Library Services Manager - Medical and Scientific Affairs

Library Services Manager Medical and Scientific Affairs (1 year contract with possible extension)

The Manager Library Services for Medical and Scientific Affairs will manage journal/publisher subscriptions and lead a team of literature search specialists performing high-quality literature searches across multiple platforms. The Manager Library Services will ensure timely, reproducible, and well-documented search activities and maintain oversight of title use and subscription performance to optimize resources.

Objectives

• Provide expert literature searching and evidence retrieval for clinical evaluation reports, ad-hoc medical information inquiries, and safety/efficacy questions.

• Track and analyze journal/title usage and subscription value; provide actionable recommendations.

• Maintain transparent documentation of search methods and deliver results in agreed formats compatible with the team's reference-management workflows.

Scope of Work / Key Responsibilities

Subscription & Title Use Management

• Maintain an inventory of subscribed journals and publisher access entitlements and reconcile access vs. usage on a regular basis.

• Collect, analyze, and interpret usage reports (e.g., downloads, views, access frequency) to evaluate title value and recommend renewals, cancellations, or alternative access options.

• Track new relevant journals and title changes (title merges, cessations, or new ISSNs) that impact current subscriptions.

• Coordinate with procurement/licensing contacts to ensure expected access and to document access problems.

Literature Searching & Evidence Retrieval

Design, run, and document complex, reproducible search strategies (e.g., Boolean logic, proximity operators, field tags, controlled vocabulary/subject headings/MESH terms/use of hedges, etc.) for clinical, preclinical, regulatory, and safety questions within a high level of sensitivity.

• Translate searches across bibliographic platforms and proprietary vendor interfaces to ensure consistent recall (e.g., equivalent controlled vocabularies and free-text strategies across platforms).

• Deliver search results de-duplicated and formatted for the team's reference manager (e.g., RIS/CSV/EndNote-compatible exports).

• Provide PRISMA-style flow summaries and a full search methods appendix when searches support evidence reports or systematic reviews.

• Create and maintain literature alerts for ongoing evidence surveillance and updates on specific topics.

• Provide oversight of more Junior or less experienced resources in their design and execution of systematic literature searches

Reporting & Documentation

• Produce monthly (or other agreed upon frequency) dashboards summarizing:

• Title usage reports for most and least used subscriptions

• Cost-per-use indicators (if cost data provided)

• Alert summaries and new high-priority evidence identified

• Produce search logs, detailed search strategy records (dates, platforms, exact search strings), and deliver final result sets with citations and abstracts.

• Provide written summaries of key search findings for clinical evidence reports.

Consultation & Training

• Advise staff, including but not limited to, Scientific Operations, medical information, and clinical authors on internal methodologies for search design, reference management best practices, and bibliographic data interpretation .

Provide troubleshooting support for bibliographic systems and subscription access -

Develop and provide short training sessions or quick-reference guides for staff on alert setup, basic search translation, and bibliographic exports.

Quality Assurance & Compliance

• Ensure searches and handling of data

• Adhere to agreed citation and reporting standards for clinical evidence work.

Required Qualifications & Experience

Required Qualifications

• Professional degree in library and information science or equivalent, or demonstrable equivalent experience.

• Deep knowledge of journal publishers, subscription models, title-level entitlements, and usage-tracking practices.

• Ability to design and translate searches across multiple bibliographic platforms and interfaces using advanced search techniques (Boolean logic, controlled vocabulary/subject headings, proximity operators, field tags).

• Familiarity with citation management workflows and outputs (RIS/EndNote/RefWorks/CSV).

• Strong written communication, documentation, and reproducibility practices (e.g., detailed search logs and methods).

• Ability to troubleshoot bibliographic systems, authentication/entitlement issues, and to coordinate with IT or publisher support.

Experience

• Minimum of 5 years supporting medical, clinical, or health-science research teams in a librarian, literature search manager, or equivalent role.

• Hands-on experience with key bibliographic platforms (e.g., PubMed, Embase) and familiarity with their structure, controlled vocabularies (e.g., MeSH/Emtree), and platform-specific functionality.

• Demonstrated experience interpreting usage reports and performing cost-per-use assessments to inform subscription decisions.

• Experience designing and executing reproducible searches across multiple platforms, exporting/de-duplicating results, and delivering outputs compatible with reference managers.

• Experience providing training, mentorship, or oversight to more junior or less experienced team members.

Desirable / Preferred Experience

• Experience establishing or supporting in-house or third-party software platforms for systematic literature searches.

• Experience supporting evidence reviews or systematic literature reviews in a highly regulated environment (Pharma/Med Dev).