Director, Libraries Deanship

United Arab Emirates University, Department of Family Medicine; Abu Dhabi; On-site; AED 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

United Arab Emirates University invites applications for the position of Director of the Libraries Deanship. The Director will provide strategic, operational, and technical leadership across services, collections, staff, spaces, systems, and partnerships to advance student success, teaching excellence, and research impact.

Reporting to the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, the role emphasizes digital transformation, open scholarship, and responsible AI adoption within a complex

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Library and Information Science from an ALA-recognized program or international equivalent.
• Six years of progressively responsible experience in academic or research libraries, including collection development or senior library administration.
• Demonstrated track record in strategic leadership, organizational change, budgeting, and stewardship of complex library operations.
• Substantial knowledge of digital resources, scholarly communication, open access, preservation, and library technologies.
• Evidence of successful collaboration with senior leaders, faculty, researchers, students, staff, and external partners.
• Advanced English proficiency with strong written and oral communication, sound judgment, and stakeholder engagement.

Responsibilities

• Set and communicate a forward-looking vision for the Libraries Deanship and translate strategy into multi-year priorities and annual plans.
• Advance student learning and success through information literacy, research consulting, and integration with curricula.
• Strengthen the research enterprise through scholarly communication, data stewardship, and institutional repositories.
• Lead a coherent collections strategy across print, digital, archival, and special collections; manage acquisitions and preservation.
• Guide digital transformation, including platforms, digitization, AI adoption, and data-informed services.
• Enhance physical and virtual library spaces as inclusive, technology-enabled environments for study and collaboration.
• Use analytics and KPIs to evaluate impact, report progress, and inform improvements.
• Prepare and manage annual budget; oversee procurement, contracts, subscriptions, vendors, and facilities.
• Recruit, develop, empower, and retain a high-performing workforce; foster an inclusive service culture.
• Establish governance, policies, and standards for operations, copyright, privacy, security, and risk management.
• Build partnerships with colleges, research centers, publishers, consortia, and international libraries.
• Represent the Deanship in governance and external professional forums; prepare annual reporting.

Skills

Visionary leadership

Strategic thinking

Stakeholder engagement

Team development

Budgeting

Education

Master's degree in Library and Information Science

PhD or relevant advanced qualification

Job description

Job Description The United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) invites applications for the position of Director of the Libraries Deanship. Reporting to the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (Provost), the Director is responsible for the technical and administrative affairs of the University Libraries and provides strategic, operational, and technical leadership across their services, collections, staff, spaces, systems, and partnerships. Working closely with university leadership, colleges, research centers, faculty members, students, and staff, the Director will position the Libraries Deanship as an essential partner in student success, teaching excellence, research impact, knowledge stewardship, and digital innovation. The Director represents the Deanship on relevant University committees and leads its advancement in alignment with UAEU’s strategic priorities.

Key Responsibilities

• Set and communicate a forward-looking vision for the Libraries Deanship; translate UAEU’s strategy into multi-year priorities, annual operational plans, measurable outcomes, and an agile service portfolio.
• Advance student learning and success through information and digital literacy, research consultation, accessible learning resources, and close integration of library expertise with curricula and academic programs.
• Strengthen the research enterprise through scholarly communication, open scholarship, research-data stewardship, digital scholarship, copyright guidance, bibliometrics and research-impact support, and the continued development of UAEU’s institutional repository and digital collections.
• Lead a coherent collections strategy across print, digital, archival, and special collections; oversee acquisition, licensing, discovery, preservation, and responsible withdrawal while balancing quality, access, cost, and long‑term value.
• Guide responsible digital transformation, including library platforms, discovery systems, digitization, digital preservation, data‑informed services, and the ethical and effective adoption of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.
• Enhance physical and virtual library environments as inclusive, accessible, technology‑enabled spaces for study, collaboration, teaching, research, and community engagement.
• Use assessment, user research, service analytics, benchmarking, and key performance indicators to evaluate impact, improve the user experience, and report transparently on the Deanship’s activities and achievements.
• Prepare and manage the annual budget; oversee procurement, contracts, subscriptions, vendors, facilities, and technology investments; and ensure effective, sustainable, and accountable use of resources.
• Recruit, develop, empower, and retain a high‑performing workforce; foster a collaborative, inclusive, service‑oriented culture and support continuing professional development and succession planning.
• Establish clear policies, governance, and quality standards covering operations, collections, accessibility, copyright, privacy, information security, risk management, and business continuity, in collaboration with relevant University units.
• Build productive partnerships with colleges, research centers, information technology, student‑support units, publishers, vendors, consortia, academic libraries, information centers, and cultural institutions across the UAE, GCC, Arab region, and internationally.
• Represent and advocate for the Libraries Deanship in University governance and external professional forums, and prepare the Deanship’s annual report and other performance and strategic reports required by University leadership.

Minimum Qualifications

• A master’s degree in Library and Information Science from a reputable university recognized by the American Library Association (ALA), or internationally equivalent program.
• A minimum of six years of progressively responsible experience in academic or research libraries, including significant responsibility for collection development and/​or senior library administration.
• A demonstrated record of strategic leadership, organizational change, staff development, budgeting, performance management, and stewardship of complex library operations.
• Substantial knowledge of contemporary academic‑library practice, including digital and electronic resources, library technologies, scholarly communication, open access, research support, copyright, and preservation.
• Evidence of successful collaboration with senior leaders, faculty members, researchers, students, staff, vendors, and external partners in a complex higher‑education environment.
• Advanced proficiency in English, excellent written and oral communication skills, and sound judgment in decision‑making, negotiation, problem‑solving, and stakeholder engagement.

Preferred Qualifications

• A doctorate degree or another relevant advanced qualification.
• Senior leadership experience in a research‑intensive university or a comparably complex, multi‑unit academic library system.
• Experience advancing research‑data services, institutional repositories, digital scholarship, open educational resources, digital preservation, responsible AI initiatives, or evidence‑based service design.
• Experience with major space, systems, or organizational transformation; contract negotiation; and external resource development.
• Relevant professional development in strategic management, institutional leadership and excellence, change management, program management, performance evaluation, or administrative analysis.
• Visible professional engagement through relevant associations, conferences, exhibitions, and workshops, including organizations such as American Library Association (ALA), Special Libraries Association (SLA), International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), and Association of European Research Libraries LIBER.

Expected Skills

Visionary and strategic leadership; intellectual curiosity; collaborative governance; staff empowerment and development; change leadership; innovation; accountability; financial and resource stewardship; evidence‑based decision‑making; user and service orientation; inclusive leadership; effective communication and advocacy; negotiation and relationship building; analytical thinking; sound judgment; resilience; integrity; initiative; and commitment to professional ethics.