Communication & Policy Officer Wednesday, 28 November 2012

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Communication & Policy Officer, Council of Australian University Librarians

Are you looking for a challenge in a small team where you have the opportunity to be valued and show initiative? The person we are looking for will gain varied and challenging experience while working with library leaders in universities across Australia.

The Council of Australian University Librarians (CAUL) runs an office in Canberra to support the Council’s goal of enriching Australian universities through their libraries. We work hard in a rewarding environment and are very agile and responsive to emerging national and international trends in our sector. To fit well into our team and gain the most from working with us, you will need to have the skills and experience to:

• work within the CAUL network, including with CAUL members, library suppliers and other stakeholders;
• help shape the future of information services for research and learning in Australian university libraries ;
• influence discussions through both written and oral communications;
• provide support to selected CAUL committees;
• enjoy working independently, yet fit within a small team; and
• work flexibly as the need arises.

To find out more about the position and the team, please go to the website.

You will take up your position in the New Year, or as soon as possible thereafter. Please submit your application now or before January 28, addressing the selection criteria and with a concise cv, to caul@caul.edu.au.

For further information please contact the Executive Officer, Diane Costello, on (02) 6125 2990.

Word version of this advertisement.

PURPOSE STATEMENT:

The incumbent is responsible for a range of services that will help ensure that CAUL’s programs are effectively and efficiently managed and its goals are met.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITY AREAS:

1. Providing executive support for a number of CAUL’s committees and their related communities of practice.
2. Leading and/or assisting program planning, project management and coordination of key collaborative activities.
3. Providing research and drafting services to the Executive and other CAUL committees in the preparation of internal and external communications.
4. Assisting the Executive Officer in the administration of the CAUL Office.
5. Representing CAUL as agreed with the Executive.

Position Dimension & Relationships:

The incumbent, working closely with the Executive Officer, enables CAUL to carry out its mission to support its members in the achievement of their objectives, especially in the provision of access to, and training in the use of, scholarly information, leadership in the management of information and contribution to the university experience.

CAUL’s activities include collaborative projects and programs, information sharing, advocacy, meetings and events. A major collaborative activity is the consortial purchasing of over 140 databases on behalf of research organisations in Australia and New Zealand through its CEIRC program.

CAUL, through its office and its nine committees, assists members to respond to changes in the higher education and library world by

• monitoring environmental changes, particularly in government, the higher education sector, and in publishing and libraries, national and international;
• providing advice on responding to those changes and preparing position statements and submissions, and;
• facilitating the sharing of information and best practice. 

CAUL’s committee structure currently comprises the following:

Executive Committee
CAUL Finance Advisory Committee
CAUL Research Advisory Committee
CAUL Learning & Teaching Advisory Committee
CAUL Collection Sharing Advisory Committee
CEIRC Advisory Committee, and the associated Datasets Coordinators forum
CAUL Copyright Advisory Committee
CAUL Quality & Assessment Advisory Committee
CAUL Statistics Advisory Committee

On behalf of the Executive and Committee Chairs, CAUL officers communicate with government (ministerial staff, departmental personnel, statutory bodies and agencies such as the ARC, NHMRC, TEQSA, et al), universities (including the office of the vice-chancellor), other peak bodies (including Universities Australia, CAUDIT and ACODE) and commercial entities including publishers and other suppliers.

For each CAUL program, CAUL officers also communicate with internal personnel – CAUL members and their staff (practitioners). For this internal activity, they communicate directly with practitioners, individually, via email lists and via the website, to carry out program activities and to facilitate sharing of information.

The incumbent participates in, and provides executive support for, all these activities. The incumbent reports to the Executive Officer and works under broad direction from the CAUL President & Executive.

This position evolved out of the CAIRSS program (CAUL Institutional Repository Support Service) and it is expected that support for repository activity will be a priority area.

From 2013 the office will consist of the Executive Officer, the Communication & Policy Officer, 1 full-time finance & administration officer, 0.7 EFT administration officer, plus casual book-keeping support, a total of 3.7 EFT plus casual support.

The CAUL/CEIRC program budget in 2013 is $615,000.00, (including $50,000 for outsourced programs for statistics collection and publication), while the turnover for the CEIRC program in 2011 was AUD 1.3m, USD 23.3m, £ 4.2m, EUR 196k (total value at January 2012 exchange rates AUD 29.9m).

Role Statement:

1. Contribute to the effectiveness of CAUL’s programs by providing executive support to selected committees. Other committees, notably the Executive Committee and the Council itself, continue to be supported by the Executive Officer. For each designated committee:

a. research and monitor the international and national environment, and bring appropriate activities and reports to the attention of members;
b. provide expert advice to CAUL committees, prepare correspondence, briefing papers, submissions to public inquiries, website information and any other form of communication, in consultation with the committee chair;
c. develop project briefs and manage projects and reviews as required;
d. coordinate meetings, including the preparation of meeting agenda, minutes and papers in consultation with the committee chair i.e. provide all forms of secretariat support;
e. ensure that all committee documentation is archived and made accessible, generally from the CAUL website;
f. facilitate the activities of any relevant community of practice, including events, with a particular focus on support for the institutional repository community of practice.

2. Represent CAUL on external bodies, and liaise with national and international bodies in the information and higher education sectors, as agreed with the Executive and committee chairs.

3. Under the direction of the Executive Officer assist with the management of CAUL Office operations including appointment and supervision of staff, compliance, financial control and communication from and to the Executive, Members and external bodies.

4. Under the direction of the Executive Officer assist with event and travel management for CAUL meetings, conferences and functions, including primary liaison with speakers and guests.

Key Selection Criteria:

1. Librarianship or information management qualifications, and/or extensive relevant experience
2. Demonstrated understanding of the higher education sector and of the role of libraries within it.
3. Demonstrated planning, organisational, analytical and project management skills.
4. Excellent written, oral and interpersonal communication skills.
5. Demonstrated writing, editing and presentation skills.
6. Experience in administrative work and familiarity with functions of committees.
7. Demonstrated capacity to work independently and with initiative, set priorities and perform well under pressure.
8. Demonstrated capacity to liaise effectively with a wide variety of government, university, library and commercial individuals and organisations.
9. Demonstrated ability to work in a team environment.

Word version of this position description.