Job Description
Position Details
Academic Services
Location: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham UK
Full time starting salary is normally in the range £36,636 to £46,049 with potential progression once in post to £48,822
Grade: 7
Full Time, Fixed Term contract up to August 2026
Closing date: 11th September 2025
Our offer to you
People are at the heart of what we are and do.
The University of Birmingham is proud to have been a part of the City of Birmingham and the wider region for over 100 years, and we are equally proud to be recognised as a leading global university. We want to attract talented people from across the city and beyond, support them to succeed, and celebrate their success.
We are committed to helping the people who work here to develop through our sector-leading Birmingham Professional programme which provides all professional services staff with development opportunities and the encouragement to reach their full potential. With almost 5,000 professional services jobs in a wide-range of functions in Edgbaston and in our campus in Dubai, there are plenty of opportunities for you to be able to develop your career at the University.
We believe there is no such thing as a typical member of staff and that diversity is a source of strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation, and debate. We warmly welcome people from all backgrounds and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where diversity is at the heart of who and what we are, and how we work.
Supporting our people to achieve a healthy work/life balance is important both to our employees and to the success of the University and, depending on the role, we offer a variety of flexible working arrangements. We therefore welcome discussions on all forms of flexible working. In addition, you will receive a generous package of benefits including 40 days paid holiday a year, one paid day a year for volunteering, occupational sick pay, and a pension scheme. We also have three high quality subsidised day nurseries.
The University is situated in leafy Edgbaston and there are excellent transport links to our beautiful campus, including main bus routes and a train station on site. On campus we have a state-of-the-art sports centre with pool, shops, places to eat and drink, our own art gallery, museum and botanical gardens.
Find out more about the benefits of working for the University of Birmingham
Background
Libraries and Learning Resources supports the information resource and service needs of staff and students undertaking high quality research, learning, and teaching at the University of Birmingham. Including the main library on the Edgbaston campus, the service operates from five site libraries across the campus and in the West Midlands region, supports the delivery of library services at the University’s Dubai campus, and delivers access to information resources and library services to distance learners and transnational users.
The Collections, Discovery and Research Communications Division, within Libraries and Learning Resource, manages the acquisition of and access to a substantial collection of information resources in a range of different formats. A significant and growing proportion of that collection is delivered electronically with access and use of the content controlled by licence agreements. The eResources and Serials Team is responsible for managing the full lifecycle of these electronic information resources and print-serials from acquisition through to renewal or removal from the collection.
Role Summary
Reporting to the Head of Collection Development, the eResources and Serials Team Leader has operational responsibility for the staff and processes of the team. The post holder will have day to day responsibility for the management of the team and will play a key role in reviewing and developing processes to ensure a high standard of service delivery is maintained. The post holder will make a significant contribution to achieving best value for money in the acquisition of e-resources and print-serials and ensuring library users are able to find and access them.
They will also contribute to the planning and implementation of projects relating to e-resources and print-serials, and collection development in general. As an expert on e-resources and print-serials matters, the post holder will provide advice to colleagues within Libraries and Learning Resources and the wider university on the impact of changes and developments within their area of specialist knowledge.
The post-holder will promote equality and value diversity including actively acting as a role model in own behaviour and fostering a non-discriminatory culture, whilst actively applying internal processes in a fair and equal way.
Main Duties
- Achieves best value in the procurement and management of e-resources and print-serials by:
- Compiling and analysing financial data and management information relating to the acquisition and lifecycle of electronic and print-serial information resources; providing forecasts and recommendations to inform strategic decision making, renewal and purchasing decisions, and demonstrating value for money.
- Overseeing the administration of financial and management information relating to the acquisition of e-resources and print-serials on the library management system.
- Analysing new and existing business models, negotiating best value pricing with suppliers, and recommending the best value options for acquisition.
- Contributing to the evaluation of new and existing transitional journal big deals and making recommendations to the Library Senior Management Team.
- Acting as the e-resources and serials representative at consortia purchasing meetings.
- Providing expertise on aggregating arrangements, site licensing, consortia purchasing, alternative publishing media and developments in scholarly communications.
- Evaluating emerging digital library services, products, and tools, and assessing their appropriateness to support the University’s teaching, learning and research.
- Manages and develops staff by:
- Recruiting eResources & Serials staff and overseeing inductions and training.
- Overseeing the efficient running of the team, setting priorities, and managing conflicting demands on time.
- Managing the effective performance of team members, including the setting of objectives, and conducting PDRs and regular one-to-one discussions.
- Facilitating staff development within the team by identifying training requirements and sources of training provision.
- Contributing to training and induction of other Libraries and Learning Resources colleagues in matters relating to e-resources and print-serials.
- Develops and improves eResources and Serials, and wider Collection Development Team services by:
- Contributing to strategic developments within the area of e-resources and serials.
- Reviewing and developing policies and procedures and developing/implementing new workflows within the team.
- Collating and analysing management information about e-resources and serials and working with Libraries and Learning Resources colleagues to promote and evaluate the services.
