Information Specialist

University of Plymouth - Library & Learning Services

About the role

Are you an information professional with a passion for teaching, fostering collaboration and providing expert guidance, looking for a secondment or springboard to your next career move?

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an information professional to cover a period of maternity leave as Information Specialist providing Library services in support of teaching, learning and research for the schools of Biological & Marine Sciences and Geography, Earth & Environmental Sciences. The hugely varied role of Information Specialist is based within Library & Learning Services which is a newly formed department within the Education Services Directorate. Information Specialists report to a Senior Information & Learning Specialist and work in collaboration with the wider team including Learning Developers and Lecturers in English as a Foreign Language.

Information Specialists liaise with academic staff and attend school meetings to promote engagement with digital resources and tools that support teaching and learning, and to provide suitable Library collections, resources and services.

You will plan, deliver and evaluate Information Literacy teaching for students and provide 1:1 literature searching support.

You will engage researchers with an Open Research publication culture through expert advocacy and advice.

You will:

• Have a qualification or accreditation in a relevant Library or Information Management field.
• Be able to develop and evaluate effective approaches to teaching Information and digital Literacies. A teaching qualification is desirable.
• Have excellent communication, liaison and networking skills; able to work in partnership with your designated schools and across the Education Services directorate to gather intelligence and inform service development.
• Have experience of working in an academic library or HE teaching environment is desirable.
• Have knowledge of open research practices related to Open Data, Open Access Publishing including funder Open Access policies, researcher profiles tools such as ORCiD and Responsible Metrics is desirable.

This is a full-time position working 37 hours per week on a fixed-term basis for 7 months to cover a period of maternity leave.

The role is based primarily on-campus however flexible working from home can be accommodated within business needs.

For an informal discussion to find out more about the role then please contact Kate Russell.

For more information about the job and the person specification, please refer to the job description.

Application Process

Please apply online, demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria outlined in the knowledge, qualifications, training, and experience elements of the job description in your supporting statement.

Following the closing date of the vacancy, you will be notified on the outcome of your application in due course.

Interviews are expected to take place Monday 27 October 2025.

Closing date: 12 midnight, Sunday 5 October 2025.

Our Offer

When joining us, you will receive:

• Generous annual leave: 25 Days Annual Leave plus Bank Holidays & Closure Days
• Generous pension scheme
• Cycle to Work & Electric Car Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Development opportunities
• Enhanced family leave
• Flexible working
• Retailer discounts
• On-site nursery

A summary of our comprehensive benefits can be viewed here.