HEAD LIBRARIAN & CAPSTONE CHAIR

Davis Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Davis School Chicago invites applications for a founding Head Librarian to launch a visionary library and Capstone program for a new Jewish college-preparatory high school opening in downtown Chicago. The role combines leadership with hands-on development of a makerspace, robust research support, and partnerships that will grow with the school.

The ideal candidate will bring a Master’s in Library and Information Science (ALA-accredited) or related field, hold or pursue appropriate librarian

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Library and Information Science (ALA-accredited) is required or related field; doctorate preferred.
• Illinois School Librarian or Library Media Specialist certification preferred; National Board Certification a plus.
• 3+ years of teaching or school-library experience required.
• Some leadership experience is preferred; department, administration, or instructional leadership preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of the library and Capstone program for a new school.
• Serve as founding Head Librarian and an essential member of the startup leadership team.
• Build internship and mentor relationships across Chicago to support student learning.
• Create a library that blends traditional books with makerspace, research help, and game design.

Skills

Leadership experience

Teaching or school-library experience

Research and information literacy

Interpersonal communication

Education

Master's in Library and Information Science (ALA accredited)

Doctorate preferred

Illinois School Librarian/Library Media Specialist certification preferred

National Board Certification a plus

Job description

Full-Time Founding Leadership Position · Reports to the Principal · Master's degree required - Library and Information Science (American Library Association accredited) preferred, or Humanities, Curriculum, Education, Educational Leadership, or a related field; doctorate preferred · Illinois School Librarian or Library Media Specialist certification preferred and National Board Certification a major plus · 3+ years of successful teaching or school-library experience required · Some form of leadership experience is preferred; department, administration, or instructional leadership preferred · College-preparatory, independent, Jewish day or faith-based school experience is a plus · Being Jewish is not a requirement for this role · Fewer years but exceptional craft? We hire for mastery, not seat time.

Are you a librarian built for what's next, a builder of libraries rather than a keeper of them, who believes that extraordinary schools are built by extraordinary people? Do you want the unique opportunity to help launch and shape a new Jewish college-preparatory high school and its library, research, and internship / partnership programs from the ground up? Are you passionate about cultivating intellectual curiosity, academic integrity, advanced research skills, innovation, and scholarly excellence in students? If so, Davis School Chicago wants to hear from you.

The Dream Team

Davis School Chicago is a proudly Jewish, college-preparatory high school opening in fall 2027 in downtown Chicago, in a state-of-the-art building at the heart of a great city for learning. Every adult at Davis is an educator and a culture-builder. We hold two expectations at the same time: deep human warmth and uncompromising intellectual excellence. High health and high results, never one at the cost of the other. This is a summary of the characteristics that describe our dream team. Please read the full Profile of the Ideal Davis Educator and more information about our opportunities.

To thrive here you are:

• Warm and intellectually formidable. Genuinely kind and seriously bright. We hire for intellectual horsepower; only sharp minds grow students to their full potential.

• You bring the room to life. Passion people feel, loud or quiet, with the range to teach, support, and lead.

• A builder who owns it. Startup grit, a real growth mindset, open about mistakes, gives the gift of feedback, and the drive to create what doesn't exist yet.

• Teach how to think, not what to think. Rigor, evidence, and a love of hard questions, including the controversial ones. Students reach their own conclusions.

• Rooted in tradition, built for what's next. Ancient wisdom and modern tools, AI included, aimed at today's problems.

• Unapologetically Jewish. Israel has a right to exist; that is not up for debate. Everything else is fair game, including spirited debate about Israel's actions. You're excited to help build a proudly Jewish, pro-Israel school.

What Davis Needs

Davis is hiring a founding Head Librarian to build the library of tomorrow and the Capstone program it powers: a true library in the classic sense, books worth loving and real research help, that is also a makerspace, a home for learning games and game design, and the school's launch pad into downtown Chicago - and to teach in it every day. As a founding leader, the Chair is a member of the team opening a school from scratch. Therefore, the person needs to be a builder-leader: someone who can take a bold founding vision and turn it into a living school, then run a department in that school at a level of excellence every student, parent, and teacher can feel.

Who Thrives in This Role

• Warm, Relational, and High-Performing - Kind, emotionally intelligent, intellectually rigorous, and committed to excellence.

• An Inquiry Evangelist - Makes research feel like detective work, not homework.

• A City Connector - Builds internship and mentor relationships across Chicago.

• A Builder of the Library of Tomorrow - Books worth loving and a makerspace, research help and game design, in one space students actually