Due to the departure of our current Head, we are looking for a Head of Department for the Front Office & Printed Collections Management as from 1 September 2022.

What you will be doing
You will manage the Front Office and Printed Collections Management department at both University Library locations. You will play a key role in liaising between the UB and the Central Facilities Organization.

You will contribute to the organization’s strategic and policy plans and ensure that the Front Office realizes its goals in this respect. The three topics that will require your special attention are: Library as a third place; Learning lab/Maker space; Hospitality-service concept. You will also contribute to project-based work in our organization if requested to do so.

You will also represent the UG in relevant national library and other networks.

You are capable of pushing self-organizing professionals to the next level, both individually and as a team player, both in their own team and throughout the UB and beyond. You are a coach and facilitator. You have exceptional relational skills. You facilitate opportunities and cooperation, both within and outside your own department. You stay on task and focus on achieving the agreed results. You are someone who dares to rely on staff members for professional expertise.

You have:
- an intellectual and professional level at least equivalent to that of a Dutch university of applied sciences (HBO) graduate
- education or experience in the field of library management and hospitality processes
- the ability to develop a vision and to generate support for new ideas
- demonstrable relevant leadership experience, including with teams in transition
- experience with logistic processes and improving them
- experience with repository management or the management of printed collections is an advantage
- excellent command of both Dutch and English
- good IT skills.

Relevant competences:
Powers of conviction, entrepreneurship, flexibility, unifying leadership, a focus on results, customer-orientation, cost-awareness, and organizational sensitivity.

Fixed-term contract: 12 months.

We offer you in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities:

- a maximum salary, depending on qualifications and experience, of € 6,181 (salary scale 12) gross per month for a full-time position
- a holiday allowance of 8% gross annual income
- an 8.3% end-of-the-year allowance
- an appointment for the period of one year. After the agreed end date, and depending on the outcome of the Results & Development interview and other internal and external circumstances, this employment contract may be converted into a permanent one. The position is classified in accordance with the University Job Classification (UFO) system. The UFO profile is Head of Department 2.

Date of commencement: as soon as possible

University of Groningen Library (UB)

The University of Groningen (UG) ranks among the best research universities in Europe and has an international focus. The UG is societally active and closely involved with its surroundings. Our staff put their academic passion to good use, researching and teaching in a wide range of fields. All members of the University community have the opportunity to develop their talents to the fullest. The talents, ambitions, and achievements of the 36,000 students and 7,500 staff members are rewarded wherever possible.

To find out more about the UG, visit: www.rug.nl/about-us

The University of Groningen Library (UB) is the UG’s main information hub. The UB is an innovative, professional, and customer-oriented centre of expertise and service provision. It maximizes ICT to increase the availability of information, to promote research being conducted at the UG, and to store academic work and knowledge for future generations. With facilities tailored to the needs of students the UB contributes to study helps to study success and job satisfaction.

The UB City Centre, which is located in the vibrant centre of Groningen, is one of the largest and most modern study facilities in the Netherlands. It offers a wide range of study and work areas, both for individual and group use. The UB also has a location at the Zernike Campus, a lively area north of the city centre where teaching, knowledge, and entrepreneurship come together.

During the UG’s exam periods, the UB welcomes more than 10,000 visitors a day.
The UB manages a large collection of books and journals, both in physical and digital form, and offers an ever-increasing number of databases containing academic information.

The department
The Front Office and Printed Collections Management department employs 33 members of staff and 35 student assistants, working in three teams at two locations. They are highly committed and have many years of experience. The department is run by a head of department and three team leaders.
The Front Office teams are responsible for providing primary and secondary services to various target groups. Their tasks include everything relating to loaning material from UB collections and via interlibrary loans, support with searching for and finding information and using catalogues and databases, showing people around the Library, and managing the public collections (including room collections).
The department works closely with the Central Facilities Organization (CFO), which is responsible for the reception of visitors, building management, enforcement, monitoring andsafety, and the reserved study areas, lecture rooms, and multifunctional meeting rooms that have been reserved.
The Printed Collections Management team focuses on providing and maintaining academic information from repositories at multiple locations. The team processes around 4,500 requests and returns per month.