U.S. Public Library Services Consultant- Central Region

Together we make breakthroughs possible.   At OCLC, we build technology with a purpose: to connect libraries and make knowledge accessible worldwide, because we believe that what is known must be shared. Our teams work with complex global datasets, AI and machine learning, hybrid cloud solutions, and other technologies that connect people and organizations to the information they need. We value the power of unique perspectives and experiences to unlock innovation. At OCLC, your ideas matter, whether you have two years of experience or 20. You’ll learn, create, and problem-solve with technologists, product developers, librarians, researchers, marketing pros, and support teams around the world.   Why join OCLC?   OCLC is consistently recognized as a best place to work by several independent programs. We recognize and reward people and results with a comprehensive Total Rewards package. This means competitive compensation that reflects your unique contributions—performance, experience, and skills—along with exceptional benefits, including best-in-class health coverage, retirement plans with generous company contributions, and a commitment to your overall well-being. Tuition reimbursement and Public Service Loan Forgiveness eligibility  Paid parental leave and adoption assistance  Fitness facility reimbursement benefit  Join us in transforming how people everywhere access information and be part of a mission-driven team that makes a global impact.  The job details are as follows: The Public Library Services Consultant is a field-based, consultative sales role responsible for driving new business, renewals, retention, and account expansion for OCLC products and services within an assigned territory of public libraries in the United States. This role owns the full sales lifecycle for assigned prospects and members, including territory planning, prospecting, discovery, solution development, proposal preparation, negotiation, contracting, renewal management, and account growth. The Public Library Services Consultant partners with internal OCLC teams to help member libraries achieve their strategic, operational, and community-service goals. The successful candidate will understand public library operations, technology environments, purchasing processes, and stakeholder needs. They will position OCLC’s portfolio of library technology and cooperative services—including library services platforms, discovery, cataloging and metadata, resource sharing, interlibrary loan, digital collections, and related services—to help libraries improve patron experiences, streamline workflows, increase access to collections, and demonstrate value to their communities. Responsibilities Sales and Territory Management  Meet or exceed annual new business, renewal, retention, and expansion revenue goals within an assigned public library territory.  Own the complete sales cycle for new and existing OCLC members, including prospecting, qualification, discovery, solution development, proposal creation, negotiation, contracting, closing, and transition to implementation or customer success teams.  Develop and execute territory, account, and opportunity plans that identify new business prospects, renewal risks, expansion opportunities, competitive situations, and stakeholder engagement strategies.  Build and maintain a healthy sales pipeline; maintain accurate opportunity information, activity records, account plans, and forecasts in Salesforce.  Provide reliable and timely sales forecasts, pipeline updates, and market intelligence to sales leadership.  Proactively manage member renewals by engaging members in advance of contract expiration, reinforcing realized value, addressing concerns, mitigating retention risks, and identifying appropriate growth opportunities.  Consultative Solution Selling  Conduct consultative discovery with public library leaders and staff to understand organizational priorities, strategic plans, workflows, technology environments, service models, budgets, funding sources, procurement requirements, and community needs.  Align OCLC solutions and services to customer objectives and clearly articulate business, operational, patron-service, and cooperative value.  Develop a strong working knowledge of OCLC’s public library solutions and services, including applicable library services platform, discovery, metadata, cataloging, resource-sharing, interlibrary loan, digital collections, and related offerings.  Deliver compelling virtual and onsite presentations, solution demonstrations, and executive or board-level discussions tailored to library needs.  Coordinate internal specialists and cross-functional partners—including product management, solution consultants, implementation, customer success, legal, finance, marketing, and leadership—to develop and deliver effective customer solutions.  Member Relationship Management  Establish and maintain trusted relationships with library directors, executive leaders, IT leaders, technical services and collections staff, public services staff, procurement contacts, and other library stakeholders.  Serve as a strategic partner to assigned libraries, maintaining an understanding of the library’s goals, technology landscape, adoption, satisfaction, challenges, and future needs.  Identify customer concerns, renewal risks, implementation challenges, and service issues early; coordinate appropriate internal resources and communicate proactively with customers.  Identify opportunities to expand customer use of OCLC products and services where they provide meaningful value to the library and its community.  Market, Industry, and Competitive Engagement  Represent OCLC at library conferences, association meetings, regional events, customer visits, and other relevant industry activities.  Maintain current knowledge of public library trends, including evolving patron expectations, digital equity, funding and budget pressures, st