This is a hybrid role and requires work onsite three days a week in NYC.

Overview
The New York Public Library has been an essential provider of free books, information, ideas, and education for all New Yorkers for over 125 years. Founded in 1895, NYPL is the nations largest neighborhood public library system and the most used research library in the world. NYPL provides a fundamental resource to millions of readers, learners and scholars. The digital portfolio of products and platforms is the core linchpin in how our patrons near and far can access information to create new content, support their personal learning and build stronger communities.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Product Management and User Experience, the Director of Product, Scholarly eBooks is responsible for driving forward the NYPL’s institutional goal of increasing the availability of digital scholarly knowledge. The Scholarly eBooks initiative seeks to expand our impact and develop a more equitable service to those researchers who may not be able to come in person to our reading rooms in New York City. We want to enable researchers globally to discover and use digital content to create the next great works of scholarship and learning. The ideal candidate will be a resourceful innovator who can provide leadership and oversight across the full product lifecycle, from conception to design and delivery. This role will oversee the development of products and tools to access digital content and work to expand the corpus of scholarly content available through the NY Public Library.

This is a four-year, grant-funded temporary position.

Responsibilities

Own the vision and strategy for NYPL’s initiative to expand the corpus of books available digitally. This effort includes openly-accessible books via public domain sources, and clears the rights for books never previously digitally available, to make them discoverable & available to our patrons.
Develop a deep understanding of the needs and priorities of researchers. Socialize learnings across the entire Scholarly eBooks team to drive clear priorities
Lead and direct a cross-functional team of product managers and other digital professionals charged with sourcing, clearing, and enabling delivery of this content
Collaborate closely with thought leaders and staff from across the NYPL, partner institutions, publishers, presses and other stakeholders to guide the initiative, drive progress against key commitments, and manage risk
Identify and track key metrics and user data to assess performance and identify potential areas for learning and improvement.
Ensure the NYPL’s mission and grants programs alignment with a focus on the achievement of strategic goals and responsible financial management
Expand the Library’s resources through digital solutions and national and international partnerships
Manage end-to-end product planning and delivery, including conception, development, go to market, and development of KPIs and OKRs
Represent the organization with external coalitions, partners, and key stakeholders and promote collaboration
Create program and project reports for sponsors, senior leadership, Board and Executive Committee

Own:

The product strategy and development roadmap for the Scholarly eBooks portfolio
The approach to expand the corpus of books and research materials made available through our Scholarly eBooks products
The domain knowledge of the digital publishing ecosystem inclusive of rights and licensing contract terms, digital standards, data type, etc.
The stakeholder management for the Scholarly eBooks portfolio

Teach:

Translation of broad business and user needs into non-ambiguous requirements and product user stories for our development teams
Best practices of product development to the entire product discovery and delivery team to ensure everyone is running in unison
The foundational knowledge of rights clearance and the overarching publishing ecosystem
The product discovery to delivery journey

Learn:

About business interests and requirements of external stakeholders, such as publishers, professional author organizations, digital book repositories, and digitization vendors
About copyright and copyright clearance processes at the Library
The key patron needs, latest technologies, institution and partner needs and constraints to properly represent them in key decision making moments

Improve:

The speed at which we expand the corpus of books available on our Scholarly eBook Products
The experience scholars have accessing digital content

Some expectations for this role are that within:

1 month, this person will:

Understand the functional structure and core mission of NYPL & Digital
Understand the product vision and strategy for the Scholarly Ebooks initiative
Establish contacts across the Digital Team including: Content Strategy, Technology, Design/UX/Research, Project Management, QA, and begin to develop partnerships with key stakeholders in the research library and across NYPL
Learn about the relevant projects and digital products that this position will support
Meet key stakeholders from around the institution and relevant outside stakeholders and understand their roles

3 months, this person will:

