Chief Library and Culture Officer Charlotte Mecklenburg Library"Follow yourcalling, Find your career"Salary Range $121,947.00 - $182,920.00 This is an exempt (salaried)position. Pay rates are based on education, skill, experience level andinternal equity. Internal equity considerations include an assessment of theapplicant's salary history and qualifications in comparison to the market rateand requirements for the job. Charlotte Mecklenburg Libraryis one of America's leading urban public libraries, serving one of the country's great emerging metropolitan areas in North Carolina. Our library system serves a community of approximately one millioncitizens in the city of Charlotte and the towns of Matthews, Pineville, MintHill, Davidson, Cornelius, and Huntersville – all located in Mecklenburg County. Accessible and welcoming to all, our library celebrates the joy ofreading, fosters learning and growth, connects people to each other and theworld, and inspires individuals with what they can achieve. Through our 20locations, online, and through targeted outreach, we deliver exceptionallibrary services and programs with a mission to create a community of readersand empower individuals with free access to information and the universe ofideas.
Location: Library Administration Center (LAC): 510 Stitt Rd, Charlotte, NC 28213
Position Summary:
The Chief Library and Culture Officer (CLCO) is responsible for twointerconnected drivers of library excellence: delivering outstanding customerservice across all branch locations and cultivating a workplace culture whereemployees are equipped, supported, and accountable to do their best work. TheCLCO is accountable for growing library users, usage, and impact; continuouslyimproving the customer experience; and building a talented, engaged, andhigh-performing workforce equipped to serve the full Charlotte Mecklenburgcommunity. The CLCO directlysupervises the two Associate Directors of Branches and the flagship managers ofMain Library and ImaginOn and provides systemwide leadership for branchperformance, customer experience, organizational culture, and employeeengagement. The CLCO also serves as Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's designated Director of Libraries for the State of North Carolina. Working across theorganization, the CLCO turns customer and employee insight into improvements inservices, systems, policies, leadership practices, and the day-to-dayexperience of working at and using the Library. The CLCO is a highly visibleleader who regularly engages with staff and customers across Library locationsand serves on the Library's Executive Team.
Essential Functions:- Provide strategicoversight and operational direction for public services across the Librarysystem.
- Supervise andsupport branch and service leaders, ensuring consistent delivery ofhigh-quality customer service and experiences.
- Support therecruitment, onboarding, and retention of branch staff in partnership with
- Human Resources.
- Ensure branchteams are appropriately staffed, equipped, and empowered to serve theircommunities effectively.
- Serve as theorganization's chief advocate for customers; set the standard forcustomer-centered leadership and model that standard for all staff.
- Directly supervisethe two Associate Directors of Branches and the two flagship managers, providing strategic direction, coaching, and performance accountability for thefull branch network.
- Set and maintainstandards for customer experience across all branch locations; monitor servicequality, anticipate future customer needs, and hold branch leaders accountablefor consistent, welcoming, and effective patron service.
- Maintain a workenvironment that attracts, retains, and develops high-quality personnel who arecollaborative, innovative, and committed to excellent service.
- Organize andstructure branch operations to achieve mission, support key service channels, provide authority to match responsibility, and balance workload equitablyacross the system.
- Manage branchstaffing and operating expenses within the established budget; identifyvariances in a timely manner and participate in solution discussions.
Update the Library:- Executive Team and Board of Trustees on growth in users, usage, and communityimpact, as well as aggregate customer experience trends and results.
- Lead systemwideservice model evaluation and improvement; monitor current trends and advanceopportunities to evolve how branch services are structured, delivered, andexperienced by the community.
- Serve at the statelevel as Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's Director of Libraries.
- Lead and nurture apositive, inclusive, and high-performing workplace culture aligned with the
- Library's mission, vision, values and cultural principles.
- Translate employeefeedback and organizational culture priorities into practical improvements topolicies, processes, communication, leadership practices, and day-to-dayoperations.
- Identify systemicbarriers or organizational practices that make it harder for staff to do theirbest work or customers to access excellent service; partner with appropriateleaders to develop and implement solutions.
- Establish andmonitor meaningful measures of employee experience, engagement, organizationalculture, and leadership effectiveness; identify trends and partner with leaders to drive continuous improvement.
- Establishmeaningful channels for listening to staff across roles and locations; identifysystemwide themes and opportunities; elevate issues requiring organizationalaction; and ensure staff understand how their feedback informs decisions andimprovements.
- Partner with COO, Human Resources and Library leadership to strengthen employee experience, manager effectiveness, staff development, retention, recognition, andorganizational accountability.
- Provide aconsistent framework for staff-led teams and cross-functional initiatives, creating meaningful opportunities for employees to contribute expertise, develop leadership skills, and advance organizational priorities.
- Collaborate acrossthe organization to foster a workplace where employees experience belonging, mutual respect, connection, and opportunity to contribute.
- Collaborate withthe Chief Strategy & Design Officer to analyze the Library's servicepopulation and identify gaps in meeting community need.
