Kenyon College/Library and Information Services

Administrative Systems Technology Consultant

 

DECEMBER 22, 2004

This recruitment is completed, and we are very pleased to announce that Carisa Grove has accepted a position as Administrative Systems Technology Consultant in LBIS.



 

Introduction

Kenyon College's Library and Information Services division is searching for a skilled, motivated professional to join a team that provides support to the institution's administrative information systems and the people who use them. Library and Information Services (LBIS) is an integrated information services division meeting the library, technology, and communications needs of faculty, students, and administrators. We need people who are creative, energetic, interested and quick learners, and ambitious to play important and formative roles in an evolving, innovative, team-oriented organization.

We organize user support around our constituencies and their needs, blurring the lines between traditional areas of specialization. Our staff focus on a constituency, learn the constituents' business and needs, and learn and apply appropriate technical and organizational skills to help them be successful. For example, we have many professional staff who support the full range of library and technology needs of groups of faculty. Similarly, other professional staff support the full range of student information needs. We also have staff who are assigned to support administrative areas of the College, again for all their information and technology needs from desktop computers and applications to programming and database management for administrative systems.

We understand that few, if any, consultants will always possess all the skills and knowledge that may come into play in their support work. We address this through professional development, cross-training, and mutual support. Each of our professional staff members is a generalist for the sake of the constituents, and in some area is an expert for the sake of helping out colleagues. Clearly, a strong sense of teamwork and support of the institutional mission is required. For the right kind of person, this is an exciting, challenging, and rewarding professional opportunity.

Qualifications and Duties of the Position

Candidates should have a strong interest, experience, or training in accounting, student records management, payroll management, or other college administrative processes. Candidates should have skills and interests in information technology topics that include Oracle DBMS, the SCT Banner administrative application, SQL programming, PowerBuilder application development, and generally good desktop computing support and management skills. For otherwise excellent candidates, we offer training and professional development to fill in any gaps. Candidates with an information systems or computer science degree are welcomed, and we also welcome and will consider otherwise qualified candidates with interesting alternative credentials.

An affinity for the traditional liberal arts is preferred; an ability to work well with motivated people in a small community is essential. Strong interpersonal skills, ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing, and a commitment to service, teaching, training, and innovation are all essential. Flexibility, and the ability and desire to work in changing and diverse ways and areas are very important.

The candidate selected will support campus administrative offices across the spectrum of information resources and technology. In our constituency model, an Administrative Technology Consultant supports the information technology needs of one or more usually related administrative departments. That support can and usually does include database management, application report writing, database and application upgrades and testing, teaching and training, desktop software and hardware support (not including hardware repair), strategic planning, and constituent consultation for all manner of technology-related issues. The specific set of initial responsibilities will be determined both by Kenyon's needs and the skills, experiences, and interests of the selected candidate, but we have a special interest in candidates who have the interests and background to support accounting, payroll, human resources, and fiscal systems. The selected candidate will be assigned to the Information Systems department (see below). Staff in LBIS departments interact extensively across department boundaries and cooperate with and support each other.

Typically, an Administrative Technology Consultant (ATC) will work in many if not all of the following ways:

  • managing an administrative system and database (such as Banner or Oracle);
  • developing reports and other data support services through SQL programming or 4GL applications such as InfoMaker or PowerBuilder;
  • participating in the development and coordination of the dataflow between administrative systems with other ATCs on the Information Systems team;
  • providing personalized support for users of desktop computers and software, including installation, training, and troubleshooting;
  • providing support and consultation to constituents on all aspects of information resources and technology, including multimedia, remote access, and telephony;
  • participating in the planning and design of the college network and systems infrastructure as a member of the Information Systems team;
  • participating in the coordination and management of all centralized computing services as a member of the Information Systems team;
  • participating in college-wide information technology projects with other members of LBIS, including special events such as software rollouts for all desktops and our program assisting first year students in getting their computers connected, and such ongoing efforts as providing HelpDesk staffing and teaching single session courses as part of the LBIS Common Hour series.

The College

Kenyon College is a highly selective, highly rated, national liberal arts college. Kenyon is the oldest private college in Ohio, and is particularly known for a literary tradition that includes the Kenyon Review. Over the 179 years of its life, Kenyon College has developed a distinctive identity and has sought a special purpose among institutions of higher learning. A profile of the College in our Web pages provides many interesting facts and statistics.

At this point in its history, the Kenyon story is one of momentum and unprecedented opportunity. Thanks to wise leadership, unswerving dedication to its intellectual mission, and generous support from alumni, parents, and friends, the College has entered the twenty-first century stronger than ever before. Kenyon has recently completed new science and music buildings, which have added to the academic programs and to the traditional charm and beauty of the campus. We are now building an ambitious new center for fitness, recreation, and athletics.

Kenyon is a member of the Five Colleges of Ohio consortium, whose other members include Oberlin College, The College of Wooster, Denison University, and Ohio Wesleyan University. Four of these schools share in a combined library automation system. Kenyon is also a member of the statewide OhioLINK consortium.

Library and Information Services

Kenyon has combined library and computing services into a single division. Beginning with the formal merger of the library and the computing center in 1997, LBIS has evolved into its present state: a mature, stable, and deeply integrated information services unit. The division is organized as four departments:

  • Information Access
    • (circulation, AV, reference, computer helpline, computer labs and classrooms, and facilities management)
  • Information Systems
    • (planning, design, and management of technology infrastructure and administrative information systems)
  • Information Resources
    • (collection development and management, acquisitions, cataloging, ILL, and technology and information consulting for faculty)
  • Institutional Research
    • (organization and leadership of a distributed institutional research function, administrative systems conversions, leadership and coordination for campus-wide training and staff-development)

More information is available about the organization and evolution of Library and Information Services, at http://lbis.kenyon.edu/about/documents/.

We emphasize inter-departmental cooperation and support, staff development and facilitation, institutional perspective, and constituency orientation.

Compensation and Benefits

The starting salary will not be less that $40,000, and may be more depending on qualifications and experience. We welcome candidates with different backgrounds and skills, and with different levels of experience.

However, salary is only one of the many advantages of working at Kenyon. We offer tuition benefits for staff and their family members. Children of staff are eligible for 100% tuition waivers at Kenyon, and through the Great Lakes Colleges Association, children of staff are eligible for 90% tuition waivers at thirteen other of the nation's finest liberal arts colleges.

We also offer health and dental insurance, TIAA/CREF retirement, 22 days of vacation per year, and many other benefits.

Kenyon College Environment

Kenyon is located in Knox County, Ohio, a safe and beautiful, hilly, rural farming and wooded region, an hour from Columbus, two hours from Cleveland, and three hours from Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. At Kenyon you are part of a unique and accessible intellectual, cultural, and social community.

Some Web sites related to the general geographical area include (no endorsement of or guarantee of accuracy in any of these sites should be assumed - this list is for convenience only):

Application Procedure

To apply please send a letter explaining your qualifications and interest, along with a current resume, to:

  Daniel B. Temple
  Vice President for Library and Information Services
  Olin and Chalmers Libraries
  Kenyon College
  Gambier, Ohio 43022-9624

Electronic applications are preferred and may be sent by e-mail to: 

  dbtemple@kenyon.edu

We will be grateful if you mention in your letter how this position first came to your attention. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. Applications received by November 5, 2004, will be guaranteed full consideration.

Kenyon is an Equal Opportunity Employer