Have an understanding of the competitive landscape, audience priorities, and key factors impacting our initiative
Have deeper understanding of the library structure and systems for acquiring and otherwise providing access to scholarly books in digital formats and the various initiatives supporting this effort
Own product planning, competitive analysis, roadmapping, partnership and delivery conversations for Scholarly eBooks
Lead cross-functional team meetings for the assigned products and portfolios, and provide regular and ad hoc reporting to leadership on status and progress
Be conversant in in-house toolsets, including use of JIRA, Confluence, Airtable and other product management tools
Deepen contacts across the institution to discover business needs, set priorities, and ensure that the Scholarly eBooks team is working towards the most impactful shared goals
Begin to coordinate and communicate strategies and approaches to meet the organization’s goals
Identify key resources and priorities to move projects forward
Develop strong working relationships with senior leadership at Digital, and the core teams that support scholarly eBook initiatives

6 months and beyond, this person will:

Fully own the strategy and vision for the Scholarly eBooks portfolio, and be an effective advocate for internal partners, patrons, and overall institutional goals, so as to ensure that the portfolio’s efforts target and embody the key priorities of all stakeholders
Actively initiate, lead, and monitor the execution of various initiatives and programs to enhance access to scholarly eBooks
Leverage a deep understanding of the competitive landscape, audience priorities, and key factors impacting our initiative to drive sustained expansion of the corpus and facilitate the delivery of Scholarly eBooks content and experiences to an audience at scale
Proactively identify and evaluate risks, and lead the implementation of risk mitigation strategies in close cooperation with legal and product professionals.
Create program and project reports for sponsors, senior leadership, Board and Executive Committee.

Required Education, Experience & Skills

Required Education and Certifications

Bachelors degree - OR - Required Experience (listed below)

Required Experience

10 years of relevant experience, including a track record of accomplishment in a digital product or content leadership role. Experience with design thinking and agile frameworks.
8-10 years of experience managing teams
3-5 years of supervisory experience managing, mentoring, and leading complex teams
Able to function as a bridge between our research librarians and subject matter experts, publishers and industry partners, and technology & digital staff
Proven success in strategic planning
Ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines in a fast-paced environment
Preferred experience in leading programs and projects in publishing, libraries or tech
Use of Scrum methodologies, specifically the practice of writing User Stories and Acceptance Criteria

Required Skills

Demonstrable ability to work on a deadline
Organized, focused, extremely detail-oriented and adept at prioritization
Ability to work collaboratively with multiple technical and non-technical teams to develop goals
Excellent interpersonal, presentation, oral and written communication skills, including the ability to work effectively with all levels of staff and users

Managerial/Supervisory Responsibilities:

The Director directly supervises the key team members on the Scholarly eBooks project

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Core Values
All team members are expected and encouraged to embody the NYPL Core Values:

Be Helpful to patrons and colleagues
Be Resourceful in solving problems
Be Curious in all aspects of your work
Be Welcoming and Inclusive

Work Environment

Hybrid work environment; 3 days in office; some days remote work

Physical Duties

May require some light lifting/moving

Pre-Placement Physical Required?

Union/Non Union

Non-Union

FLSA Status

Exempt

Schedule

Monday - Friday; 9-5 - Hybrid work environment; 3 days in office in NYC required

This job description represents the types and levels of responsibilities that will be required of the position and shall not be construed as a declaration of all of the specific duties and responsibilities for the role. Job duties may change if Library priorities change. Employees may be directed to perform job-related tasks other than those specifically presented in this description as needed.

The New York Public Library Salary Statement

At the Library, we believe that pay transparency and pay equity are important to ensuring we source the best candidates and keep the best employees. When making a determination as to the appropriate salary for a candidate, we consider a variety of factors such, including, but not limited to, the position requirements, the skills, prior experience, and educational background required or preferred for the job, the scope and impact of the role within the organization, internal peer equity, and the candidates specific training, experience, education level, and skills. No single factor is conclusive; the Library reserves the right to consider any and all relevant factors and make a decision consistent with its policies.

Union Salaries are determined by collective bargaining agreement(s).

The New York Public Library (NYPL)

Director of Product, Scholarly eBooks Digital

The New York Public Library (NYPL)

Required Education, Experience & Skills

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