Working Title: Head of Research & Engagement - Libraries

State Role Title: N/A

Position Type: Instructional / Teaching Faculty

Position Status: Full-Time

FLSA Status: Exempt: Not Eligible for Overtime

College/Division: JMU Libraries

Department: 100113 – Libraries

Pay Rate: Pay Range

Specify Range or Amount: $78,000 - $80,000

Is this a JMU only position? No

Is this a grant-funded position? No

Is this a Conflict of Interest designated position? No

Beginning Review Date: 8/18/2025

About JMU:

Mission
We are a community committed to preparing students to be educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives.

Vision
To be the national model for the engaged university: engaged with ideas and the world.

Who We Are
Located in the heart of Virginia’s beautiful Shenandoah Valley, the city of Harrisonburg is approximately 120 miles from Washington, D.C. and Richmond, VA. With a population of just over 53,000, Harrisonburg is one of the most diverse communities in the Commonwealth of Virginia. JMU is a selective, public institution with a growing national reputation for offering experiences that lead to an outstanding education and inclusive environment for students, faculty and staff. The student body includes approximately 20,000 undergraduate and 1,900 graduate students, with over 1,000 full-time instructional faculty.

JMU offers thriving programs in the liberal arts, science and technology, and professional disciplines at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels. The university is committed to expanding diversity, fostering equity and inclusion, and supporting superlative teaching and scholarship. JMU has achieved national recognition for the high quality of its academic programs, focus on maintaining strong student/faculty interaction, and innovative faculty research.

General Information:

JMU Libraries seeks an enthusiastic and innovative leader for the new position of Head of Research & Engagement (R&E) in the Digital Scholarship & Distinctive Collections department (DSDC). This position is a full-time, twelve-month, tenure-track position with instructional faculty status at JMU. We anticipate hiring at the rank of Assistant Professor.

The position will join the collaborative DSDC leadership team and report to the DSDC director. DSDC stewards rare books, manuscripts, and archives; supports digital scholarship methods in teaching, learning, and research; and preserves general and distinctive collections at JMU.

The position will lead a team responsible for the department’s research services, collection circulation, instruction, outreach, events, and physical exhibits. R&E responsibilities include managing a public service desk, reading room, and classroom in the renovated and expanded Carrier Library, opening Fall 2026. The Head of R&E will embrace exciting growth potential in DSDC’s services, especially in the R&E portfolio.

In addition to supervising 2 full-time employees and shaping R&E’s services, the successful candidate will have the opportunity to engage with JMU faculty, staff, students, and the local community. The Head of R&E will share responsibility with colleagues for designing and delivering instruction, developing public events, curating exhibits, providing reference services, and participating in outreach and communications.

Links to Question & Answer sessions for this position are on the JMU Libraries Employment Opportunities page.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide leadership for the Research & Engagement team in the Digital Scholarship & Distinctive Collections (DSDC) department. Responsibilities include:
• Collaborating as a member of the DSDC Leadership team to coordinate services, operations, and initiatives across the department.
• With the Director of DSDC, developing and maintaining policies, workflows, best practices, and overall direction for the department’s research services, collection circulation, instruction, outreach, events, and physical exhibits.
• Supervising, coaching, and appropriately delegating to the Research & Engagement team.
• Liaising with relevant colleagues across Libraries to support Research & Engagement functions.

Support Libraries users by actively contributing to DSDC services, operations, and initiatives. In collaboration with DSDC colleagues, responsibilities include:
• Designing and delivering instruction sessions.
• Developing public events.
• Researching and curating exhibits.
• Staffing the DSDC service point.
• Contributing to or participating in public communications that tell the story of DSDC’s work.

Engage in relevant service and scholarly and professional development activities.

Qualifications:

Required:
• A graduate degree in library science or another relevant field
• Demonstrated understanding of distinctive collections and digital scholarship and a vision for engaging students, faculty, staff, and the public in both
• Demonstrated experience leading projects, initiatives, and or operations in an organization
• Demonstrated experience in library/archives public services
• Strong interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills to effectively work with a diverse community of library users and colleagues

Additional Considerations:
• Demonstrated instruction experience, especially in teaching with primary sources and/or digital pedagogy
• Demonstrated experience providing research/reference support to users of distinctive and digital collections
• Demonstrated experience with or ability to learn collection, content, and/or circulation management systems, especially Aeon, ArchivesSpace, and WordPress
• Demonstrated exhibit curation experience
• Demonstrated experience supervising the work of others

Additional Posting Information:

The Libraries welcomes applicants who can enhance the inclusive excellence of our campus community and can demonstrate a commitment to building equitable and welcoming environments. We are committed to encouraging dialogue, cultivating a sense of belonging, and celebrating a broad range of life experiences and perspectives. We encourage experimentation and creativity in pursuit of meaningful solutions that build on our position as core academic infrastructure for our campus community.

Libraries faculty participate in shared governance at JMU and adhere to policies established in our Promotion & Tenure Guidelines and the JMU Faculty Handbook. Faculty are evaluated annually on Job Performance, Scholarly Achievement & Professional Qualifications, and Professional Service.

JMU offers excellent comprehensive benefits. Visit our Prospective Employee site to learn more about what makes James Madison University a great place to work.

JMU’s Dual Career and Community Resources Program is available for candidates that will be relocating to the area. For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2OTF1NG.

Conditions of Employment:  

Employment is contingent upon the successful completion of a criminal background check.

E-Verify Notice: After accepting employment, new hires are required to complete an I-9 form and present documentation of their identity and eligibility to work in the United States. James Madison University uses the E-Verify system to confirm identity and work authorization.

EEO Statement:

James Madison University is committed to creating and supporting a diverse and inclusive work and educational community that is free of all forms of discrimination. This institution does not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, national origin, parental status, political affiliation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

We promote access, inclusion and diversity for all students, faculty, staff, constituents and programs, believing that these qualities are foundational components of an outstanding education in keeping with our mission. The university is interested in candidates whose experience and qualifications support an ongoing commitment to this core quality.

Anyone having questions concerning discrimination should contact the Office for Equal Opportunity: (540) 568-6991.

Reasonable Accommodation:

If you are an individual with a disability and need assistance searching or applying for jobs please contact us at (540) 568-3597 or jobs@jmu.edu. You may also visit the JMU Human Resource Office, located at 752 Ott Street, Harrisonburg, VA 22807 and we will be happy to assist you.