Head of Metadata

About UMass Amherst

The flagship of the Commonwealth, the University of Massachusetts Amherst is a nationally ranked public land-grant research university that seeks to expand educational access, fuel innovation and creativity, and share and use its knowledge for the common good. Founded in 1863, UMass Amherst sits on nearly 1,450-acres in scenic Western Massachusetts and boasts state-of-the-art facilities for teaching, research, scholarship, and creative activity. The institution advances a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community where everyone feels connected and valued-and thrives, and offers a full range of undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees across 10 schools and colleges, and 100 undergraduate majors. We believe every member of our university community can contribute to our ongoing success by striving for the highest level of excellence as we seek breakthrough solutions to mounting environmental, social, economic, and technological challenges in our world.

Job Description

The Head of the Metadata Department will provide innovative leadership and strategic direction for an evolving team regarding cataloging and metadata services at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. They will lead the department in providing metadata services to meet a range of emerging research and discovery needs. They will oversee the development and implementation of robust metadata for UMass's rich scholarly resources and distinctive collections. The incumbent will set priorities for operational needs, recommend and plan initiatives, and facilitate improvements to existing systems and services. They will advise the Associate Dean for Content and Discovery on long term metadata strategies relating to discovery, access, retrieval, and management of objects across library resources management and discovery systems.

Essential Functions

• Provides leadership, vision, and strategic direction for the Metadata Department to ensure the accessibility and discoverability of library collections as well as to meet evolving user needs.
• Aligns departmental planning, priorities, goals, and services with the strategic initiatives of the Libraries and the University.
• Collaborates and coordinates cross-functional work within our libraries, our university, and across the Five College Consortium.
• Directly supervises and mentors the Metadata Department staff. Provides guidance and direction, delegates and empowers staff to make independent decisions as appropriate, monitors and evaluates performance.
• Guides the transitions of staff to using their traditional skills in renewed ways to contribute to the changing needs of the professional metadata landscape.
• With the Metadata Department, develops and maintains metadata-related policies and procedures for the Libraries.
• Plans and executes metadata projects in the Libraries' catalog and digital collections platforms. Provides guidance and assistance in the maintenance, evaluation, and remediation of metadata to improve accessibility and discoverability.
• Manages and assess metadata projects across platforms to enhance accessibility, discoverability, interoperability, and use of both library collections and metadata.
• Provides expertise in the creation and maintenance of metadata for description, discovery, access, administration, and preservation of both digital and physical objects produced, acquired, or held by the Libraries.
• Ensures current and emerging cataloging standards, along with metadata schemas and ontologies, are applied to policies and procedures of the department to enhance access to library resources in accordance with national standards.
• Develop and maintain a metadata outreach program which leverages the department's metadata expertise to help faculty, students, and the wider University identify and solve metadata-based problems.
• Support and develop the University's understanding of metadata, including its value and function.
• Advance the Libraries' commitment to open scholarship through adoption of policies, practices, and infrastructure that maximize sharing and reuse of metadata and open access resources.
• Serves as a member of relevant library committees, task forces and working groups. Represents UMass Amherst Libraries in local, regional, national, and international associations.
• Works creatively, collaboratively, and effectively to promote teamwork, diversity, equality, and inclusiveness within the UMass Amherst Libraries and the campus.
• Performs other related duties as assigned in support of the mission and goals of the Libraries and the department.

Organizational Values

Minimum Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

Preferred Qualifications (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Education, Experience, Certifications, Licensure)

Work Schedule

Salary Information

Librarian III or IV.

Benefits

University benefits may differ based on collective bargaining agreements (unions). Please see below for the potential benefits MSP Librarians can be entitled to obtain : benefits for the Massachusetts Society of Professors (MSP) members and benefits for MSP Librarians positions :

Promotion

MSP Librarian positions are eligible for promotion, defined as a change in rank as a librarian from one rank to the next higher rank. The bargaining unit member who gets a promotion shall receive the base salary increase in line with the MSP collective bargaining agreement . You can view the MSP Collective Bargaining Agreement, particularly, article 20, to learn more about MSP Librarian Personnel Actions, including promotion, appointment, reappointment, and continuing appointment.

Application Instructions

Along with the application, please submit a resume, cover letter and contact information for three (3) professional references. Evaluation of applicants will begin on November 03, 2025 , and may continue until suitable candidates have been identified.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst welcomes all qualified applicants and complies with all state and federal anti-discrimination laws.