About Our Job

 The Denver Public Library (DPL) isn't just a place to borrow books; it's a vibrant, essential hub for our diverse city. As a growing urban library system with 28 locations and over 4 million annual visitors, we're deeply woven into the fabric of Denver.

Join a team where your values align with your work. At the Denver Public Library, we're not just serving our community; we're building a culture guided by values that empower both our staff and the public. 

• Welcoming:  We make our resources, services, and expertise accessible for all, recognize the inherent dignity in each person, and provide safe places where everyone can be themselves.
• Curiosity: We foster a culture of exploration, innovation, and forward thinking by creating environments that support learning and growth.
• Connection: We are neighbors. We foster relationships, listen and act to build and strengthen our community. We bring people together to share information, ideas, and experiences.
• Equity: We work to change inequitable practices, structures and policies, and attitudes that drive them, to provide opportunities for every person in our community to thrive. As we do so, we actively examine our roles in perpetuating oppressive systems.
• Stewardship: We are accountable to our community, using our resources responsibly. We lead with honesty and integrity, protect privacy and preserve and share the full history of our Denver community.

If you're passionate about service, community engagement, and creating positive change, we invite you to explore career opportunities with us. Come join a team that believes in the power of knowledge, connection, and equity.

Unrivaled Benefits

The City and County of Denver offers a competitive salary commensurate with education and experience. We also offer generous benefits for full-time employees which include but is not limited to:  

• Four (4) Medical Plans, Dental, Vision Insurance  
• Pension Plan for Life (employee contributes 8.45%, employer contributes 17.95%) and 457 (b) Retirement Plan  
• PTO (over 3 weeks in your first year), quarterly wellness hours, and 12 paid holidays
• CARE Bank, Family Leave Benefits  
• Enhanced Work/Life Balance: Employee Assistance Program (6 counseling sessions per year, legal assistance, financial counseling, discounted recreation center passes), Employee Volunteer Program
• Professional Learning and Development Opportunities; Courses and Career Development Resources ; Education Refund Program
• EcoPass (unlimited free RTD bus/train rides) 
• For more information please visit our website.

About Our Division

The Service Design & Coordination subdivision comprises a dedicated group of Public Services teams responsible for partnering with library locations to deliver responsive, systemwide services tailored to specialized community needs and diverse populations. Teams within this subdivision include:

• Adult Services
• Community Resources
• Digital Inclusion
• Plaza and Language Services
• Youth Services
• Programming Services

Our team provides key specialized guidance in areas such as public programming implementation, staff learning, facility evaluation, and resource curation. Driven by our commitment to equity, we strive to standardize high-quality service delivery across all branches, bridging access gaps and enhancing the overall quality of life for the Denver community.

About Our Position

The Denver Public Library seeks an accomplished organizational strategist and development leader responsible for driving strategic initiatives, fostering data-informed decision making and providing strategic guidance to our Executive Leadership Team. As the Director of Service Design & Coordination, you would equip the organization with change and project management methodologies to maximize efficiency and effectiveness, fostering a culture of continuous improvement. 

The successful candidate has a proven track record of implementing large-scale organizational initiatives, strategic budgeting and demonstrates exceptional verbal and written communication skills. Additionally, you should be proficient at building relationships and collaborating with diverse stakeholders at all levels of the organization, as well as with external stakeholders. This position offers a unique opportunity to make a significant impact on the future state of DPL, affecting the trajectory of the Library's operations and services, ensuring they remain responsive to the evolving needs of Denver’s community.

What You Would Bring

You are a strategic thinker who connects macro-level library objectives with actionable, day-to-day service workflows and team operations. You also serve as an empathetic change facilitator, navigating organizational transformation with strong emotional intelligence while supporting staff through structural growth and operational shifts. Additionally, you are agile and solutions-oriented, anticipating risks, managing ambiguity, and dynamically adjusting strategies to keep projects on schedule and aligned with community needs. 

