Director, Teaching, Learning, and Research Support at Occidental College

Metro; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 85,000 - 92,000; Full time

Job summary

Occidental College seeks a Director of Teaching, Learning, and Research Support to provide strategic leadership for the library’s academic engagement. The role oversees instruction, research help, faculty partnerships, and scholarly communications—driving information literacy and responsible research practices across the college.

The position leads a librarians’ team, shapes curriculum integration with learning technologies, supports undergraduate research, and collaborates with Special

Qualifications

• MLIS/MLS or equivalent from an ALA-accredited program is required.
• Four years library experience with at least three years of related professional experience.
• Vision for advancing teaching, learning, and research in a residential liberal arts setting.
• Knowledge of information literacy pedagogy, assessment, and emerging literacies (data/AI/primary sources).
• Experience with scholarly communication, open access, and institutional repositories.
• Ability to lead, mentor, and develop a diverse team and to collaborate across units.

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic and operational leadership for TLRS, supervising librarians and overseeing instruction and research support.
• Lead teaching and learning programs, manage information literacy curriculum, and collaborate with faculty and campus partners.
• Direct research support and scholarly communications, open access, and repository initiatives.
• Cultivate academic partnerships, guide collection development, and contribute to budget strategy.
• Collaborate on policy development and cross-unit coordination within Library leadership.

Skills

Leadership

Mentoring

Assessment & evaluation

Strategic planning

Stakeholder collaboration

Information literacy pedagogy

Communication

Education

MLIS/MLS or equivalent

Tools

Microsoft Office

Google Drive

Adobe Acrobat

Web editing

Social media tools

Job description

Director, Teaching, Learning, and Research Support

Reporting to the College Librarian and Director of the Academic Commons, the Director of Teaching, Learning, and Research Support (TLRS) serves on the Library Leadership Team and leads the Library’s academic engagement with the College through teaching and learning, research support, faculty partnerships, and scholarly communication outreach and education. The Director supervises a team of subject librarians and oversees the department’s disciplinary collections funds and operations, ensuring that its work remains responsive to evolving curricular and research priorities. The incumbent serves as the Library’s lead for translating changes in the scholarly information ecosystem into effective teaching, learning, and research support, working with Library colleagues, Special Collections and College Archives, and campus partners to strengthen student learning, faculty success, and the Library’s role as an academic partner.

Job Duties

• 35% – Management – Provides strategic and operational leadership for the Teaching, Learning, and Research Support department, supervising the team of subject librarians responsible for instruction, research support, faculty engagement, and discipline-informed collection development. Establishes priorities, allocates resources, develops performance expectations, and ensures effective coordination and continuity across the unit’s activities. Mentors librarians individually and as a team and support each librarian’s professional growth, including participation in professional development, research, and presentation opportunities suited to their experience. Develops and maintains departmental policies, guidelines, and standards of practice (e.g., for instruction, research consultations, and subject responsibilities); establishes goals and assessment measures for the department’s programs and services; and fosters a culture of assessment, innovation, and continuous improvement aligned with Library and institutional priorities. – (Essential)
• 20% – Teaching and Learning – Leads the Library’s teaching and learning programs, ensuring that they support student success and advance the College’s educational mission. Oversees the Library’s information literacy curriculum, instructional partnerships, research consultation services, and other teaching and learning initiatives. Ensures that the department collaborates effectively with faculty to integrate information literacy and related literacies (e.g., data and AI literacy) throughout the curriculum, including consultation on the development of research assignments, learning activities, and course design, as well as on the pedagogical use of the College’s learning management system and academic technologies. Leads assessment of the Library’s instructional and consultation programs and student learning outcomes in coordination with Library-wide assessment. Collaborates with colleagues in Special Collections & College Archives to strengthen instructional partnerships, integrating primary source literacy into the Library’s information literacy curriculum while promoting shared instructional principles and practices across the Library. – (Essential)
• 15% – Research Support and Scholarly Communications – Provides strategic direction for the Library’s research support services, including support for undergraduate research and faculty scholarship, and leads the Library’s scholarly communication outreach and education, including open access and the institutional repository. Works with the Director of Collections and Systems on library-related systems. Identifies emerging needs in research and scholarly communication and contributes to the evaluation of scholarly information resources, technologies, and related services to ensure that the Library’s research support programs remain responsive to the College’s academic priorities. Collaborates with the Senior Director of Library Administration and User Services to ensure seamless research support across public services operations, establishing effective referral pathways among User Services staff, student employees, and subject librarians so that users receive appropriate support throughout the research process. – (Essential)
• 15% – Academic Partnerships and Collections Strategy – Cultivates partnerships with faculty and campus collaborators to understand evolving curricular, teaching, and research priorities. Collaborates closely with the Director of Collections and Systems to ensure that collection development priorities, scholarly information resources, and access strategies remain responsive to user needs and aligned with the College’s academic mission. Guides subject librarians in the stewardship of disciplinary collections funds and the selection of resources, while contributing to the broader materials budget strategy as a member of the Library Leadership Team. – (Essential)
• 15% – Shared Administrative Work – Collaborates with the College Librarian and Library leadership to develop, implement, and continuously improve policies, procedures, and best practices governing Library services. Ensures that policies support equitable, accessible, and high-quality services for students, faculty, staff, visiting researchers, and the broader community. Serves on Library and College committees and working groups, representing TLRS and contributing to Library-wide planning and initiatives as a member of the Library Leadership Team. – (Essential)