- Elevate staffperspectives and strengthen connection, communication, and trust across the CMLorganization.
- Engage andcoordinate with other libraries locally and nationally on best practicesrelated to building culture and meeting the needs of staff and the community.
Minimum Qualifications:
Minimum of ten years of progressively responsible library and leadership experience, including leading organizational change in a large, complex, or diverse environment. Supervisory experience required.
Education:- Master's degree in Library Science from an ALA accredited institution
- Combination of relevant education and relevant experience accepted? YesLicenses and Certifications:
- Licenses and
Certifications:
Valid NC or SC driver's license and the ability to obtain and maintain a County Operator Permit. NC Public Library certification is required or must be obtained within 90 days of employment
Preferred Qualifications:- Proven successful, high-level supervisory and management skills within a public library system
- Advanced knowledgeof current and future-focused library practices, evolving services, andcontemporary and emerging resources
- Proven experienceleading organizational culture, employee engagement, access, belonging, orrelated initiatives within a complex organization.
- Implementation ofimpactful projects and initiatives
- Proven commitmentto strong customer and community service
- Successful recordwith developing staff leadership skills and abilities
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Knowledgeof:
Thoroughunderstanding of federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity lawsand regulations.
Strong knowledgeof effective organizational culture, employee engagement, equal opportunity, inclusive leadership, and practices that support a high-performing workforce.
Deep knowledge ofpublic library branch operations, service delivery models, and customerexperience principles; familiarity with circulation, access services, andcommunity programming in a branch context.
Demonstratedability to work effectively across differences in background, experience, perspective, role, and community context.
Knowledge of adultlearning principles and staff development methodologies.
Experience withstrategic planning, service performance measurement, and organizationalaccountability frameworks; ability to set KPIs and use data to drive decisionsacross a large, distributed team.
Sensitivity andunderstanding of specific barriers which may lead to lack of access andengagement.
Skills:
Excellent verbal and writtencommunication skills, including proven dispute resolution skills.
Exceptional listening andinterpersonal communication skills, demonstrating tact, clarity, compassion, empathy, and sound judgment.
Excellent organizationalskills and attention to detail.
Strong analytical andproblem-solving skills.
Ability to engage with diversestaff and leadership to promote trust, collaboration, and partnership acrossall levels.
Facilitation and mediationskills critical for crucial conversations.
Comfort with public speakingand presentation.
Excellent interpersonal andcustomer service skills.
Excellent time managementskills.
Experience, ability, andcapacity to lead, direct, and supervise.
Demonstrated success coachingand developing employees and leaders at multiple organizational levels.
Energy, passion, andenthusiasm that inspires fellow employees; an energetic, highly interpersonalleadership style with a bias for personal, face-to-face interactions with staffat their work sites.
Commitment to the Library'sMission, Vision, Values, and Cultural Principles.
Abilities:
Building Partnerships:
Identifying opportunities and taking action to build strategic relationshipsbetween one's area and other areas, teams, departments, community groups, ororganizations to help achieve business goals.
Communication:
Clearly conveying information and ideas through a variety of media toindividuals or groups in a manner that engages the audience and helps themunderstand and retain the information provided.
Information:
Monitoring: Setting up ongoing procedures to collect and review informationneeded to manage an organization or ongoing activities within it. Technical/Professional
Knowledge and Skills:
Maintaining satisfactory levels of technical andprofessional skill or knowledge in position-related areas; keeping up withcurrent developments and trends in areas of expertise.
Work Standards:
Setting high standards of performance for self and others; assumingresponsibility and accountability for successfully completing assignments or tasks.
Building andleading talented, creative, productive, high-performing, and collaborativeteams.
Decision Making:
Identifying and understanding issues, problems, and opportunities; comparingdata from different sources to draw conclusions; using effective approaches forchoosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions; taking actionthat is consistent with available facts, constraints, and probableconsequences.
Computer Skills:
Proficiency with
Microsoft 365 applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and related collaboration tools.
Ability to interpret and use dashboards, performance metrics, customer and workforce data, and other quantitative and qualitative information to identify trends, assessperformance, and support decision-making.
Working knowledgeof library technology systems and digital service platforms, with the ability to understand how core systems support daily branch operations, customerservice, and staff workflows.
Ability to learnnew technologies and systems quickly and to effectively support, guide, andcommunicate with staff who rely on them in day-to-day operations.
Work Environment:
Works in an office setting with moderate noise Selection: This classification has been identified as having a role in the developmentofADA compliant technologies and for which the incumbent agrees tofollow County policies to the best of their abilities in order to meetthese obligations. Reasonable Accommodations Statement: To accomplish this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation, each essential functionsatisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made tohelp enablequalified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Disclaimer Statement: This is not intended to be an all-inclusive list of job-relatedresponsibilities, duties, skills, requirements orworking conditions. Other duties may be assigned based on business need and the supervisor'srequest. Mecklenburg County reserves the right to revise the jobdescription at any time. Designated positionsmay be required to assist inemergency and/or disaster situations.
