Job Purpose

To develop and maintain digital collections and discovery applications to support the University’s research and educational ambitions. This will entail enhancing existing systems and advising on appropriate solutions, designing and developing new functionality or features to meet objectives, and providing operational support across all library and library adjacent systems. A particular focus for the postholder will be Archives & Special Collections’ collection management systems, the collections discovery applications, and digital preservation solutions.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

1. Contribute to the technical development of key digital service functionality, working closely with the Head of Collections Discovery & Systems and liaising with colleagues in IT Services to ensure IT infrastructure in support of these services.

2. Actively support maintenance and development of Library Collections systems, including collection management, discovery, and preservation systems, ensuring they demonstrate sector leading functionality and are at the forefront of global digital archive and collection innovations.

3. Work closely with the Digital Library Team, and across Information Services more generally, to develop front-end solutions and support the creation of new system integrations with third party services or APIs, while also ensuring the maintenance of existing local integrations.

4. Undertake configuration changes to systems which may impact multiple functional areas/teams, and/or which require in-depth system knowledge to perform safely.

5. Collaborate with colleagues within the Digital Library Team to deliver coordinated improvements to the Library’s combined digital service offering and support the implementation of digital preservation workflows and system integrations.

6. Working with the Head of Collections Discovery & Systems, contribute to the investigation, consultation, and implementation of new technical solutions that harness data from collection and archive systems, while ensuring streamlined capture, discovery, and access.

7. Perform an enabling role in ensuring optimum levels of service continuity and uptime, including enablement of business-as-usual cyber security measures across relevant systems.

8. Scrutinise collection discovery efficacy across services, identifying and monitoring possible issues arising from data quality variability, system performance, and other issues arising from search agent interactions.

9. Support the continuous improvement of accessibility across services to ensure equitable access to content, making necessary technical interventions on systems where necessary.

10. Regularly monitor, review, and evaluate new developments in the HEI sector, regarding digital collections and archives, and discovery services.  Provide advice, making informed recommendations to senior colleagues on new services and potential development opportunities.

11. Participate and share knowledge or expertise in external working groups, contributing to the codebase of relevant open-source solutions via Git repositories, and demonstrating commitment to the health of open software communities.

12. Demonstrate commitment to continuous personal development and self-directed learning, including in the development of technical skills, knowledge, and understanding.

13. Undertake prioritised projects to support Library Collections’ activities towards Information Services strategic plan and University’s Strategic Plan, World Changers Together.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills & Experience

Knowledge/Qualifications

Essential:

A1 Ability to demonstrate the competencies required to undertake the duties associated with this level of post having acquired the necessary knowledge and skills in a similar or number of different roles. Or: Scottish Credit and Qualification Framework level 9, (Ordinary Degree, Scottish Vocational Qualification level 4), or equivalent (including professional accreditation with relevant formal training), and experience of personal development in a similar or related role(s).

A2 Knowledge and understanding of metadata schema, data exchange, and issues of semantic interoperability.

A3 Knowledge and experience of the Higher Education or the cultural heritage sector, and the IT expectations of large organizations.

Desirable:

B1 Professional knowledge of API integrations to enhance end user services.

B2 Knowledge of library collection and/or archival metadata schema, such as Dublin Core (and related application profiles), EAD, ISAD(G), MARC21/MARCXML, etc.

B3 Knowledge or experience of technical protocols such as OAI-PMH, and data frameworks, such as Linked Open Data.

B4 Professional familiarity of digital preservation principles and/or preservation systems.

Skill

Essential:

C1 Fluency with at least several common high-level languages, web technologies, and data serializations (e.g. Python, JavaScript, HTML5, CSS3, XML, XSLT, JSON, RDF, MySQL (or similar, e.g. MariaDB), etc.) with capacity to acquire competence in other web development technologies as required.

C2 Analytical and proficient in problem solving, ability to troubleshoot with creativity, adaptability, and resilience.

C3 Excellent IT skills, including with systems management, data and systems integrations.

C4 Capable of developing systems methodically, according to established conventions, and utilizing version control techniques (e.g. Git).

C5 Ability to communicate and collaborate with immediate team colleagues and technical support staff to deliver world-leading digital services.

C6 Ability to apply current practice and developing knowledge to innovative service provision.

C7 Excellent organisational skills and an ability to plan, organise, and establish priorities and schedule workloads.

C8 Excellent oral and written communication skills.

C9 Confidence to make informed decisions quickly in response to critical IT issues or problems.

Experience

Essential:

E1 Demonstrable experience of maintaining and actively developing information systems and/or content management frameworks and/or digital asset management systems.

E2 Development experience within a customer focused environment displaying diverse user needs.

E3 Proven track record and experience of eliciting requirements from users to inform solution design and/or interpreting technical standards for their implementation within systems.

E4 Demonstrable experience of effective liaison with multiple stakeholder groups and the cultivation of productive professional relationships.

E5 Experience of project planning and operating to project deliverables and timelines.

E6 Experience of working with collaborative and distributed open-source development teams and/or negotiating with system suppliers to deliver new functionality or services.

E7 Professional development experience, involving demonstrable experience of deploying web technologies and associated client and server-side programming within cultural heritage or research information system contexts.

Desirable:

F1 Demonstrable experience of maintaining and developing digital archive software.

F2 Experience of working with digital repository software platforms to deliver digital objects to users.

How to Apply;

Interested and qualified candidates should:
Click here to apply online for this job