Executive Director: Libraries

In brief

**Overview** This permanent Executive Director position at the University of Cape Town (UCT) Libraries offers a critical leadership role within the University’s academic and knowledge infrastructure. UCT Libraries supports teaching, learning, research, internationalisation, innovation, entrepreneurship, and societal responsiveness across multiple campuses. The Libraries integrates physical and digital environments, scholarly collections, information resources, research and learning services, publishing, open scholarship, Special Collections, and technology-enabled services. Reporting to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching & Learning, the Executive Director will provide visionary, strategic, and executive leadership for this complex and resource-intensive institutional portfolio. This includes accountability for its people, significant financial resources, collections, knowledge assets, digital systems, technologies, and physical facilities. **What you will do** * Provide strategic direction for UCT Libraries, aligning its strategy, priorities, culture, and resources with the University’s institutional and academic priorities. * Lead the Libraries’ contribution to teaching and learning, research and internationalisation, innovation and entrepreneurship, and societal and social responsiveness. * Provide executive leadership of the Libraries’ people and senior management team, including organisational capability, transformation, talent and leadership development, performance, and succession. * Provide strategic oversight of collections and knowledge assets, scholarly information resources, research and learning services, scholarly communication and publishing, digital systems, and physical and digital library environments. * Lead service innovation and responsible digital transformation, including the strategic adoption of AI and emerging technologies to enhance access, discovery, research and learning support, and user experience. * Exercise executive accountability for financial and resource planning and stewardship, including significant budgets, facilities and infrastructure, technology investment, governance, compliance, risk, resilience, and business continuity. * Build strategic relationships and institutional, national, African, and international partnerships and collaborations, including appropriate funding and partnership opportunities. * Provide thought leadership and represent and advocate for UCT Libraries within relevant University leadership and governance structures and national and international academic, professional, and scholarly forums. **Requirements (from the original advert)** * A Masters degree NQF Level 9 in Library and Information Science (LIS); OR a Masters degree NQF Level 9 in a relevant subject discipline, together with a Postgraduate Diploma in Library and Information Science. (A doctoral qualification would be advantageous.) * A record of scholarship or significant professional contribution in academic librarianship or a related field is expected. * At least 10 years’ recent and relevant experience in a complex academic or research library, or comparable knowledge-intensive environment, including substantial senior-level leadership experience with accountability for strategy, people, resources and organisational performance. * Demonstrated strategic and organisational leadership at senior level, including strategy development and implementation and leading significant organisational change. * Proven experience leading multidisciplinary professional teams, including performance and talent management, leadership development, succession planning, and managing complex staffing and employee relations matters. * Demonstrated experience managing substantial financial and institutional resources, including significant budgets, collections, digital and technological resources, physical facilities and infrastructure, with accountability for governance, risk and resource stewardship, and fundraising. * Demonstrated leadership of contemporary academic and research library services, including teaching and learning and research support, scholarly communication, open scholarship, digital services, and creative publications. * Proven experience leading digital transformation, including the responsible application of emerging technologies, including AI. * Demonstrated experience leading service innovation initiatives that improve service delivery, user experience, operational effectiveness, and responsiveness to evolving stakeholder needs. * Demonstrated ability to engage and influence at senior institutional level, including working with executive and academic leadership and governance structures, and developing significant institutional, national and/or international partnerships. * Experience leading transformation and inclusive organisational practice, including equity, diversity, inclusion and employment equity. **Who should apply** This role is intended for an experienced, visionary, and strategic leader with a strong background in academic or research librarianship. The ideal candidate will be adept at leading complex organisations, managing substantial resources (financial, human, digital, physical), and driving significant organisational and digital transformation initiatives, including the strategic adoption of AI. They should possess a proven ability to foster service innovation, build strategic partnerships, engage with senior institutional leadership, and advocate for library services within a dynamic higher education environment. A commitment to inclusive organisational practices is also essential. **Deadline** 23 October 2026 **Reference** Original posting: https://www.myjobmag.co.za/job/executive-director-libraries-university-of-cape-town Source: myjobmag

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At a glance

• At least 10 years of experience.

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