hires, and trains employees; sets and adjusts staff schedules, and manages disciplinary policies.
- Strong interpersonal skills, experience supervising diverse teams, ability to lead a team of professionals.
- Exceptional communication skills with the ability to engage diverse range of stakeholders.
- Demonstrated capability to liaise effectively between faculty, students, colleagues, information technology, and technical staff.
- Ability to work collaboratively on fundraising and development initiatives.
- Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.
- Degree in a field of the humanities relevant to ISAC’s mission, such as archaeology, philology, or digital humanities, with advanced training or experience in library and information science, digital humanities, or scholarly infrastructure.
- Leadership experience in strategic planning, project management, academic research design, information science, data management, and research libraries or archives.
- Established experience with budgeting and fiscal planning in a higher education setting.
