Athabasca University, Athabasca, Alberta

Permanent, Full Time

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Athabasca University’s Library and Scholarly Resources is currently recruiting for the position of Library Assistant, Repositories Support.

AU shapes and enables mutually supportive communities, regardless of where those communities exist. AU’s Strategic Plan IMAGINE: Transforming Lives, Transforming Communities (http://imagine.athabascau.ca/ ) has as one of its strategic themes “Moving Beyond Place.” 

As part of Athabasca University’s workspace optimization, this role has been assessed to be Virtual. This role and all related functions can be performed in a virtual environment, as long as this virtual environment meets the AU acceptable definition for a virtual workspace.

Athabasca is located in the heart of Alberta’s boreal forest on the banks of the Athabasca River. The vibrant town of Athabasca is a welcoming picturesque community situated approximately 150km north of Edmonton, Alberta. If living in a community that is rich in heritage and offers outdoor adventures speaks to you, then we would love to welcome you to Athabasca, Alberta.

Should you choose to relocate to the Town of Athabasca or Athabasca County, relocation assistance may be provided.

To discover the Town and Region of Athabasca, please visit http://www.visitathabasca.ca and http://www.athabasca.ca

First consideration will be given to internal applicants according to the AUPE Collective Agreement, Article 11.02. Please contact careers@athabascau.ca if you have any questions about your eligibility. 

The main purpose of the position is to contribute to the library’s support for teaching, learning, research, and scholarly dissemination, through its digital repositories, collections, and services.

The successful incumbent will:

• Provide research data management (RDM) services, working with other team members to deliver mediated and self-deposit repository services integral to the library’s role in scholarly dissemination, support for open access, and preservation and stewardship of research outputs.
• Support AU’s institutional research data management strategy and the library’s digital stewardship initiatives by liaising with library staff, the research office, the Faculty of Graduate Studies, and RDM institutional strategy committees as needed.
• Assist in the development of research data management and other repository services and must keep current in relevant literature and trends in these areas to ensure that these initiatives and services are fully supported.
• Assists with the development and improvement of data management procedures and supports the creation and implementation of workflows for deposit/ingest, provision of persistent identifiers (PIDs), mediated and unmediated deposit, curation, and digital preservation.
• Be the first point of contact for student and staff queries regarding the library’s specialized digital repositories, including the Digital Reading Room.

Qualifications: 

Education:

• A 2 year diploma in library and information technology.

Experience:

•  5 year’s experience in an academic library is required.

Note that arguments for equivalent combinations of experience, education, and skills in a related field (e.g., information or library science, archives or information management, scholarly publishing, digital humanities, computing science,) may be considered.

Knowledge and Skills:

• Familiarity with the role of repositories in libraries and open access movements.
• Understanding of open movements (including open education, open scholarship, open access) and open licensing.
• Familiarity with the research data lifecycle and data documentation practices.
• Experience with web editing software (CMSs) and digital repositories.
• Familiarity with metadata standards (e.g., Dublin Core, MODS, PREMIS), metadata schemas (XML, XSLT), and processing and manipulation of metadata is essential.
• Knowledge of JavaScript, PHP, CSS, HTML, HTML5, XML, and code validation.
• Self-motivation is necessary as the incumbent will have to work under limited supervision.
• Commitment to learning and developing new skills.
• Excellent communication skills are required to communicate effectively with staff and students.
• Strong organizational and problem-solving skills are required.
• Excellent abstract thinking skills, as well as troubleshooting, diagnostic, and problem- solving skills.
• Proficiency with data manipulation and handling (and/or statistics) is an asset.
• Experience with Google analytics.
• Programming experience is an asset.
• Experience with Adobe Photoshop is an asset.
• Understanding of digital preservation concepts and practices, including digital curation and preservation processes and preservation friendly formats.

For a copy of the full job description, please email careers@athabascau.ca

For further information on this posting, please contact Robyn Stobbs, Research Data Management Librarian at rstobbs@athabascau.ca

To apply for this position please visit the AU Careers site here: https://athabascau.acquiretm.com/job_details_clean.aspx?ID=2537&AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1

About AU: 

Our Mission: Athabasca University, Canada’s Open University, is dedicated to the removal of barriers that restrict access to and success in university-level study and to increasing equality of educational opportunity for adult learners worldwide. For more information, please visit AU’s Strategic Plan IMAGINE: Transforming Lives. Transforming Communities (http://imagine.athabascau.ca/). 

I-CARE Values: The students and staff of Athabasca University hold a set of complementary values that are fundamental to Athabasca University’s identity and functioning:

• Integrity
• Community
• Adaptability
• Respect
• Excellence

What AU Offers: 

Benefits and Pension eligibility differs based on employee group and may include:

• Defined Benefits Pension Plan
• Alberta Health Care
• Extended Health Care
• Life Insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance
• Disability Coverage
• Vacation
• Office Closure between Christmas and New Year’s Day
• Discretionary Benefit Fund
• AU Course Allowance
• A Variety of Leaves (e.g., Maternity/Parental/Adoption, Compassionate Care, etc.)
• Employee & Family Assistance Program (EFAP)

Educational credentials will be verified before an offer of employment is extended. An offer of employment is conditional upon verification of educational credentials. 

All educational credentials must be recognized in Canada.  

E-Transcripts shared directly from your Post-Secondary Institution via email are acceptable. 

WES https://www.wes.org/ca/ may be used to verify international educational credentials. Processing time for verification of international qualifications may take up to one month; please plan accordingly. 

We will only accept applications received through our online recruitment system. Please include your resume, letter of application, and the names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of three references.

Note: Online applications are accepted until 11:59 p.m. Mountain Standard Time on the closing date.

We wish to express our appreciation to all applicants for their interest and effort in applying for this position. However, only candidates selected for interviews will be contacted.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents will be given priority. 

Athabasca University is committed to employment equity and encourages applications from women, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of any sexual orientation, persons of any gender identity and expression, and members of visible minorities. 

Where applicants have equal skills, abilities, and experience, candidates residing within or willing to relocate to the County of Athabasca will be given preference.

Working outside of Canada is not supported by Athabasca University. You are legally not permitted to work for Athabasca University if you are living outside of Canada.