Develop, refine, and implement results-driven, organizational  strategies to achieve long-term goals and objectives, aligning them with the mission and vision of DPL.

Our ideal candidate will

• Lead initiatives to drive organizational change, including assessing current processes, identifying areas for improvement and implementing effective and collaborative change management methodologies.
• In collaboration with executive leadership, assess organizational/divisional  frameworks and design solutions and staffing models to optimize efficiency and effectiveness across divisions/sub-divisions and teams.
• Offer strategic insight to executive leadership, ensuring the organization possesses the requisite capabilities to successfully realize its strategic goals, including succession planning.
• Develop comprehensive project plans outlining scope, objectives, timelines, budget, resources, and deliverables, ensuring alignment with organizational goals. Monitor project progress against milestones and key performance indicators (KPIs), identifying variances and implementing corrective actions to keep projects on track.
• Oversee the development of strategic reporting system(s) to track key performance indicators and monitor progress towards organizational goals as well as prepare and present regular reports/dashboards to executive leadership and the Library Commission, highlighting key metrics, trends, and areas for improvement.
• Utilize data analytics to gather insights into organizational performance, employee engagement, and trends, guiding strategic decision-making and continuous improvement efforts for DPL staff, community and the agency.
• Foster collaboration and communication across divisions, subdivisions and teams to ensure alignment and coherence in the execution of organizational strategies and initiatives.
• Build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, including executive leadership, employees, customers, and external partners, to gather feedback, address concerns, and drive alignment with organizational goals.
• Identify potential risks to organizational objectives and develop strategies to mitigate these risks effectively, ensuring the organization's resilience and ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
• Promote a culture of continuous improvement by encouraging innovation, soliciting feedback, and implementing best practices to drive organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
• Lead and manage presentations for Executive management & external stakeholders
• Develop and implement performance metrics to measure the effectiveness of strategic initiatives
• Strong leadership abilities with a demonstrated capacity to inspire and lead an organization toward implementing and understanding strategic objectives

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree in Library Science from an American Library Association accredited institution.
• Five (5) years of experience at the type and level of functional or operational management, which must have included management of subordinate supervisors. 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Library & Information Science, Organizational Leadership, Business or Public Administration 

Work Environment & Location

The Denver Public Library's branches are the arms to the community—each a unique reflection of the dynamic, diverse communities we serve. At DPL, we pride ourselves on showing up and providing support whenever there is a need. 

While you may be hired for a specific location, please know that we are hiring with the expectation that at any time, you may be required to work at any one of our branches based on operational needs. This allows our staff to experience the full breadth of Denver's communities and ensures we consistently deliver the highest level of service across our branches.

Additionally, DPL employees may be redeployed to work in other locations or capacities to support core functions of the library system during branch closures or other emergencies. 

This position is based out of the Central Library in the Civic Center area of downtown Denver and parking is not subsidized by DPL.

Application & Additional Info 

Ensure that the 'Work Experience" section of the application is complete and contains all relevant work experience related to the position that you are applying for. Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply immediately. Job postings will close at 12AM on the posted ending date. If interested in this opportunity, please apply as soon as possible.

Offer of employment contingent upon successful completion of criminal history and employment verification  

All Denver Public Library employees must apply through their internal profile.

Ready to learn more and see how you can contribute? Visit us at denverlibrary.org and connect with our community on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

About Everything Else

Job Profile

To view the full job profile including position specifications, physical demands, and probationary period, click here.

Position Type

Library Hiring Range

Target Pay

Agency

Assessment Requirement

The City and County of Denver provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, genetic information, age, or any other status protected under federal, state, and/or local law.

It is your right to access oral or written language assistance, sign language interpretation, real-time captioning via CART, or disability-related accommodations. To request any of these services at no cost to you, please contact [email protected] with three business days’ notice.

For information about right to work, click here for English or here for Spanish.