- Evaluating and implementing systems and tools that support the management and discovery of library information resources and contributing to the assessment and implementation of appropriate authentication services.
- Leading on projects relating to the work of the eResources and Serials Team.
- Contributing to the planning and implementation of projects relating to wider collection development work and acting as project manager when required, depending upon the scope and scale of the project.
- Ensures a high standard of service delivery by:
- Overseeing the allocation and completion of all tasks relating to the lifecycle of electronic and print-serial information resources.
- Managing the knowledge base, workflow, and functionality of the library management and resource discovery systems, and delivering training, supervision and the appropriate deployment of staff involved in maintaining these services.
- Analysing and resolving complex problems and queries relating to the acquisition, management and maintenance of e-resources and serials.
- Liaising with subscription agents, publishers, and national negotiating agents to obtain appropriate and timely management information and resolve issues with supply and access to information resources.
- Liaising with and providing information on matters relating to the work of the eResources and Serials Team to senior managers and colleagues within Libraries and Learning Resources and the wider university.
- Ensures compliance with e-resource licensing requirements by:
- Contributing to the assessment and monitoring of access to licensed resources for different user groups and recommending and implementing improvements.
- Ensuring the visibility of licence terms and access rights to end users.
- Overseeing to the evaluation of licence terms and conditions, referring queries to Head of Copyright & licensing as appropriate and negotiating with suppliers to agree terms that meet the requirements of end users.
- Overseeing publisher liaison regarding suspected licence breach incidents and investigating recurrent breaches.
- Shows commitment to continuing professional development e.g., by participating in appropriate professional groups or networks, and by engaging in self-motivated research to remain up to date on relevant develops and practice across the sector.
- Promotes equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
- Supports the University’s sustainability agenda through resource efficient working.
- Any other duties commensurate with the grade.
Required Knowledge, Skills, Qualifications, Experience
- Educated to Degree level (or equivalent) plus relevant practical experience, or significant relevant experience in an appropriate library, information, publishing environment.
- In-depth understanding of the print and online publishing landscape, including the impact of open access, and procurement in the higher education sector.
- Demonstrable knowledge of digital copyright and licensing issues.
- Experience in managing the full lifecycle of serials and e-resources in a library environment.
- Experience of liaison and negotiation with agents, publishers and suppliers.
- Experience of managing staff and prioritising workloads.
- Knowledge of authentication methods and tools.
- Excellent literacy and numeracy skills, with the ability to write clearly, and to produce and analyse information and data.
- Ability to prioritise and to schedule workloads in the face of conflicting demands.
- Excellent IT skills, including a good working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications.
- Excellent interpersonal communication skills with the ability to communicate complex issues to a range of audiences.
- Ability to establish and maintain constructive working relationships with colleagues at all levels across Libraries & Learning resources, the wider University, and external suppliers.
- Ability to diagnose and resolve complex problems.
- Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
- Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day-to-day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.
Dimensions
Roles at this level require a broad understanding and practical experience of an administrative or professional field which will be used to plan the running and development of services and/or lead shorter term projects or contribute to larger projects. You will work with information which needs interpretation and analysis; you will use your judgement to identify the best solution to differing problems and issues, offering recommendations for managing more complex situations. You are likely to be responsible for managing a team of staff, being accountable for recruiting and developing them and for managing performance. You may also need to liaise and/or co-ordinate activities across several different sections within the department or possibly with wider department or external bodies as appropriate.
Planning and organising
- Plan the running and development of service(s), overseeing resources and inputting into resource planning as appropriate.
- Develop, agree, and implement standards for delivery for own area.
- Manage a team of staff and review, develop, and motivate them.
- Plan relevant training and development.
- Provide professional advice, guidance, and support to others within and outside your immediate work area.
- Oversee resources and make recommendations about future resource requirements.
Problem solving and decision making
- Review, develop and propose solutions for problems with (for example) staff, budgets, services and systems.
- Deal effectively with unexpected issues, such as changing priorities.
- Deal with sensitive people matters/issues.
- Provide specialist advice and recommendations to support decision–making of others.
Internal and external relationships
- Understand your own and closely related working areas and how they contribute to the success of the University.
- Understand how the University operates and actively seeks to share this knowledge with others.
- Develop empathy with the academic endeavour.
- Influence decision makers and win support for proposals.
- Develop excellent working relationships within and outside of own area and with external stakeholders.
- Co-ordinate activities across several areas.
Informal enquiries to Mandy Harper, email:
[email protected]View our staff values and behaviours here
We believe there is no such thing as a 'typical' member of University of Birmingham staff and that diversity in its many forms is a strength that underpins the exchange of ideas, innovation and debate at the heart of University life. We are committed to proactively addressing the barriers experienced by some groups in our community and are proud to hold Athena SWAN, Race Equality Charter and Disability Confident accreditations. We have an Equality Diversity and Inclusion Centre that focuses on continuously improving the University as a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone has the opportunity to succeed. We are also committed to sustainability, which is a key part of our strategy. You can find out more about our work to create a fairer university for everyone on our website . 
