Copyright & Licensing Advisor in Birmingham

Under the direction of the Head of Copyright and Licensing, the post holder will provide advice and guidance on complex copyright and licensing matters as they impact upon university research and teaching activity. This will include supporting staff and students as they use and create copyright materials, the Library's acquisition of content for use across the University, and the dissemination of teaching and research outputs.

The post holder will collaborate with academic staff to support all areas of the research environment and scholarly communications lifecycle. This will include working with researchers and students engaging in teaching and research activities across the whole range of disciplines. Activities will include exploring and facilitating new and emerging research in areas such as Big Data, AI and Machine Learning, offering guidance on how copyright and licensing issues contribute to these activities.

An awareness of how copyright issues might affect initiatives impacting upon researchers will be vital, especially in relation to the increasingly complex scholarly communications landscape, Open Access and Open Research, and digital research. The role will also support teaching activity, advising academic colleagues on the use of content externally sourced and included within teaching materials regardless of the model of delivery. This may include providing guidance on the use and re‑use of Open Educational Resources, making textbooks Open Access, the use of materials within lecture content used in class and via Canvas, as well as addressing issues such as those raised by lecture capture.

Working with colleagues across the division, the post holder will be responsible for the continual review and recording of electronic resources licences, to ensure the licences enable all uses of content. This will also include ensuring content is usable by students and staff based at the University's Dubai campus and other transnational educational activities. Where appropriate the post holder will liaise with content providers to ensure that the licences meet all research and teaching needs.

Main Duties

• Act as the main point of contact for copyright queries, providing expert advice relating to copyright issues as they impact on research activities, scholarly communications and teaching activities of the University and escalating complex issues to the Head of Copyright and Licensing.
• Take ownership and responsibility for developing and delivering training activities to enhance copyright literacy across the University.
• Review e‑Resource licence agreements ensuring that they are suitable for the needs of the University, suggesting improvements where appropriate.
• Take a strategic direction to leverage copyright and licences to maximise the provision of accessible texts for students and staff with disabilities.
• Oversee and provide strategic direction and management to the Digitisation Service by aligning activity and priorities to the University's strategic framework, benchmarking activity against peer institutions, and incorporating best practice into local service delivery.
• Lead an ongoing evaluation of the existing procedures of the Digitisation Service to enhance service users' experiences, while making best use of available resources, including producing regular reports on current issues and trends impacting on service provision.
• Update and maintain the content of the University's intranet pages (or similar) where applicable to ensure compliance with associated legislation and ease of consumption for a wide variety of audiences.
• Provide guidance on the Freedom of Information Act, Data Protection Act and Reuse of Public Sector Information Act as applicable to Library Services' activities, liaising with colleagues as required.
• Show a commitment to continuing professional development, e.g. by participating in appropriate professional groups or networks, and by engaging in self‑motivated research to remain up to date on relevant legislation and practice across the sector.
• Promote equality and values diversity, acting as a role model and fostering an inclusive working culture.
• Support the University's sustainability agenda through resource‑efficient working.
• Perform any other duties commensurate with the grade.

Qualifications

• Educated to Degree level (or equivalent qualifications) plus relevant practical experience – where no equivalent qualification is held, significant practical relevant experience and expertise in progressively more demanding roles will be required.
• Hold a recognised qualification in librarianship/information science or equivalent level of experience in a library environment, or a recognised legal qualification or equivalent level of experience in a legal environment.
• Evidence of literacy and numeracy, with the ability to write clearly, and to produce and analyse information and data. GCSEs to a minimum of grade C in English and Mathematics (or equivalent qualifications).

Stakeholders

• Knowledge of the protected characteristics of the Equality Act 2010, and how to actively ensure in day‑to‑day activity in own area that those with protected characteristics are treated equally and fairly.
• Extensive in‑depth knowledge and understanding of copyright legislation at national and international level, including the application of relevant exceptions, and related legislation.
• Extensive in‑depth knowledge and understanding of e‑resource licensing.
• Knowledge of a range of information sources, including how they are used by students, lecturers and researchers in a higher education setting.
• Aware of sector‑wide policy developments and their impact upon research, scholarly communications and teaching activity.
• Understanding of accessibility requirements in higher education, the requirements for accessible content and the impact upon service users.
• Knowledge of data protection, freedom of information and other legislative areas that impact upon library and university activity.

Skills

• Ability to understand, interpret, assimilate and communicate complex ideas to a range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Ability to diagnose and resolve a range of complex problems from staff and students, suggesting appropriate solutions.
• Ability to independently and proactively prioritise workload in the face of conflicting demands, both individually and in a team environment.
• Excellent attention to detail and accuracy.
• Ability to establish and maintain constructive working relationships with colleagues at all levels across Library Services, internal academic staff and internal/external suppliers.
• Strong influencing and negotiating skills.
• Ability to have challenging conversations in a sensitive and professional manner.
• Skilled in the use of IT with an excellent working knowledge of Microsoft Office applications.

Experience

• Practical experience of interpreting legislation, licences and other legal documents.
• Significant experience of working in an appropriate library, information, publishing or legal contracts environment, with at least some of it having been gained in the further or higher education sector.
• Extensive experience of developing and providing guidance and training to stakeholders both face to face and via written forms.
• Experience of line management including recruitment, team development and service enhancement.
• Experience of service evaluation and enhancement including the implementation of best practice to ensure continual improvement of the services provided.