Open Access Coordinator

The University

At Durham University we are proud of our people. A globally outstanding centre of educational excellence, a collegiate community of extraordinary people, a unique and historic setting – Durham is a university like no other. 
Across the University we have a huge variety of roles and career opportunities, which together make us a large and successful community, which is a key hub of activity within our region and nationally. Whether you are at the very start, middle or end of your career, there is a role for you. We believe everyone has their own unique skills to offer. 
We would be thrilled if you would consider joining our thriving University. Further information about the University can be found here

The Role and the Department

The Department

In January 1833 Bishop William van Mildert donated 160 volumes to found the University Library, located on Palace Green and in the same year Durham’s first university museum opened to the public. Today the University Library and Collections offers spaces, collections, expertise and services supporting education, research, the wider student experience and cultural and educational outreach. Collections and services operate across a wide estate of libraries, archives, museums, galleries and exhibition spaces, including the UNESCO World Heritage Site on Palace Green. Our nationally and internationally recognised collections span early books, archives and manuscripts, museum objects and art, print and electronic materials and include a repository of digitised materials, research outputs and research data. Our users encompass anyone engaging with our collections, services and facilities in person or remotely, this includes university staff, researchers from around the globe, students in higher education from Durham and other universities, school pupils and teachers, Durham’s local residents and tourists.

The University Library and Collections is made up of six sections: Collections; Customer Services; Education, Learning and Engagement; Research and Systems; Museums, Galleries and Exhibitions; and Finance and Administration. Staff work flexibly between the sections, 7 enabled by cross-cutting groups, Collections, Education, Engagement, User Experience, Operations, Research, Staff Development and a Programme and Project Steering Group.

The Team

We are an ambitious and developing team with a focus on providing the best experience for our students, researchers and the wider community. We are valued partners working with our students, professional services and academics across the University, and professionals and organisations regionally, nationally and internationally.

Our Research and Systems Team, under the leadership of the Head of Research and Systems, provides services in two key areas of departmental activity.  

Role purpose

The Open Access Coordinator is responsible for supporting outputs published open access through our various publisher agreements, and the payment of Article or Book Processing Charges (APCs and BPCs). Supporting authors at Durham to publish open access plays a key part in the dissemination of research output and underpins the University’s policy and approach to support open access. The role holder:

·         Administers open access checks and approvals under our portfolio of open access publishing agreements, ensuring publications meet the expectations of funders and extending the reach of Durham research to a broader audience.

·         Enriches publication record metadata in our systems to aid discovery and re-use of open access content, and to support the reporting and compliance requirements of the University and research funders.

·         Liaises with academic and professional support colleagues to provide support and guidance in how best to meet differing requirements of the University and of funders, publishers and readers of scholarly content.

·         Participates in direct and indirect communication to users of the University’s open research activities, and contributes to providing a broad service to library customers. 

This post works alongside the Repository Coordinator, and reports to the Open Access Publications Officer.

Working at Durham  

A competitive salary is only one part of the many fantastic benefits you will receive if you join the University: you will also receive access to the following fantastic benefits: 

•    27 Days annual leave per year in addition to 8 public holidays and 4 customary days per year – a total of 39 days per year. The University closes between Christmas and New Year.
•    No matter how you travel to work, we have you covered. We have parking across campus, a cycle to work scheme which helps you to buy a bike and discount with local bus and train companies.
•    Lots of support for health and wellbeing including discounted membership for our state of the art sport and gym facilities and access to a 24-7 Employee Assistance Programme.
•    On site nursery is available and access to holiday camps for children aged 5-16 throughout the year.
•    Family friendly policies, including maternity and adoption leave, which are among the most generous in the higher education sector (and likely above and beyond many employers).
•    There is a genuine commitment to developing our colleagues professionally and personally. There is a comprehensive range of development courses, apprenticeships and access to qualifications and routes to develop your career in the University. All staff have dedicated annual time to concentrate on their personal development opportunities. 
•    The opportunity to take part in staff volunteering activities to make a difference in the local community
•    Discounts are available via our benefits portal including; money off at supermarkets, high street retailers, IT products such as Apple, the cinema and days out at various attractions. 
•    We offer generous pension schemes. 

Durham University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion

Our collective aim is to create an open and inclusive environment where everyone can reach their full potential and we believe our staff should reflect the diversity of the global community in which we work.  As a University equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) are a key part of the University’s Strategy and a central part of everything we do. We also live by our values and our Staff Code of Conduct. At Durham we actively work towards providing an environment where our staff and students can study, work and live in a community which is supportive and inclusive. It’s important to us that all of our colleagues are aligned to both our values and commitment to EDI.

We welcome and encourage applications from members of groups who are under-represented in our work force including people with disabilities, women and black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. If you have taken time out of your career, and you feel it relevant, let us know about it in your application. If you are a candidate with a disability, we are committed to ensuring fair treatment throughout the recruitment process. We will make adjustments to support the interview process wherever it is reasonable to do so and, where successful, reasonable adjustments will be made to support people within their role.

