Head of Research

**The Opportunity**:

- **Key statutory appointment**:

- **Provide trusted information and advice to the Australian Parliament**:

- **Delivery strategic and innovative research and publications**
- The Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) supports the operations of the Parliament of Australia through unified, innovative and client-focussed services to enable effective parliamentary democracy for the benefit of all Australians. The Department provides services across the nation including Parliament House in Canberra and over 230 electorate offices in every state and territory. As the custodian of the iconic Parliament House building, DPS is also responsible for delivering a broad range of services and experiences that enable engagement by the public with parliament and the parliamentary process.
- The Department is seeking to appoint the next head of its research and library services function. The statutory title of the position is the Parliamentary Librarian, which provides high quality information, analysis and advice to Senators and Members of the House of Representatives in support of their parliamentary and representational roles. The Parliamentary Library serves as a trusted source of information, analysis and advice for the Australian Parliament through both traditional library services and collections management as well as specialised and tailored research services, briefs and publications.
- The Parliamentary Librarian is a statutory officer reporting directly and jointly to the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives (the Presiding Officers) in respect of their statutory functions. The Parliamentary Librarian is also accountable to the Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library.
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**About the Organisation**:
The Parliamentary Librarian and the Parliamentary Library staff are part of the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS). DPS provides innovative, unified, and client-focused services to the Australian Parliament and Parliamentarians. We deliver a broad range of services that enable Australian parliamentary democracy and engagement with it. There are over 1,000 employees at DPS who work across a diverse range of professional, customer service and trade-based roles.
Since its establishment in 1901, the Parliamentary Library has served as a trusted source of information, analysis and advice for the Australian Parliament. In addition to traditional library services, the Library is also one of Australia's major research libraries, providing parliamentarians tailored and confidential research briefs and general distribution publications on public policy and legislation.
Specifically, among its services, the Parliamentary Library provides:

- research and analysis for parliamentarians, parliamentary committees, and their staff
- specialised print and digital collections
- news and media monitoring services
- statistics and mapping services
- publicly available research publications including Bills Digests which provide an independent analysis of legislation before the Parliament
- access to historical information about parliamentarians and the Parliament.

The Joint Standing Committee on the Parliamentary Library (JSCPL) is established each Parliament to advise the Presiding Officers (the Speaker of the House of the Representatives and the President of the Senate) on matters relating to the Library.

**Organisational Structure**
- The Library’s organisational structure comprises:

- Office of the Parliamentary Librarian
- Research Branch
- Library Collections and Databases Branch
- To read the most recent annual report please click here.

**Position Details**:
**Title**: Head of Research & Library Services and Parliamentary Librarian
**Location**: Canberra, ACT
**Employment Type**: 5 year term (renewable)
**Salary Range**:Senior Executive Service Band 2
**Reporting to**: Secretary/Presiding Officers

**Position Overview**:

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- The Parliamentary Librarian will be responsible for:

Providing high quality information, analysis and advice to Senators and Members of the House of Representatives in support of their parliamentary and representational roles:

- in a timely, impartial and confidential manner
- maintain the highest standards of scholarship and integrity
- provide equality of access for all Senators, Members of the House of Representatives, parliamentary committees and staff acting on behalf of Senators, Members or parliamentary committees
- have regard to the independence of Parliament from the Executive Government of the Commonwealth.
- Undertaking other responsibilities within the Department of Parliamentary Services consistent with the primary function where agreed between the Parliamentary Librarian and the Secretary of the Department of Parliamentary Services and with the joint approval of the Presiding Officers.

**Primary Functions**:
**Functions of Parliamentary Librarian**
- The office and duties o