Customer Services Assistant – Stanway & Colchester Central Libraries

Working for Essex; Colchester; On-site; GBP 7,000 - 9,000; Part time

Job summary

Essex County Council is seeking a part-time Customer Services Assistant to serve Stanway and Colchester Central Libraries in a Saturday/Sunday rota. The role involves assisting customers, signposting services, and helping with book circulation in a welcoming, inclusive team.

The position is 10 hours per week with specific weekend hours and a pro rata salary of £7,016 per year; full-time equivalent up to £25,959. Applicants must be 18+ and eligible to work in the UK.

Qualifications

• 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.
• Possession of a Driving Licence

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 times.
• Arranging and conducting a variety of community groups and inclusive sessions including craft groups, Storytime and Rhymetime for 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.

Skills

IT systems knowledge

Customer service

Communication

Driving Licence

Job description

Customer Services Assistant – Stanway & Colchester Central Libraries

Permanent,Part Time

Up to £25,959 per annum (full time equivalent)

Location: Colchester

Working Style: Fixed-base worker

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 within our Stanway and Colchester Central Libraries. This is a part‑time position working 10 hours per week every Saturday and Sunday. The pro rata salary will be £7,016 per annum. The rota for this role is as follows:

• Saturday - 9am to 5pm – Stanway Library
• Sunday – 10:30am to 1:30pm – Colchester Central Library

Please note, as this role will involve lone working at times at Stanway Library, applicants must be aged 18 or over.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Place and Customer

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 times.
• Arranging and conducting a variety of community groups and inclusive sessions including craft groups, Storytime and Rhymetime for 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:

• 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.
• Possession of a Driving Licence

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.

Please note that visa sponsorship is not available for this role. Applicants must have a current, unrestricted right to work in the UK.

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone's Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In March 2026, the Government announced that councils in Greater Essex will be reorganised into five new unitary authorities from April 2028. In addition to this, Greater Essex has been accepted on to the devolution priority programme, where we will work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority. You can read more about these changes, and what this may mean for this role, on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview allveteransandcare leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

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