Macalester College seeks Library Operations Specialist

Text courtesy of Katy Gabrio, Associate Library Director, Macalester College

The Dewitt Wallace library at Macalester College is seeking to hire a Library Operations Specialist. This position works closely with the Library Director and Leadership Team in managing the overall operations of the library, which includes communications, financial and budget management for a $1.6 million annual budget, project management, building facilities oversight, etc. 

The Library Operations Specialist will require a high level of personal contact and communication on a daily basis with faculty, students, staff, and off-campus contacts. This Operations Specialist performs operations duties and creative functions including: community and partnership building; helping create a welcoming and inclusive library; building effective workflow systems and efficiencies; writing, editing, preparing and disseminating publications and reports; providing oversight and management of the entire library annual budget; and coordinating hospitality and event planning for spaces within the library. 

This is a full-time position, starting June 1st, 2022. 

About the Dewitt-Wallace Library: 

The Library supports the mission of the College by providing the scholarly information services and resources essential to Macalester’s educational program. Specifically, the Library:

• Educates and guides users in the research process.
• Enables users to identify and obtain needed information.
• Maintains a secure and supportive environment for the use and preservation of collections and delivery of services.
• Manages effectively the budget, processes, personnel and technology needed to accomplish Library goals.

Responsibilities

Operations:

• Supports the Library Director and Library Leadership in a general administrative capacity.
• Manages library facility, hours, and space reservation systems.
• Works with campus partners and vendors to manage and track building maintenance, building projects, and security. 
• Supports selecting and ordering furniture as well as office and hospitality supplies.
• Helps plan and provide support for special events hosted by the library including preparation of invitations, RSVPs, room and catering arrangements, etc. 
• Gathers, organizes, tracks annual and ad hoc statistics.
• Hires, supervises, trains, and manages student employee office assistants.
• Serves as chair of our Library Student Employment Committee. 
• Completes projects and special assignments.

Communication:

• Leads and coordinates distributed communications efforts, employing multiple formats, to promote library programming, resources, and services.
• Maintains public-facing library calendars and coordinates public announcements.
• Supports the writing and editing of reports, including the annual report, newsletters, promotional materials, and more. 
• Manages and coordinates multiple projects.
• Provides general content updates to the library website. 
• Helps support the creation of graphical promotional materials, wayfinding signs in the library, and general graphic design projects using applications such as Adobe Creative Cloud and InDesign.
• Supports administrative aspects of library publishing and digital accessibility efforts in coordination with the Digital Initiatives & Scholarly Communication Librarian.
• Develops and updates documentation, publications, and policies.

Finance:

• Provides day-to-day oversight of library budget; manages library student employment budget; analyzes financial activities and provides input into budget planning and preparation processes. 
• Utilizes systems for purchasing, processing, tracking, and report generation.
• Reports on the budget to the leadership team and library staff.
• Helps prepare budget projections and special requests.
• Processes and reconciles invoices to ensure accuracy and timely payments. 
• Manages and reconciles expenditures on purchasing credit cards.
• Serves as liaison to Business Services for library budget-related issues.

Additional key responsibilities and professional development:

• Provides excellent customer service.
• Excellent oral, written and interpersonal communication skills. Ability to work effectively and creatively in a dynamic team environment.
• Participates in cross-functional work groups according to interests, skills, and library needs.
• Helps foster teamwork throughout the organization on campus, and beyond.
• Helps maintain efficient workflow, procedures, and process improvements. 
• Supervises student employee(s) who support work on communications, finance, and operations as well as general library needs.
• Contributes to assessment activities throughout the organization including report writing and data compilation and analysis. 
• Provides service to the college through participation on campus groups or projects.
• Serves on local or national professional committees to share our expertise and experience with others, and to serve as a representative of the college.
• Attends at least one professional conference per year.
• Stays abreast of developments related to electronic publishing and shares information with the Digital Scholarship and Services team.

Annual goals:

• Contributes to completion of annual library & media services goals.
• Sets and attains annual personal performance goals.

Qualifications

• 3+ years experience in an administrative and/or operations management environment. Demonstrated project management skills and ability to prioritize and handle multiple tasks, projects, and deadlines with minimum supervision. Experience with administrative and budget management skills.  Fluency with Google Sheets/Microsoft Excel and spreadsheet functions related to budget management. Excellent writing, editing, communication, and interpersonal skills.  Experience with social media, publishing, or graphic design tools. A desire to work in an undergraduate, student-centered environment and to manage student employees. Ability to work effectively in a collaborative team environment. Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills. Ability to maintain strict confidentiality. Demonstrated commitment to service.
• Experience managing budgets and utilizing spreadsheets.  Outstanding organizational and project management skills.
• Strong organizational, analytical, and computer skills required. Experience in gathering, analyzing, and effectively using statistics.
• Ability to help identify library communication needs and help develop and execute plans to meet those needs. Ability to exercise a high degree of initiative in carrying out assignments.
• Experienced with standard computing applications for productivity and communication. Experience with Excel for managing spreadsheets.  Experience with web page and site creation and publication design. Experience with InDesign, standard web editing and graphics software such as Adobe Photoshop is highly desirable.  Experience with social media -- Facebook, Twitter, blogs.
• Ability to document core policies and procedures. 
• Associate’s Degree required. Bachelor’s Degree preferred.

Compensation & Benefits: 

This full-time position starts June 1st 2022 and includes an annual salary of $50,000-$55,000 and Macalester’s full benefits package. 

Application Guidelines: 

To apply please submit your resume with your cover letter in one pdf to Macalester’s Employment Page. Applicants who apply by April 4th will receive priority consideration and this job will be posted until filled.

All inquiries about this position should be directed to: 

Jaclyn Howard
jhoward3@macalester.edu
Talent Acquisition Manager