What you need to demonstrate when you apply/Person Specification  
  
When you apply it is important that you let us know what skills/experience you have from a similar role and/or what skills/experience you have which would make you right for this role. Further information about the role and responsibilities is at the end of this job description. Where a criteria has an asterisk* next to it, it may be given additional weighting when your application is considered.    
  
Your application should cover the following criteria:   

Essential Criteria

Qualifications/Experience
1.    Post-16 qualification or equivalent experience.
2.    Comprehensive experience of working in a busy office environment delivering front line administrative services to a high standard.
3.    Experience of managing time to meet deadlines and working under pressure without compromising on quality.
4.    Experience of providing advice and guidance to a range of customers and colleagues.

Skills/Abilities/Knowledge
5.    Excellent spoken and written communication skills.

6.  Ability to develop effective working relationships, both internally and externally.

7.   *Strong digital competence across a range of digital devices and apps including Microsoft 365 applications, spreadsheet software and use of bibliographic database systems.*
8.    Ability to solve problems yourself and as part of a team and resolve issues, plan solutions and make pragmatic decisions.

9.  *Ability to consistently work with accuracy and attention to detail.*

10. Ability to participate in networks to share and discuss good practice and exchange information.
 
Desirable Criteria

1.     Committed to continuing professional development.

2.     * Awareness of the current issues and developments around open access and scholarly communication*

3.     Knowledge of copyright and licensing as it applies to open access and scholarly communication

4.     Ability to provide creative support to produce advocacy and promotional materials for various communication channels, including webpages, internal bulletins, social media pages and events

How to apply

To progress to the assessment stage, candidates must evidence each of the essential criteria required for the role in the person specification above. Where there are desirable criteria we would also urge you to provide any relevant evidence. Please don’t forget to check if there is any weighted criteria (see above).

While some criteria will be considered at the shortlisting stage, other criteria may be considered later in the assessment process, such as questions at interview.  

Submitting your application 

We prefer to receive applications online.  We will update you about your application at various points during the process, via automated emails from our e-recruitment system. Please check your spam/junk folder periodically to ensure you receive all emails 
 
What you are required to submit:

• A current CV
• A short introduction to yourself and why you are applying for the role, and a numbered list or table evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable criteria.

Contact details 
If you would like to have a chat or ask any questions about the role, Katie Skellett (Open Access Publications Officer) would be happy to speak to you. Katie can be contacted at [email protected] 

Typical Role Requirements  

Service Delivery
•    Show a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and the University’s values.
•    Ensure that relevant policies and mandates (including funder open access mandates and institutional policies) are being accurately followed.
•    Help to develop and implement policies and procedures relating to your service area.
•    Respond to queries and provide information/advice, while raising more specialist or complex queries with more experienced team members.
•    Use your experience and problem-solving skills to investigate and resolve issues relevant to your role and make recommendations based on your findings.
•    Continually review what is required by researchers and other service users to make sure the best possible service is provided.
•    Ensure that data is accurate and provide support in the formulation of reports which analyse patterns and trends on, for example. funder open access compliance and the use of publisher open access agreements, which will be shared with team members, senior colleagues and relevant networks.
•    Use digital media [e.g. SharePoint, Social Media] to share information with team members, colleagues, researchers, other service users and colleagues at external institutions.

Planning and Organising
•    Plan and organise own workload to deliver the role.
•    Organise resources, activities and events to develop the support offered to the University’s research community.
•    Monitor processes and activities to ensure team priorities are met.

Teamwork
•    Provide specialist support and advice to team members for example on publisher open access agreements, funder open access compliance, licensing, and funding streams for open access costs.
•    Explain and provide instruction to other team members on how to correctly record and manage data.
•    Make changes to the services provided by your team in discussion with other team members.
•    Identify opportunities and contribute to decisions on how to improve services being delivered by the team.
•    Seek feedback from researchers and other service users on their requirements from your service and recommend improvements to senior colleagues.

Communications/Liaison
•    Use your knowledge and expertise to provide advice and guidance to resolve problems and respond to a wide range of queries.
•    Provide instruction and training to researchers within the University on issues relating to open access publishing.
•    Create good working relationships with other team members and anyone else that you come across as part of your role to work together on joint activities.
•    Liaise with team members, colleagues across the institution and external organisations to ensure that services are being delivered in an efficient and collaborative way.
•    Create good working relationships with internal and external partners and suppliers to work together on joint activities.
•    Build relationships with contacts and contribute to internal and external networks to share good practice and exchange information.

•    Contribute to raising the profile of the service through publicity materials and social media channels.

•    Any other reasonable duties.

Please note that in submitting your application Durham University will be processing your data. We would ask you to consider the relevant University Privacy Statement Privacy Notices – Durham University  which provides information on the collation, storing and use of data.  

When appointing to this role the University must ensure that it meets any applicable immigration requirements, including salary thresholds which are applicable to some visas