Information Services Team Leader, Health Sci Library

University of Alabama Libraries; Cleveland (OH); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Alabama Libraries is seeking a Team Leader for Information Services to lead the Cleveland Health Sciences Library. This senior position involves mentoring librarians, establishing partnerships, and advancing library support across medical education.

With a commitment to enhancing information services, the role requires 10 years of experience and a Master's degree in Library Science. The position embraces innovation in library services and supports vital educational missions across health science disciplines.

Qualifications

• 10 years of appropriate experience in library services.
• Experience working in health sciences librarianship is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Information Services department and mentor librarians.
• Establish strategic partnerships with faculty and program directors.
• Provide leadership for evidence synthesis and research support.
• Design outreach frameworks to increase library visibility.

Skills

Teaching Evidence-Based Practice concepts

Leading evidence synthesis review types of literature

Familiarity with citation management tools

Strong organizational and leadership skills

Excellent writing and communication skills

Education

Master's degree in Library Science

Tools

EndNote

Zotero

Covidence

Rayyan

Adobe

Job description

POSITION OBJECTIVE

The Team Leader, Information Services serves as the head of the Information Services department for the Cleveland Health Sciences Library (CHSL). This position provides senior-level leadership, strategic direction, and operational oversight for a core library function. The position emphasizes building strategic partnerships, addressing clinical and research information needs, and delivering impactful library support to the students, faculty, and staff of the Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, and Nursing, and for anticipating and responding to evolving institutional and disciplinary information needs.

As a senior library leader, the Team Leader directs a distributed leadership model that empowers librarians to lead service portfolios in instruction, reference, educational support, and evidence synthesis, and to expand these services into emerging areas such as scholarly communications, data management, AI and emerging information technologies, and research impact. The role exercises substantial autonomy in setting priorities, leading service innovation, coordinating cross-functional initiatives, and developing policies, workflows, and assessment strategies that have department-wide and library-wide impact.

The position combines active engagement in high-level information services with responsibility for mentoring, coaching, and evaluating librarians and library assistants, supporting professional growth and succession planning. As a trusted advisor to library leadership, the Team Lead contributes to strategic planning, resource allocation, and organizational decision-making, and represents CHSL in institutional initiatives and collaborations. This role directly supports the library's mission by providing vision, leadership, and expertise that advance education, research, and clinical practice across the academic health sciences.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• 30%: Lead the department by supervising and mentoring librarians, fostering innovation, accountability, and professional growth. Lead and advance the Distributed Leadership Working Group structure, serve as Lead Stakeholder for a key Working Group, coordinate departmental priorities, design assessment frameworks, and oversee budget planning and staffing.
• 25%: Establish and sustain strategic partnerships with faculty leadership and program directors, standardize and integrate information literacy and evidence-based practice competencies across academic programs, provide advanced reference and research support, design and deliver complex instructional programming, develop scalable learning objects, implement assessment tools for instructional effectiveness.
• 25%: Provide leadership for evidence synthesis and research support services, serve as collaborator on systematic and scoping reviews, evaluate and optimize research service workflows, pilot advanced research methodologies, offer expert consultation across the research lifecycle.
• 15%: Serve as senior ambassador to the Schools of Medicine, Dental Medicine, and Nursing, design outreach frameworks, increase library visibility and engagement, use data-driven insights to identify opportunities.
• 5%: Perform other duties as assigned.

NONESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

Perform other duties as assigned. (5%)

CONTACTS

Department: Frequent daily contact with all departmental staff to maintain workflow, supervise Information Services staff, works with other department heads to coordinate services under the direction of the Director of the CHSL.

University: Moderate contact with other university departments in the Health Sciences schools and the other Campus Libraries, leading or participating in committees, as a liaison to the department in curricular activities, and to exchange information.

External: Occasionally participate in local, regional, and national organizations to maintain a network of information professionals which enhances our services and to stay abreast of trends and changes in the profession. Collaborate occasionally with members of the OhioLINK consortia and other academic campus libraries.

Students: Frequent communication with students to support their education and research needs.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

Supervises Information Services librarians and division librarian assistant(s)

QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience: 10 years of appropriate experience is required.
• Education: Master's degree in Library Science required. Advanced degree preferred, may be required.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Experience teaching Evidence-Based Practice concepts to clinicians or health sciences students.
• Experience participating/leading in evidence synthesis review types of literature based research.
• Familiarity with citation management tools (EndNote, Zotero, review software such as Covidence, Rayyan), and organizational/content creation tools like Springshare, Adobe, etc.
• Strong organizational, leadership, emotional intelligence (EQ), and interpersonal skills.
• Able to interact well with various constituencies, such as institutional leaders, faculty, staff, students, and occasionally members of the public using virtual technologies or face to face.
• Ability to interact and work collaboratively across functions, levels, and departments toward shared objectives; and ability to work cooperatively and strategically in a team environment with all levels of professional, technical, and administrative staff and to integrate resources on a timely and organized basis.
• Understanding of the field of health sciences librarianship, preferred.
• Strong analytical skills and problem-solving capabilities, conflict resolution skills.
• Sound management and supervisory skills, ability to think strategically while balancing several complex agendas, excellent writing and communication skills.
• Flexibility and creativity; problem solving ability.
• Ability to work under pressure while remaining attentive to detail.
• Demonstrated history of successful support, education, and advocacy for all students, aligned with the values, mission, and messaging of the university.
• Experience with grant writing, securing external funding, managing budgets or strategic planning.
• Experience using Generative AI tools in health sciences, etc.
• Membership in the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP) and/or contributing to the field of Health Sciences Librarianship.
• Experience with interprofessional education.
• Commitment to fostering an environment of belonging.
• Ability to demonstrate successful support, education, and advocacy for all students, aligned with the values, mission, and messaging of the university, while adhering to the staff policy on conflict of commitment and interest.
• Ability to meet consistent attendance.
• Ability to interact with colleagues, supervisors, and customers face to face.
• Willingness to learn and work with artificial intelligence (AI) tools and technologies.

WORKING CONDITIONS

General office environment. The employee will perform repetitive motion using computer mouse and keyboard to type.