Associate Director Cultural Collections and One University

Working Pattern: Full time, with option for flexible working

Faculty: Professional Services

Location: Western Bank Library, with option for Hybrid working

Are you an innovative and collaborative leader, with significant experience of cultural collections and a passion for building partnerships across a complex organisation?

Do you want a key role in leading our ambitious plans to inspire research, learning and engagement within and beyond the University of Sheffield? 

The Associate Director Cultural Collections and One University will lead the strategic development of our Special Collections, Heritage and Archives as an integral part of the Library’s five year plan.  This individual will also deliver across the Library on the priorities of the One University pillar of the University’s Vision, leading projects and initiatives alongside Library Executive and Senior Leadership Team colleagues in relation to equality, diversity and inclusion, wellbeing, sustainability and staff development. 

Our cultural collections comprise:

• Special Collections and Archives, which holds major collections of rare and specialised books and unique archives covering a wide range of subjects and time periods
• The National Fairground and Circus Archive, which holds collections embodying the history of popular entertainment in the United Kingdom from the seventeenth century onwards
• The Heritage Collections, which consist of thousands of objects that the University has acquired since its foundation in 1905, including the Turner Museum of Glass and the Alfred Denny Museum
• The University Archive, which is the historical record and corporate memory of the University 

We pride ourselves in being a world class, dynamic research library inspiring intellectual discovery and learning, sitting at the heart of the University community and working collaboratively to deliver outstanding experiences for our students, researchers, teachers and visitors.  

We have a reputation for excellence in customer service and leadership in the sector, working with our networks, including the White Rose Libraries Consortium, the N8, RLUK, LIBER and IATUL, at the forefront of developments in open and digital scholarship. We consistently appear amongst the highest ranked Russell Group Institutions in the UK National Student Survey.  

We employ 140 staff and connect with the city and the region. We operate from 4 staffed sites: the Western Bank Library; the Information Commons; the Diamond, and the Health Sciences Library.  

As Associate Director, you will be a key member of the Library Executive Team, providing strategic direction for the Special Collections, Heritage and Archives, University Archives and Library Business Services teams, and working closely with senior academics and professional services colleagues to maximise the impact of our cultural collections.   

Digital innovation is key to this role as is the ability to partner with academics and researchers to ensure our collections are used widely and effectively for research and teaching across the University and beyond. 

For informal enquiries about this job, contact: Anna Clements, Director of Library Services & University Librarian on anna.clements@sheffield.ac.uk or 07704 305 441

To find out what makes the University of Sheffield a remarkable place to work, watch this short film: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LblLk18zmo, and follow @sheffielduni and @ShefUniJobs on Twitter for more information. 

Apply now by clicking on the Apply button located above the top left of your screen.

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