Minimum Qualifications

• Master’s degree in library and information science (MLIS, MLS, or equivalent) from an ALA-accredited program, or equivalent education and experience.
• Four years of library experience, combined with a minimum of three years of other relevant professional experience, aligned with the key responsibilities of the role.
• Compelling vision for advancing teaching, learning, and research in a residential liberal arts college environment, with a strong understanding of the role of the academic library as a partner in student learning, faculty success, and scholarly inquiry.
• Knowledge of current information literacy pedagogy, instructional design, and assessment of student learning, including emerging areas such as data literacy, AI literacy, and primary source literacy.
• Knowledge of scholarly communication and research support, including open access, institutional repositories, research data, and the evolving scholarly information ecosystem.
• Demonstrated knowledge of contemporary leadership and management practices and the ability to effectively lead, mentor, develop, assess, and evaluate the performance of direct reports and support employee success and achievement.
• Demonstrated ability to provide professional development, training, coaching, and opportunities for direct reports to demonstrate and strengthen their skills and performance; recognize strong performance; address performance concerns; and respond appropriately to differing levels of performance.
• Ability to effectively design, define, describe, and document job functions, responsibilities, tasks, and qualifications associated with supervised positions, and to assess candidates’ experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities when hiring for vacant positions.
• Skilled in providing clear and constructive feedback verbally, in writing, and electronically, and in documenting employee performance through introductory, annual, and other performance evaluations.
• Skilled in developing and implementing appropriate corrective employment, performance, and behavioral strategies, including performance improvement plans and, when necessary, disciplinary processes and decisions regarding continuation of employment.
• Experience with program planning and assessment, evidence-informed decision-making, budget planning, resource allocation, and the development and implementation of policies, procedures, and standards of practice.
• Demonstrated ability to build and sustain productive partnerships with faculty, campus colleagues, academic departments, and peer institutions.
• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively with a diverse community, with a demonstrated commitment to justice, equity, inclusion, and diversity and to equitable, accessible, and inclusive library services.
• Excellent listening, interpersonal, verbal, written, and electronic communication skills, with the ability to communicate effectively and professionally with a variety of constituencies.
• Ability to provide effective leadership and training and to work collaboratively and professionally across functions, disciplines, organizational levels, and diverse groups.
• Flexibility and a collaborative approach to working in an evolving organization in which responsibilities are shared across departments and individuals.
• Demonstrated ability to be detail-oriented and thorough, anticipate and prevent potential problems, and manage a wide variety of tasks with efficiency, accuracy, and sound judgment. Strong commitment to producing a high-quality work product.
• Demonstrated ability to adapt to and perform effectively in a high-volume, high-accountability, confidential environment with multiple and changing priorities.
• Effective organizational, logistical, time-management, and planning skills, with the ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks and projects simultaneously and fulfill responsibilities in a timely manner.
• Ability to self-motivate, exercise initiative, and work independently while contributing effectively to a collaborative team environment.
• Commitment to ongoing professional development and to staying current with emerging practices, technologies, and trends relevant to academic libraries, teaching and learning, research support, and scholarly communication.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint), Google Drive, folders, and forms, Adobe Acrobat, web editing, social media applications, and other productivity programs applicable to the position’s responsibilities, or the ability to learn and effectively use comparable technologies.

EXPECTED HIRING RANGE: $85,000/yr-$92,000/yr

If you are offered this position at Occidental College, your final base salary compensation will be determined based on factors such as skills, education, experience, and/or geographic location. In addition to those factors, Occidental complies with applicable pay equity laws and considers internal equity among current employees when developing the final offer. Please keep in mind that the range mentioned above is the base salary range for the role. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical in order to allow for future and continued salary growth. We also offer a generous compensation and benefits package.