Position Opening: Visiting Program Officer for Open Education | SPARC

SPARC is seeking a Visiting Program Officer (VPO) to join our team working to advance openness in education. SPARC’s VPO program offers library professionals the opportunity to gain valuable, national-level experience working alongside our experienced team on critical issues that impact SPARC’s member community. 

While serving at SPARC, VPOs remain fully employed at their current institution with .25 FTE of their time dedicated to SPARC work. The positions require a 1 year commitment from the VPO’s institution starting by October. Candidates do not need to be based at a SPARC member institution in order to be considered, and institutions who are not in a financial position to donate their employee’s time are welcome to contact us for more information. 

Applications are requested by Friday, September 18. 

Position Description

Over the last decade, open education has grown from an emerging idea into a robust national field with its own infrastructure, policy footprint, and community of practitioners supporting open educational resources and practices. At the same time, this field is navigating a rapidly shifting landscape, from changes in the course materials market to evolving federal and state policy to new questions raised by AI. SPARC’s own open education work is also undergoing an evolution, with the development of the Open Education Association coming to fruition.

The Visiting Program Officer for Open Education will bring expertise on open education and libraries to SPARC’s ongoing work in programming, member-support, and field participation leadership in open education. Activities will include:

• Engaging with SPARC members to support their open education work, including responding to questions and connecting members to relevant resources and expertise
• Developing webcasts and other programming that engages the SPARC community on relevant open education topics and challenges
• Representing SPARC in key open education communities and coalitions, including DOERS, the Network of Open Organizations, and the Open Education Association
• Maintaining and expanding SPARC’s resources to support members on open education advocacy 
• Contributing to the development of strategic initiatives for open education at SPARC
• Participating in SPARC’s organization-wide work and team meetings  

Candidate Profile

VPO candidates are generally library professionals currently employed at an institution that agrees to dedicate .25 FTE of the VPO’s time to SPARC work, while continuing to support the VPO’s full salary and benefits. The ideal VPO candidate has the following qualifications:

• Committed advocate for open systems of research and education
• Subject matter knowledge of open education and its applications in academic libraries
• Awareness of the North American open education community landscape, including key organizations and initiatives
• Strong communication skills and experience facilitating or participating in professional communities
• Ability to work independently under self-direction

If you are unsure if you meet the qualifications above but believe you can perform the responsibilities as described, we encourage you to apply. 

How to Apply

Interested institutions should have their VPO candidate complete the online application, which involves submitting a CV/resume and responses to short-answer questions. Candidates should also be prepared to confirm whether their institution is likely to support their participation. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

Online Application Form: https://forms.gle/gohMTG2NoK4DDUAT7

Applications are requested by Friday, September 18. If there are any questions, please contact Val Hollister at val@sparcopen.org. 

About SPARC’s VPO Program

SPARC’s Visiting Program Officer program provides opportunities for library professionals to contribute to special projects and programs in order to advance SPARC’s work on key issues. The program provides a valuable professional development opportunity to gain experience working at a national level alongside SPARC’s experienced team. SPARC’s VPO program also serves our membership as a whole by extending our capacity to undertake additional activities and by embedding perspectives from the SPARC community in our day-to-day work.

Under the VPO program, the expectation is that the candidate’s library continues to support the salary and benefits of their staff person designated as a VPO while dedicating .25 FTE