Job Type: Full Time

Salary Range: $100,000 - $120,000

Remote Work: 100%

Travel: Occasional

Location: United States

Established in 1995, CLIR’s Digital Library Federation (DLF) program represents a robust and diverse community of practitioners who advance research, learning, social justice, and the public good through the creative design and wise application of digital library technologies.

As a program of CLIR, DLF informs and enhances information-community strategies that are enriched by digital library practices. DLF connects CLIR’s vision and research agendas with its active practitioner network and informs strategic directions through the insights of the DLF community. DLF is a place where big ideas can emerge and be road-tested, shaping new strategic directions for the entire community.

DLF activities stretch year-round and the program hosts an annual signature event, the DLF Forum. The Forum welcomes digital library, archive, and museum practitioners from around the world to share their work; discuss innovative approaches to shared problems; and review and assess programs, initiatives, and progress made toward shared goals. DLF also supports a vibrant grass-roots working group community where practitioners collaborate year-round to create resources for and devise solutions to current pressing issues facing the field.

The program is currently undergoing an expansion within CLIR. Situated within CLIR’s newly created Cultural Networks and Knowledge Systems division, the senior program officer for DLF reports to the director of Cultural Networks and Knowledge Systems. As the hub of this new division, DLF will play a pivotal role in the interweaving of large-scale collaborations such as the Digital Library of the Middle East in line with CLIR’s mission of helping the community work toward coherence at scale. Working closely with the director, DLF’s program manager, and program associate; the four-person CLIR Communications, Outreach, and Engagement team; and colleagues across the organization, the senior program officer will not only play a critical role in leading the strategic direction of DLF but will also provide vital leadership and guidance both within CLIR and to the wider community.

General Responsibilities

Leaders who can augment and sustain essential digital resources, develop and maintain sophisticated knowledge systems, and promote collaboration across cultural heritage projects and networks have never been more urgently needed. The DLF exemplifies CLIR’s mission of enabling new research and scholarship by providing leadership and developing opportunities to facilitate shared actions, resources, and infrastructures to extend, secure, and preserve the scholarly and cultural record in digital form at a national and international scale. The DLF has proven indispensable in providing vision, insight, and expertise to CLIR and the community, and for developing practical applications that foster new communities of practice that transcend geographical and professional boundaries and that inculcate a systemic understanding of our contributions in response to wickedly complex challenges.

Specific responsibilities include:

Communicate the value of DLF through regular communication (newsletters and email), presentations, publications, and conference presentations

• In line with the program's mission, serve as an advocate for research, learning, social justice, and the public good
• Coordinate the efforts of the DLF community, ensuring they have the resources to perform their work
• Identify and develop strategic partnerships
• Foster greater awareness of the national and international aspects of digital libraries and the need to coordinate major activities as part of a global effort
• Identify and reach out to organizations with similar or closely related missions, goals, and values to create and maintain mutually supportive relationships
• Perform regular environmental scans for relevant institutional and community collaborative projects and keep CLIR and DLF constituents apprised of their progress
• Manage and oversee content and interactive elements of the DLF website, keeping it up-to-date and relevant for the DLF community
• Work with CLIR’s Communications, Outreach, and Engagement team to communicate with groups with an interest in digital libraries
• Work with other senior staff across CLIR’s programs to ensure strategic alignment and direction including Leading Change Institute, Authenticity Project, and Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Oversee the development and implementation of the DLF Forum, meetings, and other programmatic activities

• Provide leadership and intellectual direction to ensure a fulfilling and inclusive Forum experience for the community
• Work with the Communications, Outreach, and Engagement team to identify and recruit sponsors for the Forum and other DLF events
• Lead staff and volunteers in communicating results of conferences, workshops, meetings, and working groups
• Identify and pursue opportunities via grants, sponsorships, and other avenues consistent with DLF’s mission
• Support and foster relationships with the National Digital Stewardship Alliance (NDSA) and other affiliates.

Program management

• Write reports for CLIR’s President and Board
• Prepare proposals and prospectuses for immediate and longer-term advancement of DLF and CLIR programs
• Prepare budget proposals and reports 
• Manage and oversee the DLF budget within the parameters and direction set by the CLIR senior management

Personnel management

• Manage and develop staff
• Assist and support staff in defining and attaining career goals
• Maintain active, effective working relationships across CLIR

Preferred qualifications

• An advanced degree from an accredited institution of higher learning
• Significant leadership experience in a research library, higher education institution, gallery, archive, museum, or technology organization
• Ability to work in and manage a highly collaborative and inclusive environment, one that values and leverages the benefits of diverse perspectives
• Proven success in collaboration with communities in pursuit of common goals and/or projects
• Evidence of abilities in strategic planning and project implementation and execution
• Understanding of higher education and its attendant politics, culture, and current challenges
• Knowledge of existing and emergent standards and practices relating to digital libraries and other scholarly information resources and their Internet distribution; experience with digital library applications in research libraries, higher education institutions, galleries, archives, museums, or technology organizations
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills: must be both assertive and sensitive in complex environments; must be able to explain, understand, and reconcile diverse institutional perspectives and needs
• Evidence of the ability to motivate and inspire others
• Experience with regional, national, or international multi-institutional cooperation

Note: CLIR can only accept applications from those who are or will be domiciled in the U.S. by the time of hire. (For a definition of "domicile," which is not the same as "residency," please see https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/domicile.asp). (required)

CLIR is an independent, nonprofit organization that forges strategies to enhance research, teaching, and learning environments in collaboration with libraries, cultural institutions, and communities of higher learning. 

We believe a team that reflects a wide variety of experiences, viewpoints, wisdoms, and backgrounds makes CLIR a healthier, stronger organization, and enables us to increase our impact as we collectively work toward more inclusive and useful information infrastructures. We encourage applications from all those who are qualified and interested, including Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color; individuals with disabilities; veterans; and intersectional individuals.

CLIR is committed to fostering a welcoming organizational culture and proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status.