Head of Systems and Service Development

About us 

The King’s community is dedicated to the service of society. King’s Strategic Vision 2029 sets out our vision for the future, shaped around five priority areas: educate to inspire and improve; research to inform and innovate; serve to shape and transform; a civic university at the heart of London; and an international community that services the world. Our ambitious Education Strategy sets out the actions that we must take to transform how we teach, how and where our students learn and how we support them during their time with us.  

Libraries & Collections comprises four departments: Education & Learning, Research & Impact, Service Design & Delivery, along with Business Operations. We are part of the Students & Education Directorate, which manages the student lifecycle from application to graduation and beyond.  

This role is based in the Service Design & Delivery department, which consists of the Systems Space & Discovery and Frontline Services teams. The Department provides welcoming library environments, enabling users to get the most out of our spaces, services, and collections, as well as facilitating continual service improvement and development of new services across Libraries and Collections.

About the role

The purpose of the Head of Systems, Space and Discovery is to enable the success of our Library Evolution strategy through the delivery of connected virtual and physical spaces that reflects the changing face of scholarship, teaching, and learning. To empower others to effectively develop and deliver relevant quality services that have a direct impact on the user experience and our student’s success. 

As Head of Systems, Space and Discovery, you will be a member of the Libraries and Collections Senior Management Team. You will contribute to our strategic direction and provide operational leadership across our service and will be a key influencer for innovation and change and will help shape the way in which services are delivered in the future. 

You will lead the Systems, Space & Discovery team to develop and manage a range of systems and digital services (e.g. access and discovery of digital collections) and to facilitate continuous improvement and development of library services and spaces. You will work in collaboration with our IT and Estates colleagues to drive forward our plans to enable strategy through technology and implement a service excellence framework that drives a culture of continuous improvement across our division.     

You will work closely with the Associate Director, Service Design & Delivery, and the Head of Frontline Services to ensure that the department is developing and delivering our services through consistent and effective leadership and management of our people and finances.    

This is an exciting opportunity for candidates passionate about making a difference to how library services are experienced by a large and diverse user community, and who wish to utilise their skills and expertise in leading change through service and system development. This is an opportunity to grow your skills in leadership and change management within a large diverse organisation. 

We particularly welcome applications from black and minority ethic candidates as they are underrepresented within Libraries & Collections at this level. We also encourage applications from candidates who have experience from both within and outside of the Higher Education sector where they can demonstrate the skills needed to succeed in this role.  

All Libraries & Collections staff are encouraged to take responsibility for their own performance and development, through agreeing clear objectives, maintaining professional awareness, participating in professional networks and reflecting on own performance. We expect all senior managers to adopt a positive, proactive, flexible and committed approach that inspires and motivates others with an authentic approach to leadership.   

You will be required to participate in frontline services as required, including contributing towards a Manager on Duty rota for evening and weekend working.   

This post will be offered on an indefinite contract.

This is a full-time post, but we welcome applications from candidates seeking a flexible work pattern within our necessary service operating hours.

• Collaborate as part of the Senior Management Team to deliver our strategy; provide operational leadership and guidance for staff across the whole of Libraries & Collections
• Create a common culture of empowerment where staff are supported and challenged to drive continuous improvement, service innovation and delivery of results
• Build strong working relationships with relevant stakeholders to ensure effective support, management, and development of all library systems and spaces.
• Proactively keep abreast of industry and sectoral developments to identify opportunities for exploiting emerging technologies and innovative application of space.
• Ensure the successful delivery of projects, enabling the team to employ a people-centric approach through the application of Change Management best practice/methodologies
• Facilitate Service Excellence, empowering others to continuously seek opportunities to innovate and improve through the implementation of a structured approach that builds customer insights, develops capability to utilise information for strategic/operational service planning, performance monitoring and Service Design.
• Ensure consistent and effective line management practice through effective objective setting, clear definition of job roles, communication of strategy, the operational plan and commitment to the Performance Development Review process
• Co-ordinate a visible view of team priorities, providing transparency, focus and opportunities for collaboration
• Drive the implementation and use of Business Intelligence to steer operational service planning, budget management and decision making
• Initiate and chair project and service review groups which lead to service improvements or new services, and ensure outcomes are widely promoted to our stakeholders.

 
The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.  

Essential criteria

Professionally accredited library post-graduate qualification or suitably qualified by experience

Experience of improving and development services and processes that enhance the user experience

Experience of capturing and utilising user feedback to drive continuous improvement

Experience of successfully applying the principles of change management in leading others through continual change

Ability to explain complex ideas with clarity and facilitate constructive discussion to influence key stakeholders

Highly organised and skilled in managing and delivering projects and initiatives with an understanding of the role of business planning and business intelligence in effective service delivery

Demonstratable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and to tacking all forms of structural inequality

Experience of managing and motivating a team of staff to a high level of performance

Experience of managing risk and making difficult decisions with willingness to take ownership of those decisions

Ability to maintain a strategic focus while keeping operational ownership of teams’ activities

Ability to work on own initiative and comfortable with ambiguity, taking active ownership for service development and delivery and persevering when faced with obstacles

Ability to engage in collaborative working across King’s professional services, Faculties, and academic and student communities, with a meaningful and visible commitment to Diversity & Inclusion policies and practices

Understanding of the current and future challenges facing academic libraries in research-intensive universities

Knowledge of library systems, especially Ex Libris Alma/Primo, discovery platforms, and content management.

Desirable 

Professionally accredited in:

Process improvement methodologies (e.g. Lean, Six Sigma etc.)

Project management (e.g. PMI, Prince 2 etc.).

 Your application should include a personal statement which clearly sets out how you meet the essential criteria as this is how we shortlist applications. Please submit a personal statement when applying for this vacancy, clearly setting out how you meet the essential criteria, as this is how we shortlist applications.   

Interviews will be held using Microsoft Teams and will consist of competency-based questions linked closely to the essential and desirable criteria mentioned here. We will also ask shortlisted candidates to prepare and deliver a short presentation – topic to be advised. 

Although we have made improvements over the last number of years, our team is still under-represented in terms of staff from global majority ethnicities, LGBTQ+ identities, and from people with disabilities. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities.