Community Library Assistant Cambourne

Cambridge County Council; Cambourne; On-site; GBP 5,400 - 6,600; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing package

4 weeks annual leave (pro-rata)

Flexible bank holidays

Pension contributions (AVCs)

Development opportunities

Paid volunteering hours

IDEAL network access

Employee recognition awards

Cambs Rewards discounts

Car lease

Cycle to Work

Job summary

Cambridge County Council is seeking an enthusiastic Community Library Assistant to help shape the future of Cambridgeshire Libraries. The role is based at Cambourne Library with travel to other district libraries; access to a vehicle is essential.

You will welcome visitors, support volunteers and handle front-line duties while developing a broad range of library skills. We offer a comprehensive wellbeing package, flexible leave, pension contributions, development opportunities and volunteering

Qualifications

• Experience in delivering good customer service and supporting diverse communities.
• Able to communicate clearly with customers and volunteers.
• Proficient with IT and library systems; comfortable with cash handling and front-line duties.

Responsibilities

• Create a welcoming library space for customers and volunteers.
• Multi-task across locations and adapt to changing hours or duties.
• Interact with partners and manage front-line customer care and library processes.
• Assist with stock circulation, cash handling, and use of the library management system.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

IT skills

Teamwork

Flexibility

Equality & diversity

Microsoft Office

Library systems

Tools

Library management system

Self-service machines

Cash handling

Microsoft Office

Job description

We are looking for an enthusiastic and versatile person to help us shape the future of Cambridgeshire Libraries. We maintain a high-quality public library service, working in partnership with a range of other organizations and community groups.

Our Community Library Assistants are the first point of contact for members of the public who are visiting and using our Libraries, and consequently the role is varied and allows staff to develop many different skills.

This role is based at Cambourne Library, however you must be able to travel to any of the other libraries within the District (Comberton, Great Shelford, Linton and Sawston) so access to own transport is essential.

Working hours

• Mon 1pm-5.15pm
• Tues 12.45pm-5.15pm
• Wed 1pm-5.15pm
• Thurs 12.45pm-5.15pm
• Fri 1pm-5.15pm
• Sat 8.45am-1.15pm

We want to recognise and celebrate the diversity of our local communities and be responsive to their needs. We also want to ensure that we are a fair and equitable employer, striving to achieve a diverse workforce that has the ability to understand, communicate and interact with people across cultures. We therefore encourage applications from all areas of our community.

Interviews will be held at Cambourne Library on 11th or 12th November

Appointment to this post will be subject to the outcome of an Enhanced Disclosure obtained through the Disclosure and Barring Service. The Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Our benefits

• A comprehensive wellbeing package to cover all aspects of wellbeing, both in and out of work, which can also be accessed by your family
• Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings
• Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day
• Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network
• Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards
• An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes

Take a look at our Employment Benefits Brochure attached to this advert to find out more.

What will you be doing?

The successful candidates will be responsible for creating a friendly and welcoming library space for all customers and volunteers. You will be able to multi-task, be flexible and enjoy working under pressure. There will be scope for working in other locations, so flexibility and adaptability is a must. Due to the locations of the libraries access to a vehicle is essential. IT skills are essential for this role and full training will be given on library specific systems and processes. The role involves a significant amount of standing, bending, carrying books and pushing heavy trollies.

You will:

• be confident using your initiative.
• have excellent communication and digital skills.
• be able to work with volunteers.
• be able to quickly master the varied aspects of library routines, including front line customer care, using the library management system, the self-service machines, handling cash, stock requests and stock circulation procedures.
• demonstrate a mature and professional attitude.
• be able to work collaboratively with partners in the building.

These is a permanent 11 hour post. The salary is pro rata to reflect this.

About you

The successful candidate will have a flair for working with people, able to create a friendly and welcoming environment for a diverse range of customers. They will be excellent at multi-tasking, be quick and efficient, and enjoy working under pressure.

The candidate will be passionate about what public libraries can offer, and able to promote our services. Although there is plenty of routine work, there is also scope to be creative. Training will be given on specific library systems, but an ability to work with IT is assumed. Although library experience is an advantage, we would also like to hear from candidates who have demonstrated exceptional customer service skills in other contexts.

Please refer to the job description and person specification for full details about this job role.

Please note: The supporting statement is the most important part of your application. This will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role.

When completing the supporting statement for this position, please tell us how your skills, experience,capabilityand potential match each of the criteria in the person specification.

Think carefully about the following criteria and provide practical examples of how and when you have used the particular knowledge, skill or experience:

• Demonstrate your understanding of delivering good customer service
• Interpersonal skills, including patience and listening skills with an ability to establish exactly what the customer requires
• A pleasant, helpful manner with customers of all ages and abilities.
• A strong team player, able to work with colleagues on projects and contribute to team goals
• Flexibility and adaptability in all areas of work, including being able to respond to a change in hours or workplace location.
• Understanding of the principles of Equality and Diversity within the workplace
• Demonstrate your ability to use Microsoft Office

Please note: all applications must be made online and we cannot accept CVs.

About us

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don't meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don't be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Through a Guaranteed Interview Scheme, we will offer an interview to all applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy. On your application form you can indicate you are disabled. Some examples of reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.

Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers