"Head of Collection Strategies"

Job Details

Head of Collection Strategies

Library of the University of California, Davis

Overview of Position

The Library of the University of California, Davis, seeks a creative, forward-looking, collaborative, and service-oriented Head of Collection Strategies. The position reports to the Associate University Librarian for Scholarly Resources and provides leadership in the broad area of collection strategy.

The portfolio for this position includes providing direct supervision to the three collection strategists and the head of collection maintenance, and indirect supervision to the five other employees in collection maintenance.

This position has primary responsibility for the collection development budget ($8.4M). Working closely with the collection strategists, they guide collection development in support of all academic programs across the campus. They directly engage in collection development for their own portfolio of academic programs (to be determined). They serve as the library's primary contact with the California Digital Library (which coordinates the acquisition of many resources for the UC system), vendors and publishers, and library personnel regarding issues and collections.

This position also provides leadership and indirect management for the collection maintenance unit, which includes personnel responsible for conservation and preservation, book repair, sending materials to the UC bindery, physical processing of materials, collection analytics, holdings and item maintenance, and UC Davis's participation in the Google Books project. They also play a leadership role in the evaluation of potential gifts-in-kind, including diplomatically suggesting alternative paths forward to potential donors.

This position will also take the lead in cultivating a culture of assessment for library collections, broadening our concept of library collections to include research data and born-digital resources, and advocacy for open access and open scholarship.

The University will not offer visa sponsorship for this position. The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate that they are legally authorized to work in the United States.

UC Davis and UC Davis Library

[Detailed university and library description omitted for brevity, but includes rankings, facilities, etc.]

A Culture of Opportunity and Belonging

[EEO statement and encouragement to apply.]

Position Responsibilities

• Leads and manages two units comprising nine personnel: [details on supervision, admin duties, etc.]
• Provide inspired leadership and direction for enhancing and evolving multiple components (especially development, management, and assessment) of the life cycle of collections: [budget, development, assessment, etc.]
• Collaborates broadly to build and steward collections: [relationships, negotiations, etc.]
• Other duties and responsibilities as assigned
• As an academic appointee engages actively in pertinent ongoing research, scholarship, or creative activity and/or teaching

Required Qualifications for the Position

• Graduate degree in library science from an ALA-accredited institution or equivalent.
• Minimum of two years experience as a supervisor.
• Minimum of two years experience in selecting library materials.
• Demonstrated experience managing complex and large budgets (at least in millions of dollars) and in financial planning and analysis.
• [Other skills listed]

Preferred Qualifications for the Position

• Collection development [details]
• Management [details]
• [Other preferences]

Salary and Benefits

Rank and salary: Associate Librarian, Salary Point 9, $94,003 to Librarian, Salary Point 18, $160,157. (Appointment rank and salary based on qualifications and experience.)

[Benefits details]

Application Information

Applications must be submitted via the UC Davis RECRUIT website: https://recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07487

Candidates applying by March 19, 2026 will receive first consideration. The position will remain open until filled.

Please include a letter of interest addressing qualifications and experience related to the position, a Curriculum Vitae, and names and contact information for at least four references.