Chief Library and Culture Officer

County of Mecklenburg, NC • Charlotte, NC

7d • $121,947 - $182,920 • Onsite

About The Position

The Chief Library and Culture Officer (CLCO) is responsible for two interconnected drivers of library excellence: delivering outstanding customer service across all branch locations and cultivating a workplace culture where employees are equipped, supported, and accountable to do their best work. The CLCO is accountable for growing library users, usage, and impact; continuously improving the customer experience; and building a talented, engaged, and high-performing workforce equipped to serve the full Charlotte Mecklenburg community.
The CLCO directly supervises the two Associate Directors of Branches and the flagship managers of Main Library and ImaginOn and provides systemwide leadership for branch performance, customer experience, organizational culture, and employee engagement. The CLCO also serves as Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s designated Director of Libraries for the State of North Carolina. Working across the organization, the CLCO turns customer and employee insight into improvements in services, systems, policies, leadership practices, and the day-to-day experience of working at and using the Library. The CLCO is a highly visible leader who regularly engages with staff and customers across Library locations and serves on the Library’s Executive Team.

Requirements

• 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.
• Master's degree in Library Science from an ALA accredited institution.
• 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.
• Thorough understanding of federal, state, and local equal employment opportunity laws and regulations.
• Strong knowledge of effective organizational culture, employee engagement, equal opportunity, inclusive leadership, and practices that support a high-performing workforce.
• Deep knowledge of public library branch operations, service delivery models, and customer experience principles; familiarity with circulation, access services, and community programming in a branch context.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively across differences in background, experience, perspective, role, and community context.
• Knowledge of adult learning principles and staff development methodologies.
• Experience with strategic planning, service performance measurement, and organizational accountability frameworks; ability to set KPIs and use data to drive decisions across a large, distributed team.
• Sensitivity and understanding of specific barriers which may lead to lack of access and engagement.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including proven dispute resolution skills.
• Exceptional listening and interpersonal communication skills, demonstrating tact, clarity, compassion, empathy, and sound judgment.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to engage with diverse staff and leadership to promote trust, collaboration, and partnership across all levels.
• Facilitation and mediation skills critical for crucial conversations.
• Comfort with public speaking and presentation.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills.
• Excellent time management skills.
• Experience, ability, and capacity to lead, direct, and supervise.
• Demonstrated success coaching and developing employees and leaders at multiple organizational levels.
• Energy, passion, and enthusiasm that inspires fellow employees; an energetic, highly interpersonal leadership style with a bias for personal, face-to-face interactions with staff at their work sites.
• Commitment to the Library's Mission, Vision, Values, and Cultural Principles.
• 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, assess performance, and support decision-making.
• Working knowledge of library technology systems and digital service platforms, with the ability to understand how core systems support daily branch operations, customer service, and staff workflows.
• Ability to learn new technologies and systems quickly and to effectively support, guide, and communicate with staff who rely on them in day-to-day operations.

Nice To Haves

• Proven successful, high-level supervisory and management skills within a public library system
• Advanced knowledge of current and future-focused library practices, evolving services, and contemporary and emerging resources
• Proven experience leading organizational culture, employee engagement, access, belonging, or related initiatives within a complex organization.
• Implementation of impactful projects and initiatives
• Proven commitment to strong customer and community service
• Successful record with developing staff leadership skills and abilities

Responsibilities

• Provide strategic oversight and operational direction for public services across the Library system.
• Supervise and support branch and service leaders, ensuring consistent delivery of high-quality customer service and experiences.
• Support the recruitment, onboarding, and retention of branch staff in partnership with Human Resources.
• Ensure branch teams are appropriately staffed, equipped, and empowered to serve their communities effectively.
• Serve as the organization's chief advocate for customers; set the standard for customer-centered leadership and model that standard for all staff.
• Directly supervise the two Associate Directors of Branches and the two flagship managers, providing strategic direction, coaching, and performance accountability for the full branch network.
• Set and maintain standards for customer experience across all branch locations; monitor service quality, anticipate future customer needs, and hold branch leaders accountable for consistent, welcoming, and effective patron service.
• Maintain a work environment that attracts, retains, and develops high-quality personnel who are collaborative, innovative, and committed to excellent service.
• Organize and structure branch operations to achieve mission, support key service channels, provide authority to match responsibility, and balance workload equitably across the system.
• Manage branch staffing and operating expenses within the established budget; identify variances in a timely manner and participate in solution discussions.
• Update the Library Executive Team and Board of Trustees on growth in users, usage, and community impact, as well as aggregate customer experience trends and results.
• Lead systemwide service model evaluation and improvement; monitor current trends and advance opportunities to evolve how branch services are structured, delivered, and experienced by the community.
• Serve at the state level as Charlotte Mecklenburg Library’s Director of Libraries.
• Lead and nurture a positive, inclusive, and high-performing workplace culture aligned with the Library's mission, vision, values and cultural principles.
• Translate employee feedback and organizational culture priorities into practical improvements to policies, processes, communication, leadership practices, and day-to-day operations.
• Identify systemic barriers or organizational practices that make it harder for staff to do their best work or customers to access excellent service; partner with appropriate leaders to develop and implement solutions.
• Establish and monitor meaningful measures of employee experience, engagement, organizational culture, and leadership effectiveness; identify trends and partner with leaders to drive continuous improvement.
• Establish meaningful channels for listening to staff across roles and locations; identify systemwide themes and opportunities; elevate issues requiring organizational action; and ensure staff understand how their feedback informs decisions and improvements.
• Partner with COO, Human Resources and Library leadership to strengthen employee experience, manager effectiveness, staff development, retention, recognition, and organizational accountability.
• Provide a consistent 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 across the organization to foster a workplace where employees experience belonging, mutual respect, connection, and opportunity to contribute.
• Collaborate with the Chief Strategy & Design Officer to analyze the Library's service population and identify gaps in meeting community need.
• Elevate staff perspectives and strengthen connection, communication, and trust across the CML organization.
• Engage and coordinate with other libraries locally and nationally on best practices related to building culture and meeting the needs of staff and the community.

Benefits

• Pay rates are based on education, skill, experience level and internal equity. Internal equity considerations include an assessment of the applicant’s salary history and qualifications in comparison to the market rate and requirements for the job.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior