Library Serials Unit Manager

Why Work at BYU   

As the flagship higher education institution of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young University (BYU) strives to be among the exceptional universities in the world. At BYU, we are devoted to our faith and to our students. We take an active role in the University's Mission: "To assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life.” 

Our unique mission, deeply rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, provides countless ways to serve and make an impact. This, along with our remarkable culture of belonging, weekly devotionals, and endless opportunities for learning and growth—all situated within a beautiful and historic campus—make it hard to imagine a more inspiring place to work. 

Brigham Young University strongly prefers to hire faithful members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Library Serials Unit Manager

This position provides oversight, independent judgement, and accountability for the operations, workflow, personnel, budgets, and expenditures associated with the Serials Section of the Acquisitions Department. This position is proactively involved in strategic thinking, planning, review, and analysis. Additionally, this position includes the responsibilities for staff hiring, training, evaluation, and development. It also has primary responsibility to make all payments for non-monographic continuing resources within the Harold B. Lee Library.

What you will be doing in this position:

Financial

• Oversee budgets, make financial decisions, and enforce financial policies and practices.
• Make payment for all continuation materials acquisitions, reconciling unusual or complex payment requests or recommending negotiation on prices and payment terms.
• Regularly evaluate serials agent performance and terms in order to recommend which vendors, publishers, or information providers to use for multimillion dollar library expenditures.
• Support library administration in preparing annual budgets, considering historical performance and future developments.
• Coordinate with other library departments to ensure timely and accurate vendor record creation.
• Work with library controller to identify process enhancements to improve efficiency, accuracy, and internal controls, including financial management and reporting systems.

Renewals

• Establish and manage professional relationships with vendors, publishers, information providers, consortia, and colleagues.
• Provide decision support for analysis and management of the department's ongoing resource subscriptions.
• Frequent consultation and advisement with library faculty, department head, and library administration.
• Communicate with subject librarians on journal and database price increases, problems, and information about titles under their responsibilities.
• Review and process renewal paperwork for all major vendors, publishers, and information providers for all serials and databases.
• Project financial viability of proposals and contribute creative thought toward new solutions.

Reporting and Monitoring

• Provide ongoing reports and analysis for use by library faculty, department head, library administration, and also to representatives of the Consortium of Church Libraries and Archives.
• Work with department head to project future trends and identify and carry out strategic initiatives.
• Evaluate high level data and interpret nationwide trends as well as trends specific to the University and the Harold B. Lee Library.

Supervising and Managing Unit

• Directly supervise 3.5 staff positions and 4 student employees.
• Set employee expectations, design and implement training procedures, and perform employee evaluations.
• Work with the department head to determine the strategic focus of the department and make recommendations for improvements.

Professional Development

• Attend relevant conferences and workshops as funding is available.
• Participate in other position related professional development activities such as professional reading, publications, presentations, and professional association committee assignments.

What qualifies you for this role:

Education/Experience

Minimum education/experience required:

• Bachelor Degree
• 5 years of serials or electronic resource experience in an academic/research library
• Or equivalent combination of education and experience

Preferred:

• MLS from an ALA-accredited institution
• Accounting experience

Required Documents

• Resume
• Cover Letter

What we offer in return:

In addition to our competitive pay structure, this position comes with fantastic benefits, including:

• 401k. BYU automatically contributes 8% at no cost to you. Additionally, if you contribute 5%, BYU adds an additional 4% (Rehires may qualify for different retirement plans)
• Excellent work-life balance: 13 paid holidays + 22 days paid vacation + 12 sick days, accrued annually
• Employee assistance program, available to the employee and all members of their household
• Tuition benefits for employees and eligible family members
• Access to athletic facilities
• Excellent medical/dental benefits
• Short/long-term disability benefits
• Paid parental and maternity leave
• Wellness Program
• Free on-campus parking
• Free UTA passes for employees, spouses, and qualified dependents
• Discounts at the BYU Store and for many events at BYU

Pay Grade: 51

Typical Starting Pay: $59,000-$75,000

**If the job has a post-end date, the last day to apply is the day before by 11:59 pm MST. If the job doesn’t have a post-end date, the job could close at any time on any day**

Required Documents:

All Staff positions require a resume.

Refer to the Job Posting for any additional required documents.

Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints must hold and be worthy to hold a current temple recommend.

Brigham Young University is an equal opportunity employer, including disability and protected veteran status.

Brigham Young University (BYU) is widely recognized not just for its world-class education, but for its deep commitment to inspired religious values. Gathered together in a Christ-centered atmosphere, BYU employees are a vital part of a community of belonging, where we value the experiences, perspectives, and talents of each individual. If you share in our devotion to faith and to excellence, we have a place for you here at BYU!