Academic Liaison

Academic Liaison

Salt Lake City Public Library

Salary: Grade 33, $39.72/hour, $82,617.60/annual; commensurate with experience

Open: September 8, 2026

Closes: September 22, 2026

FLSA Status: Full-time/Exempt

Reports to: Youth Services and Literacy Manager

Note: This position is open to regular part-time and full-time employees of the Salt Lake City Public Library only.

About the Library

The Salt Lake City Public Library connects all people to free resources, knowledge, and one another to build a thriving community. Across nine locations and through outreach citywide, we are working toward a Salt Lake City where everyone belongs, where knowledge and opportunity are shared by all, and where our connections to one another make the whole community stronger. Guided by our 2026–2034 Strategic Plan, staff advance this work through four priorities: creating belonging through access, reading and literacy for all, strengthening civic life, and building the capacity to sustain our impact.

Library employees are stewards of this vision in every interaction. They bring joy to their service, treat every person with dignity, act with courage and good judgment, and work as one team across the system. People who thrive here believe a library is more than a place to find information; it is a place where a community comes to know itself.

About the Position

The Academic Liaison serves as the Library's primary point of connection with pre K-12 schools within Salt Lake City. This role builds and manages relationships and formal partnerships with school administrators, teachers, and district staff to align Library resources, programming, and literacy initiatives with school-year learning goals.

This position directly supports the Library's Strategic Plan priority of ‘Reading and Literacy for All, partnering with schools to build literacy journeys that connect early childhood foundations, school-age support, and reading proficiency milestones such as third-grade reading level.

The Academic Liaison also contributes to another key Plan priority ‘Strengthening Civic Life’ by connecting schools and neighborhoods around shared educational goals. The Academic Liaison builds and supports a team that implements school and community outreach initiatives and individual and group literacy support.

Primary Responsibilities

School partnerships. Build and manage relationships with school  administrators, principals, and teachers. Serve as the Library's consistent point of contact for schools across the city. Build relationships with homeschool groups and programming administrators. 

Literacy alignment. Connect Library literacy initiatives, including Grow a Reader and other early and school-age literacy programming, to classroom instruction and school reading benchmarks. Support the Library's commitment to reading proficiency by third grade and continued skill-building beyond it.

Program coordination. Coordinate class visits, school tours, access initiatives, summer reading, and school-based outreach events. 

Data and reporting. Track outreach activity, school partnership status, and participation metrics. Report progress toward literacy outcomes and share findings with the Youth Services and Literacy Manager and other Library administrators.

Resource development. Develop toolkits and resource guides for teachers and school staff that connect classroom curriculum to Library collections, digital resources, and programming.

Team Leadership and Development. Supervise and support staff across initiatives, ensuring needed resources are deployed as needed across different sites and varied schedules. Provide staff with clear expectations, regular coaching, feedback, and recognition while identifying development opportunities and mentoring people who want to build a career in public libraries.

Community and civic connection. Represent the Library at school district meetings, school building  events, PTA events, and other community education forums. Identify opportunities where schools and neighborhoods can connect around shared literacy and civic goals.

Working relationships. Foster strong working relationships with branch managers, youth services staff, and Library leadership. Collaborate across departments to ensure school partnerships translate into consistent branch-level practice.

Other duties. Performs other duties as assigned or required.

Minimum Qualifications

• Completion of a Bachelor's Degree and two years of related experience in education, library services, community outreach, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience building and managing partnerships with schools, districts, or educational organizations.
• At least 2 years of experience supervising, leading, or coordinating staff or volunteers.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including presentation skills and the ability to work with diverse teams and stakeholders.
• Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple school relationships and deadlines at once.
• Ability to travel regularly between Library branches and partner schools; access to reliable transportation required.
• Ability to work occasional evenings for school and community events.

Preferred Qualifications

• Masters in Education or Teaching
• Experience working in or with the Salt Lake City School District or another local school system.
• Background in early childhood or K-12 literacy instruction, reading science, or curriculum development.
• Spanish language and/or other non-English language skills.

Working Environment

• Work is performed in library, school, and community settings across Salt Lake City.
• Regular local travel between branches and schools is required.
• Subject to intermittent periods of standing, walking, and carrying program materials.

Schedule

• Full-time, 40 hours per week. Schedule generally follows the school-year calendar, with some evening and weekend events required.

Other Information

• Completion of a criminal background check will be required.
• The City Library participates in the federal Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify). Employment is contingent upon confirmation of employment eligibility through the E-Verify system.
• This position is non-union eligible.
• The City Library is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to a diverse workforce.