DIRECTOR OF NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES

St. Louis Public Library is seeking a Director of Neighborhood Services to join our team. Our ideal candidate is someone who is innovative and engaged to help us move forward with our primary mission as a customer-centered public library providing vital services to the people of St. Louis. The St. Louis Public Library has an unusually large number of historic, unique libraries in neighborhoods throughout St. Louis that are vital to the life of the city. We need a Director of Neighborhood Services who is experienced, enthusiastic, and able to facilitate collaboration across multiple departments to present consistently high service to the citizens of St. Louis. The successful candidate will be a skilled team-builder and possess the ability to blend traditional and leading-edge library services in an environment of continuous improvement and evolution. The role requires decision-making with regard to strategic direction, policy, and overall customer experience.

In this role you will:

• Work with staff at fifteen library locations to ensure a high level of customer service and overall user experience.
• Directly supervise four regional managers as well as an administrative assistant, including hiring, training, assigning work, evaluation, and potential discipline.
• Motivate and coach staff to embrace change and efficiency while upholding the library’s mission, strategic plan, and policies.
• Lead or participate in a variety of cross-functional teams, advocating for innovation and excellence throughout the library system.
• Develop an annual budget for the neighborhood libraries.
• Present information to staff, board members, and external stakeholders on library services, statistics, and trends.
• Maintain positive and productive working relationships with colleagues at all levels and in all departments.
• Assist in the development of service policies and procedures.

• Serve on Library Council, SLPL’s leadership team, and PSL, our public-services leadership team.

You’ll need to be:

• Strategic about engaging managers and staff to think creatively to provide excellent service.
• Able to see the big picture and promote consistency and excellence of service in a customer-first environment while also understanding how details contribute to the customer experience.
• Familiar with trends in public-library services, and able to determine which might be effective at SLPL.
• Capable of efficiently and effectively leading team meetings and system-wide committees.
• Flexible, positive, and willing to work with staff and colleagues to successfully overcome challenges.
• Organized and able to work with competing tasks and priorities.

• Be comfortable and capable with the authority and responsibility for making key and timely decisions for operations and services.

You’ll need to have:

• A master’s degree in library science or a related field.
• Five years of experience in public libraries, including two years in direct public service.
• Three years of management experience.
• Strong communication, writing, and speaking skills.
• Skill at analyzing data and making recommendations based on it.

• Strong organizational and time-management skills.

You’ll receive:

• Competitive salary range starting at $95,000 - $105,000 per year
• Medical, dental, and life insurance
• Generous paid vacation, holidays, and sick days
• Pension plan through the Employees Retirement System of the City of St. Louis

• Professional development

This position has an office in the heart of the St. Louis Public Library system in the library administration building. Located in Downtown West, the administration building is next door to the renowned Central Library, an architectural masterpiece designed by Cass Gilbert, and steps from all the shops, restaurants, and entertainment that downtown St. Louis has to offer.