Evidence Support Manager

Job Summary

The Evidence Support Manager is a key part of the leadership team within the Library and Archives department, responsible for the delivery of specialist information services that support evidence based practice, research, and guideline development. Co-ordinating specialised literature searching, current awareness, information literacy and income-generating services, the Evidence Support Manager is responsible for the leadership of a high performing team ensuring that the Library delivers timely, engaging support for clinical and professional practice. This role is not limited to operational service delivery. Working with the Director of Library and Archives, the Evidence Support Manager is responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of the team's service delivery model, business plans, and policies, ensuring services are effective, sustainable, and responsive to changing needs. The postholder takes an improvement-focused approach, working collaboratively across the organisation to evaluate and develop services, ensuring they support our strategic priorities of attracting and supporting surgeons throughout their careers. This is a leadership role, suited to someone who combines information specialist expertise with practical delivery and management.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

• Evidence Support Services: Lead strategic planning, development and evaluation of all EST services. Manage the literature searching service, including complex high-level searches for publications, systematic reviews, guidelines. Oversee Specialty Updates current awareness service. Lead design and delivery of information literacy and evidence skills training. Ensure high standard of customer service.
• External and commercial partnerships: Lead strategic planning and development of new commercial partnerships and income generating services. Undertake project, capacity and resource planning. Act as primary liaison with external organisations. Monitor and review external contracts.
• Leadership, management and governance: Act as core member of Library and Archives management team. Lead development and delivery of EST annual business plans, policies and procedures. Produce regular and annual reports. Share departmental operational responsibility.
• Staff management and development: Ensure effective operational management of EST. Line manage staff, providing guidance, mentoring and support. Promote positive, inclusive team culture.
• Collaboration, engagement and promotion: Build and maintain effective working relationships with clinicians, members, external partners. Work collaboratively across the organisation. Actively promote evidence support services.

Person Specification

• Qualifications: Educated to degree level. Recognised undergraduate or postgraduate qualification in libraries, information science, or related field (or equivalent experience). Desirable: Formal training in systematic literature searching, critical appraisal or research methodology.
• Experience and skills: Essential: Experience in library/information setting, leading/line managing a team, delivering information literacy training, writing professional documentation, project/service management, reporting for governance, customer-focused services, developing KPIs. Desirable: Evaluating services using feedback, identifying income-generating opportunities, negotiating external contracts, planning long-term projects, writing effective copy, serving remote users.
• Technical competencies: Experience delivering literature searching services, excellent written communication, ability to write reports and deliver presentations, high digital literacy with library IT systems (MS Office, biomedical databases, online resources). Desirable: Experience in reference management software and training others.
• People and interpersonal skills: Team building skills, effective communicator, ability to promote services, strong relationship-builder, ability to make decisions on policy and operations, strong organisational and problem-solving skills, ability to promote team values.

Values

The post holder will need to demonstrate the following values: Collaboration (working together, open and honest, taking responsibilities seriously), Respect (treat everyone with kindness and integrity, seek a range of views), Excellence (aspire to excellence, share learning, invest in research and education). The [Employer hidden] is an Equal Opportunities Employer.