Job Description

Salary in the region of \xc2\xa368,000 per annum (commensurate with experience), plus a comprehensive reward and benefits package.

Are you an effective strategic and people leader, able to set direction and convert strategy into compelling outcomes? Are you committed to collective leadership and inclusive practice, a creative optimist who will inspire and engage our people?

Now is a hugely exciting time to join Library and Cultural Services. We are embarking on an ambitious plan to reimagine our profile and portfolio, including the design and construction of a landmark new building, in support of the University\'s Road to 2030 strategy.

To drive change and achieve this transformation, we need inspired, innovative leadership across a broad spectrum of responsibilities. If you can develop a compelling vision and lead with authenticity and purpose, motivating and engaging staff, this is your chance to join us as Associate Director of Content and Discovery - playing a key role in embedding a shared culture of innovation and supporting the University\'s priorities.

About us
With over 4,000 staff members and around 40,000 students - including some 6,000 choosing to study for a postgraduate qualification - we are a big institution with even bigger ambitions. We are proud to be an integral part of the great city of Manchester, but in fact our impact reaches around the globe.

We are committed to providing excellent education to transform our students\' lives, and to delivering high quality research with powerful real-world impacts and benefits, as evidenced by our highly successful REF outcome: 30% of our research, across more than 740 academics, has been rated as world leading. And 90% of our research impact is world leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021). We are well on the way to being a dual intensive university.

Now we are making a significant investment in realising our objectives to excel in education and to build upon on our research reputation. Alongside our \xc2\xa3400m campus and University infrastructure upgrade, we are investing in people: drawing in the best talent to develop and deliver our strategic aims.

About the role
Sharing responsibility for the strategic leadership and management of Library and Cultural Services, you will have a particular focus on developing a new approach to content - in response to the shift to open, changing scholarly communications, evolving user needs and behaviour, emerging formats and the opportunities of our Library Transformation Programme. You will lead the digital transformation of services and collections, as well as the strategic development and operational management of access and discovery services, tools and platforms. Overseeing the delivery of the overall Library and Cultural Services budget, and planning and managing a significant content budget, you will also be expected to build productive relationships with senior colleagues and to actively engage with sector developments in content, negotiation and licensing.

About you
You bring energy and drive to achieve our strategic vision and develop and deliver innovative services. You are future focussed and people led. Inclusive and collective ways of working matter to you.

With a record of successful senior leadership and management in a large, complex and diverse library or information environment, you have excellent knowledge of innovative and sector leading approaches to the development and delivery of academic library services and content. Your experience includes managing library systems and digital library development, as well as leveraging developments in academic publishing and collection development to identify opportunities and plan and deliver service enhancement.

You have substantial experience of developing strategy and translating it into measurable outcomes, with good knowledge and understanding of the strategic issues and context within which UK higher education operates, and an evident ability to build relationships and develop alliances and influence. Your proven experience of initiating and leading change programmes/projects - and of supporting staff through change - is backed by the ability to develop, lead and complete multiple programmes/projects, and the financial acumen to manage substantial procurement of content.

Interviews will be held on Wednesday 13 September 2023

To explore the post or to ask questions you may have, please contact Rachel Beckett, Director of Library and Cultural Services, at

Manchester Metropolitan University is committed to supporting the rights, responsibilities, dignity, health and wellbeing of staff and students through our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

We promote applications from all sections of the community, irrespective of background, belief or identity, recognising the benefits that a diverse organisation can bring and particularly encourage applications from groups which are underrepresented in the University workforce.

We recognise the benefits and importance of an environment that supports flexible working and are open to conversations about this throughout the application process.

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Manchester Metropolitan University