Chief, African and Middle Eastern Division

Chief, African and Middle Eastern Division

Legislative Branch

Library of Congress

Summary

This position is located in the African and Middle Eastern Division, General and International Collections Directorate, Researcher and Collections Services.

SG), Researcher and Collections Services (RCS), General and Internal Collections Directorate (GICD) within the African and Middle Eastern Division (AMED), at the Library of Congress (LC) and reports directly to the Director, GICD.

The incumbent serves as the Library's principal representative in matters dealing with the countries, languages and regions covered by the division. This includes the provision of services related to collections of the relevant countries of origin, the related American Diasporas, and engagement with African, Middle Eastern, and Hebraic studies broadly. With guidance from the director, and in keeping with overall Library strategy and objectives, the Chief formulates the division’s vision, establishes the mission and goals, determines objectives, manages resources, and evaluates the overall performance of the division.

The Chief has primary responsibility for building the collections of the de facto national library as it pertains to the growth and direction of the Library's AMED collections, facilitating research and reference service onsite and virtually, and coordinating library outreach and engagement with a large and diverse array of users and communities.

The Chief is responsible for effectively communicating and cooperating with stakeholders across the Library, and with external organizations.

Operationally, the Chief is responsible for governance and compliance within the division, sets policies for, administers, and supervises division staff, programs, services, and activities, and ensures the overall administrative and operational effectiveness of the division, in keeping with established policies, procedures, and timelines.

The Chief has responsibility for oversight and administration of all aspects of the division’s organization, services, and programs. Incorporates inclusive and equitable policies and processes to ensure diversity and accessibility in all collections development, research service, and outreach and engagement efforts. Establishes and maintains an assessment approach to ensure the division evaluates its effectiveness and strives for continuous improvement.

The Chief sets and implements a collection development strategy that ensures a diverse, balanced, and sustainable portfolio via the division’s Africa, Near East, and Hebraic Sections. Supports the Library’s mandate to have collections that are inclusive and representative of a diversity of creators and ideas and ensures the acquisition of material of underrepresented perspectives and voices.

Supervises a group of employees performing work up to the GS-14 level. Provides administrative and technical supervision relative to the staff supervised. Plans work to be accomplished by subordinates, sets, and adjusts short-term and long-term priorities, and prepares schedules for completion of work. Assigns work to subordinates based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees. Observes workers’ performance; demonstrates and conducts work performance critiques.

The Chief establishes and maintains effective working relationships with various high-level officials, including Members of Congress and their staff, other legislative and executive agencies, donors, and distinguished members of the public, to advance the mission of the Division and the mission and goals of the Library.

Establishes and maintains close and cooperative working relationships with Library officials, other government agencies, and academic and cultural institutions with related interests in the subject areas of the Division. Communicates with service units and directorate management teams on the status of various work activities, programs, and projects.

The Library has many user types, including Congress, researchers, foreign and domestic agencies, national and international academics and scholars, research and scientific institutions, professional, business, and other communities of practice, visitors, and the general public.

The Chief ensures the division supports the vision of being a library for all, onsite and online, and builds services around the experience and needs of our researchers, regardless of what stage of sophistication individual researchers have with the complexities of using the Library of Congress collections.

As a key member of the management team of GICD, RCS, and LCSG, provides expert advice to the Director of GICD and other executives of LCSG, and senior management officials in other parts of the Library, including Center for Learning, Literacy and Engagement (CLLE), Visitor Engagement Office (VEO), etc., on various programs, plans, and policies.

Relocation fees may be considered for the person(s) selected under this vacancy announcement.