Customer Services Assistant

Essex County Council; Colchester; On-site; GBP 26,000; Full time

Job summary

A local government council in Colchester seeks a Customer Services Assistant to enhance library services. This full-time role includes supporting visitors, managing library stock, and leading community sessions. We value diverse applicants and encourage creativity in service delivery. Apply to help shape the future of our libraries.

Qualifications

• Experience in customer service in any area.
• Confidence in speaking to customers.
• Ability to learn IT systems.

Responsibilities

• Assist customers with the library catalogue.
• Conduct Rhymetime sessions for families.
• Ensure seamless stock circulation.

Skills

Customer service

IT skills

Teamwork

Communication

Job description

Customer Services Assistant

Fixed Term, Full Time

£25,081 per annum

Location: Colchester

Closing Date: 4th August 2025

Come and join us in Libraries where we're starting to reimagine what our libraries are going to be and help our present and future customers have the best experience possible.

We are currently recruiting a Customer Services Assistant based in the Colchester area, primarily in the newly refurbished Colchester Library due to open in Autumn 2025. This is a full time position working 37 hours per week and includes working every Saturday. The pro rata salary will be £25,081 per annum.

Due to the different areas where you may work, the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area.

The Role

You'll join a service that is undergoing change. Libraries around the UK are evolving to meet the differing demands of our customers. The demands are often different dependent on the location of our Libraries, and this is where your knowledge will be invaluable. You'll support with book circulation and issuing, signpost customers to different services and be our ears and eyes for what makes the difference to our customers. We want you to feel proud to play your role.

The Opportunity

Our Customer Service team are at the heart of what we do- they are the face of our libraries and our driving force. To join them you'll need to be confident helping a diverse range of customers, with demands that change daily. We have an inclusive environment - your experience, your age and your perspectives are welcome in our team.

Key Responsibilities

• First and foremost - you like helping people. If you've got some IT skills - self-taught or not, that's ideal. We use self-service equipment, and our customers need your empathy and patience at all time.
• Arranging and conducting Rhymetime, an inclusive session for all families with babies and toddlers.
• Health & Safety is key to what we do. We'd like you to be the kind of person who sees things that need sorting and help sort them out.
• You'll help with promotional activities - we generate income in all our libraries and value your ideas. Especially ones that can be rolled out across all Libraries.
• Assisting customers to use the library catalogue and learn to use the full library offer.
• Ensure seamless stock circulation and management, involving sorting, shelving, tidying, and handling reservations, fines, and membership activities.
• Data drives us - you'll help us look at it in different ways, ensuring that we focus on the customer and staff to improve what we offer.
• Our smaller libraries have less staff, so we'll ask you to help out with unlocking / locking up, and ask you to be a trusted keyholder.

Experience and Qualifications:

• We welcome candidates with a diverse range of experiences and qualifications. Here's a sample - what we're interested in is if you are brilliant at the basics which include:
• Demonstration that you know how to use IT systems, or have the ability to learn
• Customer service experience in any area
• Confidence in speaking to our customers and signposting them to Library services, other parts of the Council services and our partner organisations.
• Enthusiasm and ideas
• Enjoy working within a team to make us as brilliant as possible.

Interviews

As a Customer Services Assistant, you will be required to work with children to develop and grow our audience in this key area of our business. Part of your responsibilities will be to deliver story and rhyme sessions to groups of parents and toddlers in a library setting. As part of the interview process we would therefore like you to deliver a short 5 minute activity that enables you to demonstrate your ability to engage with children.

We are dedicated to building a team that reflects the diverse community we serve. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment.

Together, let's create a welcoming and inclusive library experience for everyone. Apply now to be part of our vibrant and diverse team!