Director of Research Policy and Scholarship

Director of Research Policy and Scholarship

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit membership organization of research libraries and archives in major public and private universities, federal government agencies, and large public institutions in Canada and the US. We value inclusiveness and equity, academic and intellectual freedom, sustainability, human potential and operational excellence. As an organization and employer, ARL is committed to developing and maintaining a welcoming, inclusive and respectful environment that supports honest discourse and debate. We offer competitive compensation and benefits packages which include a 35 hour work week, 13 paid holidays, 22 paid vacation and 12 paid sick days, a retirement contribution of 15% of annual salary, and a wide selection of employer paid health insurance options.

ARL is headquartered in Washington, DC and operates as a mobile-first work environment. Employees may work remotely within the United States with the expectation of occasional work onsite in the office.

ARL seeks an exceptional colleague to further the Association’s advocacy, scholarship, and policy agenda—serving at the forefront of understanding emerging developments in policy, technology, culture and applying them to research practices, scholarship, and libraries. The Director of Research Policy and Scholarship will be a member of ARL’s Scholarship and Policy Team, which advances a portfolio of initiatives to bridge research policy and institutional practice through engagement with research partners, cross-sector stakeholders, and decision makers–resulting in opportunities to collectively inform and shape the research and learning ecosystem.

The Association has a proven record of accomplishment in law and public policy, most notably in copyright and intellectual property; digital information access; diversity, equity, and inclusion; accessibility; privacy; and open scholarship. This position presents a unique opportunity to work on leading research and professional practice challenges–including data intensive and computationally and technologically-enabled scholarship such as AI, new modes of publishing, and open science–in close collaboration with higher education, research, and policy making communities. There is opportunity in this position to advance a research agenda exploring current research and scholarship topics and trends that aligns with ARL’s strategic priorities. The Director will report to the Senior Director of Scholarship and Policy, and will work closely with the Director of Information Policy and Federal Relations, the ARL Executive Director, the ARL Board of Directors, relevant ARL committees and task forces, and ARL members.

Major Responsibilities

• Advance the visibility and integration of research libraries along with other research, higher education, information technology, and library organizations on institutional and public policy issues that arise from new and emerging practices in research, teaching and learning
• Track global open science and open scholarship developments and work with the ARL membership to lead and partner in these developments
• Represent and advance the Scholars & Scholarship program with key partners to advance program objectives, particularly as they relate to the broader mission of equitable and enduring access to information
• Lead key initiatives and task forces of the Scholars and Scholarship Committee

Required

• Advanced degree in library or information science or related field (e.g., public policy, public administration, or social sciences.)
• Minimum of five years of experience in a cultural memory institution, academic publishing, or other scholarly organization
• Excellent written and oral communication skills
• Strong record of written work and/or public speaking
• Ability to work productively, both independently and as part of a team
• Demonstrated record of collaboration

Preferred

• Professional experience working in a research library
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience with US and/or Canadian research funding agencies
• Experience in data intensive and computationally and technologically-enabled scholarship, and/or open science
• Understanding of academic and scholarly publishing

Supervisory responsibilities: This position has no direct reports.

Travel requirements: This position requires occasional travel within Canada and the United States.

The expected salary for this position is $130,000.

Please submit a CV and cover letter to director-search@arl.org. Applications will be accepted through July 31, 2024.

Learn More »