Director of Information & Technical Services

Company Description

By working at Harvard University, you join a vibrant community that advances Harvard’s world‑changing mission in meaningful ways, inspires innovation and collaboration, and builds skills and expertise. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

At Harvard Library, we are champions of curiosity. We aim to be global leaders in expanding world knowledge and intellectual exploration, engaging communities in the creation and sharing of new knowledge and connecting them with the vast collections we curate and steward through collaborations around the world. Our core mission for nearly four centuries has been to advance learning, research, and the pursuit of truth at the heart of Harvard, driven by collaboration, diversity, access, and curiosity.

Reporting to the Associate University Librarian for Discovery and Access, the Director of Information & Technical Services will lead the ITS department of the Harvard Library. The Director will oversee operational management of staff, functions, and operations, provide strategic direction to ITS sections (monographic acquisitions, e‑resources & serials acquisitions and management, metadata creation and management), and lead Harvard Library initiatives within their purview.

The Director will serve as a trusted advisor for library leaders, set priorities in ordering, scoping, licensing, project planning and strategy, and establish and implement technical services policies, standards, and procedures. The department has more than 99 staff, multiple locations, and an annual budget of approximately $14.9 million. The Director is an active member of the Harvard Library Leadership Team and the Discovery and Access Leads Team.

• Lead the stewardship, growth and impact of Harvard Library’s ITS department.
• Provide vision and strategic direction for technical services operations and priorities across all ITS sections.
• Manage, coach, and coordinate ITS senior managers and workflows aligned with institutional and departmental strategy.
• Oversee functional operations of the ITS sections, ensuring cohesive, aligned service delivery, projects, and workflows.
• Maintain cross‑functional knowledge to enable effective coordination, prioritization, and decision‑making.
• Leverage staff resources within financial constraints.
• Formulate policies for the administration of technical services activities.
• Promote coordinated technical services across the Harvard Library to strengthen access to collections.
• Ensure ITS addresses identified user needs of Harvard affiliates and the broader community.
• Build strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, fostering innovation and continuous improvement.
• Serve as a member of the Discovery and Access Leads Team to integrate services across the portfolio.
• Encourage exchange of metadata and electronic resource standards, workflows, and policies with external partners.
• Contribute to library‑wide planning and initiatives that advance the Library’s strategic priorities.
• Champion creative approaches to strategic goals and programs.
• Conduct technology watches and research to review best practices and implement continuous improvement.
• Coordinate with colleagues to ensure agreed‑upon service levels and standards of technical services are met.
• Lead (as appropriate) tactics related to Harvard Library Multi‑Year Goals and Objectives that focus on technical services.

• Inspire and oversee user‑centered technical services operations across a large, distributed library system with a diverse workforce and complex budget.
• Guide functional managers through review and identification of discrete work processes and change initiatives.
• Build and develop critical capabilities through strategic hiring, staff development, and talent management.
• Promote accountability, high performance, staff engagement, and diversity through a sense of purpose and cooperation.
• Define and develop Harvard’s role in training and development of the profession related to metadata processing and…